The Garden Edge
Memorial Day weekend is a defining time for gardeners. This lazy
holiday is the signal that the time for the spring planting season
is running out. The first official day of summer is still three
weeks away, but there is little time to waste.
The Garden Edge
Memorial Day weekend is a defining time for gardeners. This lazy holiday is the signal that the time for the spring planting season is running out. The first official day of summer is still three weeks away, but there is little time to waste.
How to get started? Check out your yard. If you have weeds, that is a good sign that the soil is healthy. Cut them down with a weed whacker or hoe them out, but get rid of weeds. They steal water and nutrients from the soil, and will choke out whatever you plant.
There is no need to run the rototiller over the entire planting area although that would certainly turn up the ground very nicely. When tilling, keep in mind that you do not have to pulverize the soil. Nice chunky soil is the ideal. Two passes with the tiller ought to do the job.
Another option is to dig planting holes and place your new plants exactly where you want them. Dig down the depth of the shovel head and equally as wide. Toss a handful of slow-release fertilizer in the hole, add a little planting mix or compost to cover it so the fertilizer will not directly touch the plant roots, and then set the plant in the hole. Fill in with a 50-50 mixture of compost and garden soil, firm it all down, and water lightly to settle the soil. You can plant one plant or 100 plants this way, and do it all very quickly.
The final choice is to plant everything in containers. The neat thing about container plants is that once the plant has done its job and died down, you can move the container to another spot, or start over with something totally new, and not ruin the garden design. Playing switch-a-roo container gardening is how places like Sunset and Bonfante Gardens keep things looking fresh and new. You just never see the dead and worn-out plants.
Seed or transplant? At this stage of the game, go for the transplants. Those plants in six-packs provide a two- to four-week jump over seeds, and those in four-inch pots speed up things even more.
However, seeds work just as well for fast-growing vegetables that don’t transplant well such as beans, pumpkins and corn, and flowers such as cosmos, hollyhocks and sunflowers.
Because of the odd weather and last week’s late-season rain, you can still get away with planting shrubs, small trees, ground covers, vines and any vegetables and flowers you can find at the garden center.
Meanwhile, give everything a nice fertilizer feeding, groom roses whacked by the weather, and water regularly to keep thirsty plants healthy.
When is it too late to plant a summer garden? I consider July 4th the cut-off date. That means you have this final month to get tomato seedlings in the ground, plant roses, bougainvillea and more, and surround yourself with the beauty and bounty of the summer garden.
Plant a Row for the Hungry: Citrus continues to make the difference at Community Pantry. Plant a Row for the Hungry gardeners donated 111 pounds of limes to the Pantry this past week. That brings the early-season total to 239 pounds – all citrus – to share with those in the community who need it most.
Citrus trees are in bloom as the trees set new fruit for the coming season. This is a good time to strip existing lemons, oranges, limes and grapefruits from the trees, add fertilize and give the trees a deep watering for the new season. Fertilize citrus trees once a month through summer and fall, then stop feeding when the frost season arrives.
The Community Pantry is located at 30 Airport Ave., Hollister, and welcomes all produce donations. For more information, call (831) 637-0340.
A Reader Wants to Know: I’ve been using a product called Grass Saver for our lawns and it works great for our dogs. The problem is visiting dogs. When I see a brown spot I have been using Ironite and water the heck out of it, and then reseed it. Do you know of a better remedy or product out there? – Rudy
Joan Says: It sounds as though you are doing well with what you are doing. I don’t know of other products that would work any better. About visiting dogs: There is no such thing as bad dogs, only bad dog owners. You can sprinkle cayenne pepper along the edge of your lawn. Dogs sniff before doing their thing, and a dog would not like the cayenne. You can buy large containers of cayenne at Costco. There are also a variety of dog-off products at most garden centers.
