Yikes. I have so much to do I have to sit down when I try to think of it all! Thanks to the weather, I didn't get a start on my spring garden to do list until one week ago, so I am a little behind! And May is the busiest gardening month of the year anyway! OK Janice, take a deep breath, sit down and do some prioritizing. Here's what you need to get done:
April to-do list:
- Lightly rake the lawn with a fan rake. The lawn has been pretty wet until now so I haven't done it yet. Fortunatley, it's a small job as I have a small lawn. Hopefully this week...
- Cut down last year's perennials. Not a small job. I only just starting doing this and I need to get it done in the next week because for certain plants such as ornamental grasses, it gets harder to cut the old stuff out when the new stuff is already growing. And things are actually starting to grow out there!
Ornamental garden in May:
- This is prime perennial-moving and planting time. I try to get all my major planting done this month as moving things in the heat of summer can be very stressful on plants. Plus, June is our rainiest month so the things planted now are well-established and well-watered before they have to experience the hot summer. I will be adding some junipers to the front garden this year and moving a few things around - stay posted!
- Gradually pull the winter mulch of chopped leaves off the perennial gardens. Put them in the compost.
- Edge beds to make a clean line and define them well. This makes such a visual difference!
- Weed, weed, weed. Dandelions are already greening up out there and so is the grass, long before many perennials start to get big, so this is the easiest time to get in there and do a thorough weeding. It may not be fun, but you'll thank yourself later if you get it done now!
- On warm days, put seedlings outside to begin hardening them off.
Vegetable garden in May:
- Sow veggie seeds all month according to this schedule - when to plant vegetable seeds in Calgary.
- Water daily until seeds have germinated.
Lawn in May:
- This is my lowest priority but since I'll have some extra compost lying around this year, I'll rake it over the lawn sometime after Mother's Day for a good, organic slow-release fertilizer.
Comments