May Gardening Calendar
at Garden-Helper.com

This calendar is available as a Gardening Podcast to take with you on your iPod or other mp3 player while you are out in the garden. May has arrived and with it the largest amount of work yet to be done this year in the garden. All Garden-Helper podcasts are available both through the iTunes music store and at Yahoo! podcasts.

Other Calendar Months

January
February
March
April
May
June
October
November
December

Bulb-Tone Bulb Fertilizer
only $ 4.95
From: GoodBulbs.com

Bulb Planter $ 4.95
From: GoodBulbs.com

Yellow Flowering Bulb Garden Price: 24.95

White Flowering Bulb Garden Price: 24.95

Pink Flowering Bulb Garden Price: 24.95

May Gardening Chores

Check here for a complete list of what to plant in May.

House Plants

Houseplants become the poor cousins to garden plants by the time spring comes into being, but your trustworthy indoor companions need some attention, too. Move your houseplants outdoors for summer by gradually increasing the exposure to sunlight they receive.

Many houseplants will appreciate a spring application of fertilizer to promote summer growth.

May is a great month to repot your houseplants and give them a larger home by transplanting them into a pot one to two inches larger than the ones they currently live in.

Lawn Care in May

If you did not apply a lawn fertilizer in April then you should do so in May. An application of fertilizer in spring will help the lawn with depth of color and appearance. Use a slow release nitrogen fertilizer and be sure to spot treat broadleaf weeds which may take advantage of the fertilizer.

Set your lawn mower at a higher level for the early cuttings. This will allow the lawn to grow vigorously and help dampen the enthusiasm of weeds.

May is a good month to fill in bare spots on your lawn by seeding them and keeping them well watered. The lawn in general, however, will not likely need watering and withholding water can help drought tolerant varieties.

Soil pH

Test your soil pH level to determine if you need to add ammendments.

Click here to purchase a Soil pH Meter

Vegetables And Fruits

Most popular garden vegetables can be planted early this month. Exceptions include tomatoes, peppers, egggplant, squash and other warmer weather crops. For these wait until mid or late May before bringing them into the garden. If you are growing these from seed, however, you may start them early.

If you grow strawberries you may begin seeing fruit toward the end of May. Be sure to provide them protective covering!

If your growing season is long enough gourds may be planted toward the middle or end of May.

Harvest any fresh aparagus this month until the spear size decreases to a tender pencil-thin size.

Remove rhubarb stalks this month as a measure for encouraging leaf growth this spring.

As crops that have been direct seeded begin to sprout sprout be sure to thin them out to avoid overcrowding.

If you grow potatoes then be sure to mound soil over the potatoes to help them with tuber growth.

Flowers

Summer flowering bulbs such as Lilies, Cannas, Dahlias and Gladiolas can be planted this month. Planting Gladiolas in successions spaced one or two weeks apart until July will provide cut flowers straight through until the frost returns in late fall.

Bulbs We recommend the use of Bulb-Tone Bulb Fertilizer to get your bulbs off to the right start.

Perennial flowering plants can continue to be divided and planted this month. Daylillies, Carnations, Primroses, Coral Bells, Phlox and Delphiniums may all be planted this month.

Annual flowers for summer color can be planted this month, typically about the same time you would set out tomatoes - in the middle to end of the month. Hardy varieties of annuals such as Stock, Pansies and Snapdragons can manage an earlier arrival in the garden. Because many annuals can be very hurt by frost keep an ear out for weather forecasts indicating chance of frost and cover your annual plants with newspaper or light cloth for overnight protection.

Mulch annual and perennial flower beds once planted to control weeds throughout the summer.

Planting and Transplanting

Check here for a complete list of what to plant in May.

Trees and Shrubs

Mulch around young trees and shrubs to conserve moisture and control weed growth.

Remove tree wraps for summer growth as well as any tree stakes that have been in place for more than one season.

Even in May it is still not too late to fertilize your trees and shrubs.

Early flowering deciduous shrubs such as Forsythias and Spiraea should be pruned back when they have finished blooming. One third of the oldest canes can be cut back all the way to the ground while the remaining canes can be pruned to one third of their original height.

Remove any sucker growth from fruit trees as they appear.