Thursday 8 December 2011

Doon Gardening Society Monthly News Letter - MAY

Doon Gardening Society Monthly News Letter - MAY

Dear Gardeners,

Welcome to the month of MAY. Summers are now mid way and the temperatures are rising. During May the forecast is that the day temperature will be above 36· C and night temperatures 20-25·C. There may be some rainfall by mid May, which may reduce the heat. It is likely to be very hot and this is a time when the weather can either turn your garden into an Eden, or a wasteland. Be aware of the weather forecasts and trends.

If the weather is sunny and dry, don't neglect your watering. Most flowers and shrubs need about an inch of water each week to perform well, and newly planted seedlings will perish if their roots are allowed to dry out
Here are a few May gardening projects that you can do to help keep your garden looking its best the rest of this season.

Shrubs and trees
It's still not too late to fertilise your trees and shrubs. Use an all-purpose garden fertilizer (10-10-10) to feed roses, deciduous shrubs and trees. Be sure to water the fertiliser in thoroughly after it is applied.

Early flowering deciduous shrubs should be pruned back when they have finished blooming. Cut back a third of the oldest canes to ground level, then cut back one third of the remaining branches by one third of their height.

Remove the wilting seed heads from Rhododendrons and Azaleas, so that the plants energy can go to foliage growth and next year’s flowers, rather than seeds.
Work lime in the soil around your Hydrangeas to produce pink flowers or Aluminum Sulphate for blue.

Remove any sucker growths from fruit trees as soon as they appear.

Keep a vigilante eye on the roses. Keep them sprayed for aphids and other pests and diseases such as black spot.

Pines and other conifers can be kept to a compact size by pinching off the new growth 'candles'.
Lilacs should be pruned lightly after they finish blooming, removing sucker growths and dead blooms. Feed lilacs in May with a good all purpose 10-10-10 fertilizer after they have finished blooming. If your soil has an acidic pH, work a little lime into the soil as well.

Perennials, annuals, and bulbs
Summer flowering bulbs can be planted this month. Gladiolas bulbs may be planted at 2 week increments until the first of July to provide you with cut flowers until the start of winters. Some are listed below:

Begonias

Cannas

Caladium tubers

Crinum (Fragranent)
Dahlias

Football lily

Gladiolas
Hemorocalls
(Day Lily)






Summer flowering perennials may all be set into the garden any time in May. Some are listed below:

Amaranths
Balsam

Bleeding Heart

Borwillia

Cacalia
Celome

Celosia

Geraniums

Gaillardia

Cockscomb

Gompherena

Impatiens

Kochia

Marigold French

Mimos
Lobelia

Nempohila

Nicotiana

Petunia Single

Portulaca

Salvia

Tithonia


Torenia

Verbenas

Vinca

Viola

Zinnia






Geraniums, annuals like Salvia, Zinnias, Marigolds, and Lobelia should be planted during the first week of May. Impatiens should be ready to plant by mid month.

Fertilisation
Lightly side dress perennials with an all-purpose 5-10-10 or 10-10-10 fertiliser. Avoid spilling the fertiliser on the plant, and use care not to damage the shallow roots when you cultivate it into the soil. Setting the stakes next to your taller flowers early in the season, will help to support the plant against winds as well as making it easier to 'train'.

Promptly remove spent flowers from any plant unless your intent is to harvest the seeds. It consumes the plants energy to produce the seeds, and in many species of plants (especially annuals), removing the dead flowers will promote further blooms.

Vegetables
Winter vegetables; Beans, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, Carrots, Corn, Cucumber, Peas, Peppers, Pumpkins, Purple sprouting Broccoli, Squash and Tomatoes can be planted in May.

Beans

Carrots

Cauliflower

Cabbage

Capsicum

Cucumber

Chilies

Lettuce

Lobia

Methi

Peas

Pumpkin

Spinach

Radish

Tomatoes


Lawn

May is a good month to repair your lawn. Fill in the bare spots by slightly loosening surface of the soil and sow a good quality lawn seed over the area evenly. Tamp the seed in gently and water. Keep the patch moist by covering with light mulch of lawn clippings.
Setting your mower for a higher cut during the summer months will help the grass to grow in fuller and help choke out the weeds.

House Plants
Check to see if your house plants are root bound. Water them thoroughly and carefully remove them from their pots. If the roots have compacted around the outside of the root ball, it is time to repot. Carefully examine your houseplants for pests and problems. It is much easier to fight an insect infestation or disease in its early stages than to wait.

