May to-Do List

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by Eleanor Moyer, Clay County Master Gardener

Ready, on your mark, get set—It’s Gardening Season!!

  • Till garden beds, working in compost and soil conditioner. Add fertilizer according to soil test results. (The Extension Office has all the info you need if you forgot.)
  • Transplant tomato seedlings by burying them up to the first set of true leaves.
  • Stake indeterminate tomato varieties at the time of transplant to avoid injuring roots.
  • Many vegetables, including determinate tomatoes and most herbs, make great container plants for decks and patios. These will need more water and fertilizer than their in-ground cousins.
  • Fertilize the vegetable garden every four to six weeks during the summer, following label directions.
  • Sow seeds of flowering annuals like zinnia, cosmos, marigolds, nasturtiums directly into prepared flowerbeds.
  • Fertilize with an acid fertilizer and prune azaleas and rhododendrons after flowering. Be sure to snap off faded blooms of rhododendrons soon after flowering to increase blooms next year.
  • Begin applying aluminum sulfate (soil acidifier) to blue-flowered hydrangeas to intensify color following the package directions and your soil test results.
  • Mulch! Be sure to keep mulch away from tree trunks. Newly planted blueberry and other shrubs benefit from the moisture retention and cooling effects of mulch.
  • Do not remove spring bulb foliage, but mark the places that need thinning later in the season.
  • Pinch out terminal buds of petunias, mums, basil, etc., to promote bushier plants.
  • Put Dahlia roots in moist sand to plump them up for two to four weeks before planting outdoors.
  • Keep up a regular watering schedule. Most plants need one inch of water per week. Consider soaker hoses or irrigation tubes to conserve and keep water off the leaves.
  • Weed! Remove invasive plants like privet and ivy while young.
  • Fertilize flowerbeds with a slow-release formula.
  • Caladiums need lots of water and fertilizer to produce new leaves all summer.
  • Move houseplants outside. Repot and revitalize the soil. Start a half-dose of fertilizer this month.
  • Prune off crepe myrtle sprouts from the base of the upright tree forms.
  • Keep an eye on hemlocks for woolly adelgid (white, cottony egg sacks on the underside of leaves). The extension office has good information on controls.

Master Gardeners have their annual plant sale May 2, 3, & 4.   The Extension Office at 25 Riverside Circle, Suite 2, Hayesville has much more detailed information. Call the office at 389-6305 or visit online a

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