Gardening Tips

Master gardener Jeff Faria provides us with monthly gardening tips.

MARCH

Inspect firewood that has been brought indoors and not burned. Insects overwintering in the wood may emerge as adults if left at room temperature too long. They may fly to the nearest window as a few to as many as HUNDREDS!
Wood ashes should be used sparingly on your garden and lawn. Wood ash “sweetens” the acidic soil, but raising the ph level too high can have the opposite effect on plant nutrient uptake. Have us test your soil at a monthly meeting!! Come to March or April meeting to learn how!
Late winter/early spring is the general time to prune fruit trees and flowering ornamentals that flower after June. These plants set flowers on new or current years growth and include, rose of sharon, climbing roses and peegee hydrangeas. Pruning will encourage fuller plants. Early spring bloomers such as forsythia,lilac, azaleas and rhododendrons set their buds last season and pruning now will ruin their show. Wait ’til after flowers die back.
Early spring is the best time to prune many types of overgrown flowering shrubs and fruit trees. Begin by removing any damaged branches from winter winds. Then look at your plant from a distance. Plan to thin about 1/3 of the bush removing the oldest shoots from near ground level at the crown of the plant. Reduce height by pruning back stems to a side bud or branch. You may sacrifice flowers, but will have a healthier shrub as a result.
Prune fruit trees so a strong central leader forms and wide angle lateral branches extend from the trunk. Thin out 1/3 of old blueberry bushes as well as damaged or diseased branches.
Begin cleaning up beds near the end of the month. Rake your lawn to remove dead matted grass when the ground is dry enough. Re-seed thin or bare spots in the lawn.
Prune roses at St. Patrick’s Day. Use a similar technique as with shrubs. Remove darkened canes and any that appear hollow inside when you cut them. Hybrid teas and shrub roses will thank you for reducing their girth by about 1/3. Prune each cane at an outward facing bud just 1/4 inch above the bud and on an angle.
Choose seeds from plants that you would like to grow and read their package for starting them indoors or out! Some seeds can even be planted this month!
Cut back the old stems of perennials during March to invigorate new growth for the spring. Thinning many plants by about 1/3 of the oldest, woody branches will encourage new shoots.
Gently push back into the ground perennials that have been heaved by freezing and thawing of the soil. This winter was milder and many plants are showing early signs of life. Protect them from unusual damage by pushing them back in full contact with the soil.
Pruning of roses, fruit trees and perennials should commence this month. First, remove damaged canes, then asses the overall size and shape of the plant, while finally thinning out crossing branches which will reduce light exposure to the overall plant. You can almost NEVER prune too much!
Plant peas, beets, lettuce, chard, kale and broccoli this month. With this mild winter, I might push the envelope, but do not plant an entire pack of seeds. If you do not have good germination in the recommended 1-2 weeks, try some more seeds. Cover tender emerging seedlings with a sheet or towel if a night gets really cold once they sprout. Good luck!! Starting these seeds indoors and transplanting outdoors when there are 2 sets of leaves will ensure a more successful crop. This season is unusual, being the 4th warmest winter in over 100 years.
My mantra is, “10 minutes of weeding in March or April will save over an hour of weeding in June and July”. Getting early spring weeds before they flower and set seeds will reduce the second flourish of weeds later on in the season.

MARCH/APRIL

Start some seeds indoors in a sunny window. Choose some plants that will either look good, taste delicious or smell nice. Start them according to their package directions in some trays and potting soil. You may be able to transplant them to your garden once they have developed two sets of leaves, or thin them out in the container and grow them right inside, watching them develop into living green plants.
Although these early warm days may make you itch to get out into the garden, be aware of the moisture content of your soil. If it is still too soggy, try to hold off. Generally, if you can make a fistful and squeeze water out of it, it is still too early. Go back inside and order some seeds!
Treat for crabgrass with a pre-emergent fertilizer. Ask at any hardware or home center.
Prune your rose bushes this month if you haven’t already. Remove any damaged canes and any mulch which covered the crowns over the winter. Cut back weak looking canes above a living bud for hybrid tea roses.
Apply fertilizer to fruit bushes, spring flowering bulbs that have not bloomed yet or appear that they will not bloom. It takes a great deal of energy stored in the bulb to flower. Allow the green leaves to remain after blooming to help the bulb store energy for next year.
Sharpen your mower blades for the season and rake to remove dead grass (thatch) and other debris.

