MAY - GARDEN PREPARATION

Another month and another opportunity  to add to your guilt load with more gardening  reminders.

May  is the "do everything month," weather permitting of course. At some point in May you  might find yourself having to transplant, seed, fertilize, thin, weed and maybe harvest.  Although the "new" average date of the last frost  of the season according to New York State's Dept. of Environmental Conservation is now May 2  for much of Rensselaer County (excluding the higher elevations like the Rensselaer Plateau), gardeners need to monitor projected weather forecasts closely to plan their gardening activities because temperatures and weather can still wildly fluctuate.  So here is a little more about about some of those things you might find yourself doing...

• First, is your garden soil ready for action?  Take its temperature.  Cool weather veggie seeds can go in the ground when the soil nears 40° F, but the soil should not be saturated.  The soil's moisture content is okay if, when you scoop up a handful, it does not remain in a wet clump in your hand, but looks somewhat like  a cup of streusel topping for coffee cake.  

• If you have started cool weather veggies indoors (cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, etc.), you can  either  start  to "harden" them off outside   or to set them directly into the garden or into cold frames, cloches or row covers.  Hardening is really more about strengthening plant stems by exposing them to a little wind than it is about conditioning them to cooler temperatures.  In early May when it's sunny I simply  move my trays of seedlings into the garden  each day, then return them to the shelter of my cellar for the night.  

• If you haven't already planted seeds in the garden in early May, you can still put in  a  planting of cool weather veggies. Peas, radishes, chard and lettuce have a good chance of beating July's heat. 

• And, if you were able to sow seeds last month, it may be time  to thin them. It may also be time to cultivate/weed those rows.

• Your early diligence of March and April might now be rewarded in late May by  your being able to harvest spinach, lettuce, radishes and peas. This is especially true if you used cold frames, cloches or row covers to get the first crops started. 

 Typical slug.  Source: University of MN



• Unfortunately, as temperatures in May warm it is also  time to  start looking for slugs, cutworms and aphids.   Slugs are unsegmented invertebrates.  They look like snails without shells and are most active at night. Although you can  find them on the underside of leaves on some days, they like cool, moist weather and tend to shelter under thick mulch, bark, boards etc during bright sunny days.  I have noticed  in recent years that slugs  have become a common  pest in my garden. The slugs  feast on my young lettuce, cabbage and Swiss chard. I have tried  using diatomaceous earth  to control them, but  recent springs have been wet and cool making diatomaceous earth  less effective. I've also used half buried water bottle traps baited with beer. The slugs like the beer and drown happy, but beer's evaporation means that I have to replenish the beverage in the bottles frequently.  I now just keep a container of soapy water in the garden and do a slug patrol every morning.  This seems to work best in my small kitchen garden.  

Black cutworm. Source: Clemson U.

• Cut worms are another enemy you will encounter  when you set out seedlings. There are many kinds of them -- they are typically soil colored  ranging from tans  to  dark grays with  some sporting occasional   darker streaks.  Slugs seem to take up residence in the soil near wherever you plant your seedlings.  If you notice a young plant cut off as shown in the photo, you can probably locate the villain by scratching around the base of the plant.  Backyard gardeners can protect their young plants by placing a  collar around the base of the plant and inserting it about 1" into the soil.  When I was growing up, we used pages from the  Sears & Roebuck Catalog cut into strips to protect our cucumbers and melons.  Now, I cut circular collars  from yogurt cups.  

Aphids.  Source: Cornell U.

• Finally, aphids will start appearing from mid to late May.  These little fellows are sort of pear shape, frequently are green or white in color and usually smaller than a pinhead. Look for them on the underside of leaves.  They are true bugs in that they poke  holes in a plant's stem or its leaves and suck the sap.  Healthy plants usually are not affected too much, but aphids are attracted to overcrowded or otherwise environmentally stressed plants.   However, their piercings can introduce viruses into  a plant.  Their natural predators include ladybug lava and lacewings, but aphids' ability to procreate exponentially  tends to outpace  predator appetites.  If you need to intervene, you can spray a mild soapy solution on the plants, remove them by hand or simply hose them off. 

And remember...

"Gardening is learning, learning  learning." - Helen Mirren, British Actress