As the growth rate of your house plants increases with the seasons, adjust your feeding schedule to provide additional food. Feed your plants a good all purpose house plant food at half of the manufacturers recommended rates, increasing the proportion slightly to accommodate growth spurts. Overuse of fertilisers can cause root and foliage burn, as well as the death of the plant.

Mist your plants regularly. This adds to the humidity, keeps the leaves cleaner and healthier, and helps to prevent spider mites.


Odds and ends
Slugs and snails are out in full force right now. Be sure to take steps to control them now, before they have a chance to reproduce and devastate your garden.

In a nursery bed, sow biennial and perennial seeds for next year.

Fruit
Growing fruit should be watered well and fed.

Continue to control pests on fruit trees. If you use pesticides, never spray on open flowers because you will kill beneficial pollinating insects like bees.

Continue removing unwanted side shoots from fan trained peaches and limes. Remove flowers from newly planted fruit trees - they should not fruit in the first year.

Pests

Keep an eye out for Aphids (spray off with water) and Cutworms (Cutworm Dust).

The secret to preventing pest problems is simple. Just plant more flowers! Borage, sweet alyssum, sunflowers, calendula, and cosmos lure in pollinators and the beneficial insects that help keep aphids and other bad bugs in check.
Soil test
Test your soil for pH to see if any amendments are necessary.
A general rule of thumb is to add 2 kg of lime per 20 sq meters (100 sq. ft.) of garden for every pH point below 6.5, or 1 lb. of sulfur per 100 sq. ft. for every pH point above 7.5.

Sawdust, composted oak leaves, wood chips, peat moss, cottonseed meal, and leaf mold lower the pH while ashes of hardwoods, bone meal, crushed marble, and crushed oyster shells raise the pH. The best way to adjust pH is gradually, over several seasons.
               
Regards and happy gardening



POST NOTE
If you have not had a soil test conducted for your garden area, and then it is difficult to manage the nutrients. A basic soil analysis cost about Rs.200.00 and will give you valuable information to better manage your landscape and vegetable garden. Soil tests should be repeated at least every three years.

Nitrogen is the most limiting nutrient for plant growth. Symptoms of nitrogen deficiency might include undersized growth, and pale or yellow leaves with the lower leaves affected first. Stems are spindly and upright.

Phosphorus is needed for root growth and fruiting. Applying too much of this element is the most common mistake made in Texas landscapes and gardens. Phosphorus is easily tied up in the soil and is not available for the plant to uptake. Too much phosphorus in the soil can actually tie up Zinc and Iron which can lead to plant decline. Symptoms of a Phosphorus deficiency might include a purplish coloring of the leaves, especially on the underside; thin, shortened stems and stunted growth.


Potassium is very mobile in the soil and this element helps to improve a plant’s water uptake and upright growth. Symptoms of a Potassium deficiency might include gray or tan areas along the leaf margins or a scorched appearance along the leaf margin which is the outer edge of the leaf, and a general yellowing of the leaves.

Fertilisers are identified with an analysis on the package which represents the amount of the element present in the formulation. The amount is based on the percentage by weight. It is represented as three numbers such as 10-10-10, and these numbers represented in this order – the amount of nitrogen (N), phosphorus in the form of phosphate (P2O5) and the amount of potassium in the form of potash (K2O).



High-nitrogen fertilisers are those where the first number is larger that the other two in the analysis. By using this type of fertilizer, you can expect that this will stimulate leaf and stem growth. Use this for your leafy vegetables.

If the middle number (P) is larger that the other two in the analysis, then you can expect that this will stimulate root growth, flowering and fruiting. Use this on your fruit and root crops.

 With the third number of the analysis which represents potassium, this element helps to improve the hardiness of the plant to stand up to temperature extremes.

• It is a mistake to believe that if a little works, then a lot more will do a better job. Too much of a good thing can be bad! Follow the lowest recommended rate and observe how your plants respond, then adjust as needed. But, never exceed the recommended rate in applying fertilizers or any chemical product such as a pesticide or herbicide.

• Which fertiliser product should you choose? Foliar sprays are not the best choice in applying fertilisers because the leaves are not as efficient as the roots in absorbing nutrients. Apply fertilisers where they are most needed – at the roots.

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