APRIL

Spring growth is early this year, so get out there on these beautiful days and evenings and tackle weeds early. Ten minutes of weeding in April will save an hour in June. Get the weeds that are beginning to flower and remove them before the next generation germinates!! Add them to your compost bin.
Divide mature perennials this month and share them with friends or create a new garden. Do not be afraid to use your spade and slice right through the root ball after digging them up. They will thank you later with renewed growth and vigor.
If your rhubarb is as old as mine, dig the emerging clump of crowded growth and chunk it into smaller clumps to replant. Amend the soil where it had been growing with compost before replanting.
Keep an eye on rainfall. Even watering of annuals as well as perennials will ensure strong growth through the season.
For a healthy treat, add dandelion flowers, violets and wild onions growing in the lawn to salads, sandwiches, soups or on top of your evening roast! You will get delicious nutrition for free from your yard.
Lawns need attention this month. Early growth is evident after the mild winter. Grub control and crabgrass pre-emergent may be needed now. Try to only cut 1/3 of the grass lenght each mowing to reduce shock to the plant. Wait a few days and cut a bit more. Rake bare patches and dead grass clumps before reseeding this month to reduce weeds from emerging from bare open spots.
Add 50 lbs of lime to each 1000 square feet of lawn. This will raise your lawn ph so that the grass will be able to absorb the nutrients it needs.
Rake away old foliage from irises and dispose of it. Eggs of the iris borer overwinter on this old foliage. Do not compost it.
Begin an aggressive weeding campaign now to reduce the chore later on in the season. I attack flowering weeds and dispose of them. One plant can produce thousands of viable seeds. Remember my Adage: 10 minutes of weeding in April saves an hour in July!!!
Sow your packages of peas, lettuce, root crops and other greens now. Try planting greens in blocks rather than rows for more efficiency. I also like to plant leafy greens in amongst flowerbeds to give variety and to confuse the bad bugs!
Spraying dormant oil on fruit trees and evergreens now can help reduce hatching of sucking and chewing insects if you have this problem.
Be careful when you transplant young seedlings, whether you have started them or purchase them because strong sunny days could damage the leaves. Move them to a semi-shaded and sheltered location for a few days so that they can acclimate to outdoor conditions. Keep an eye on their need for water. Also prepare to cover them if nighttime temperatures dip below 40°.

MAY

May is when everything really starts to grow. Your biggest challenge this month is weeding. Getting vigorous weeds now will mean less weeding later in the season. Try to pull them before they go to seed spreading many more weeds for later in the season.
Cover planting beds with 2 – 3″ of mulch to prevent weeds from germinating. This will also retain water and nutrients for the plant.
Mid-May is a great time to plant containers of annuals for placement on patios, steps and decks. Use fresh potting soil mixed with compost if you can.
Create a perennial (plants living more that 2 years) bed to reduce the lawn area in your yard. Perennials offer more diversity, habitat and ease of yard maintenance. Choose lillies, Perovskia (Russian sage), coreopsis or echinacea (cone flowers), which make a great tea!
Wait until the full moon on May 20 for setting tomatoes, peppers and tender plants unless you can protect them from a late spring frost.
Plant most tender vegetable crops by month’s end.
Staking tall and lanky perennials such as peonies, delphiniums and perovskia will allow them to remain handsome even after a hard rain.
Set your lawn mower on the highest setting to prevent crabgrass and other weeds from germinating. Most homeoners have their mower setting too low and cause grass stress. Taller grass will give you a greener thicker lawn without chemicals and deeper roots to weather droughts during the summer.
Your lawn and garden needs only about an inch of rain per week. Water a couple of times per week when there is no rain. Use tuna cans to measure how much water your sprinklers put down in a given time. This will save the environment and your wallet.
Use mulch to keep weeds from sprouting and retain moisture in your soil to help your plants thrive.
Even or regular watering of your gardens will build stronger, deeper root systems. Most plants require 1 to 2 inches per week. Using a rain gauge or empty tuna cans as guides will conserve your water and allow you to monitor the amount of water your plants get each week.
Fertilize your roses before their big June flush of blooms. Sprinkle the fertilizer around the base of the plant, out to the drip line of each plant.
Support peonies and pinch off side buds for larger main blooms. Maintain good air circulation to reduce fungus diseases.
Tomatoes and peppers thrive only when the ground temps are above 50 degrees. Usually this is not until late May. Reserve young transplants until the soil has warmed.
When planting beans, plant one row each week for a prolonged harvest. This works well for many other crops such as lettuce, beets, radishes, spinach, etc.
Save some seeds for later in the season to plant for fall harvesting.

