by Eleanor Moyer, Extension Master Gardener℠ Volunteer of Clay County

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.