JUNE

Cut off flowering stalks of rhubarb to prolong better harvest and side dress rhubarb and asparagus plants with a balanced (10-10-10) fertilizer when harvest is done for the season.
Fertilize roses after the first flush of blooms begin to fade.
Watering early in the day and irrigating the soil, not the plant leaves, will help prevent many leaf diseases. Try drip line hose irrigation with tiny side lines and small spray heads.
Old newspapers and salt marsh hay make the best mulch. Grass and straw work well, are plentiful, but may contain weed seeds or herbicides. Mulching keeps soil cooler and moist long after watering.
Apply slow release (granular) fertilizer to annual plants and container plants to keep them lush and beautiful all season long. Pick young veggies to encourage more, and deadhead to get more blooms!
Sow a second plot of broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, carrots and beans for late season, tasty veggies!!
Place a comfortable chair somewhere in the garden so you can sit back, take a break and admire all of your handiwork!! I’ll put a recliner in mine for a great nap, too!

AUGUST

Now is the time to reap all that you have sowed! Both flowers and vegetables are now producing and you can enjoy them fresh right now. Local farm markets have plenty of fresh, locally grown produce as well. Make the most of our new England summer.
Clipping off spent blooms from most plants will encourage more flowers for you to enjoy all summer. Discard any moldy ones. Compost healthy greens for use to amend soil later on.
Keep your gardens weeded so air circulation can be maximized. With all the rain, dampness is affecting many plants in a negative way. Remove any rotted fruit and discard. The sun should ripen most fruits and brighten our flower beds.
Be on the lookout for a tomato blight which is spreading like the potato famine of Ireland. The wet summer has increased the blight which starts out as blotches on leaves and stems. It appears as a canker and spreads to all tomatoes. If you get this, destroy the affected plants to stop the spread of this disease.

SEPTEMBER

Transplant shrubs and herbaceous perennials early this month. Water them well for the first few weeks. Divide and plant perennials and plant peonies in a sunny location later this month.
Plan and plant spring flowering bulbs such as crocus, daffodils, and snow drops now. Wait until October to plant tulips as the weather will be cooler then.
Fall is approaching and now is a great time to rejuvenate or re-seed your lawn. Weed seeds will be less likely to sprout, as they do in spring, and you will get a lush green lawn before the freeze of winter. In spring you will be “glad you did it last season”.
Start seeds of lettuce, spinach and radishes for tasty fall gardening treats. They will survive light frosts. Cover the plants at night if it will be in the 20’s. They should mature before any hard frosts.
Keep shrubs watered well in the dry heat of late summer. This has been a challenging summer with the record heat. Do not give up on any plants that may have gone dormant too early. Although they may look dead, keep them watered in dry weather and they should recover next spring.
Suspend any “green up” fertilizing. New growth will not be “hardened off” by the time we get frost. Natural amendments such as compost is about all you need for most plants now.
Deadhead roses for one more bloom before they shut down for the season. Hybrid tea roses use too much energy creating blooms too late into fall. Do not mulch roses yet. It will only encourage rodents to harbor there for the winter. Wait until the ground freezes to mulch them.

OCTOBER

Leave some starchy vegetables in the ground until after our first frost. The starch will turn into sugar in such vegetables as carrots, turnip and parsnips. They will be a hit on your Thanksgiving table!
Plant spring flowering bulbs this fall and cover with a small mesh chicken wire if squirrels or other rodents are a problem in your area.
Move spring blooming perennials that you want to relocate early this month. As a rule, spring flowering perennials are moved by early fall and fall flowering plants are moved in spring.
Lower your mower height to about 2″ and continue to mow through the fall. Shred your leaves and add them to your compost pile. They will break down and become a great mulch, or when composted, good as a potting mix, added to garden soil or top dressed over your lawn next year.
Continue to deadhead annuals and roses for continued color until frost. Mark dahlias and begonias before frost and dig them as soon as they get hit by the frost and their color fades. Gladiolus bulbs can be dug later, before the ground freezes.
Tulips can still be planted for next year until the ground freezes. All other bulbs should be planted by now!
Tender vegetables such as beans, cucumbers, tomatoes and squash will be damaged by frost. Semi-hardy vegetables like beets, carrots, kale, radishes and spinach will survive a hard frost.
Make notes about plants and changes you’d like to make for next year’s garden. Ours is to use taller stakes for our dahlias, zinnias and Bells of Ireland.
Continue watering evergreens to keep them hydrated for the winter. Use burlap screens to protect evergreens from severe winds.
Keep up with raking leaves to allow sunlight to reach the blades of grass. Fall fertilizers will encourage root growth of grass plants. Grass will continue to grow until a hard frost.
Now is the perfect time to divide, transplant or plant perennials in your garden. Amend the soil by adding compost and mixing it into the existing soil.
Plant flowering bulbs such as crocus, daffodil and tulip in an area that you will be likely to observe in the springtime. These flowers will bring a smile to your face after a cold winter.
Now is a good time to prune trees that bleed sap. Shaping dogwoods, birches and maples will make your yard and landscape more attractive next year.
Harvest crops like carrots, chard and turnip, but leave some to sweeten after temperatures drop in late fall. Clean up plant debris and only compost healthy material. Wipe and store cages and plant supports in a dry location.
Cut back ornamental grasses in the spring, leaving them to allow visual interest during the winter months.

NOVEMBER

Smash on any hard surface and roast in oven (no knives needed)

There is still time for planting spring flowering bulbs and the prices are coming down. Make them an offer! Get them in before the ground freezes.
Fall cleanup of perennial gardens should include pruning back tender perennials such as hosta, sedum and fox glove to about 4″ above the ground after the frost has killed their foliage. Woody perennials such as Russian sage, hydrangia and grasses can be left for winter interest. They will need to be pruned for shape in the spring once their foliage has sprouted.
After cleaning up perennial beds, top dress the area with an inch or two of compost. This will slowly nourish the root zone over winter for a boost next spring. Also add lime to your garden beds and lawns at a rate of about 50 lbs. per 1000 square feet. Our N E area soil tends to be slightly acidic. A 10 x 10 area is 100 s.f., so adjust accordingly. A ph range of 6 to 7 is ideal for lawns and most perennials.
Cut and destroy branches of plums and cherries that have black crusty swellings caused by black knot disease.
Mulch rose bushes with compost to cover their crown after the ground has begun to freeze. This will discourage mice and the like from harboring in the cozy mound. Mulch will help the rose plant slowly go dormant and stay frozen on warm winter days. Clip back canes only if they may become damaged by winter winds. Wait until St. Patrick’s Day to prune roses.
Secure loose canes of climbing roses to keep them from being whipped by winter winds.
Mulch garlic, strawberries and roses after the ground begins to freeze. This will help prevent rodent harborage over winter and keep your plants from thawing on a sunny winter day. Once they freeze, they should stay that way throughout the winter for their safety.
Wipe your garden tools with an oily cloth to help prevent rust.
Use leftover bright paints or spray-paint to paint the handles of your garden tools. This will help identify them when misplaced in your yard. It also helps you recognize them quickly when helping others on a garden project!
Cut greens for holiday decorations. Add winterberry, holly, fruit and dried flowers for an interesting display!
Protect your perennials and evergreens from drying winter winds. Water well, mulch, wrap or cut back to protect during their dormant winter period.
Cut back most perennials to 2 – 4 inches above the crown and mulch with straw or leaves. Secure all climbing and vining plants to their supports to prevent wind damage.
Dig tender perennials like dahlia, cannas and gladiolus and store them in a cool dry place. Too warm and they will shrivel. Too cold and they will freeze and rot. Use crates or cardboard lined with newspaper. Not plastic bags! Layer with sawdust or straw to allow circulation. Check tubers once per month and mist if dry or discard if damaged or decayed.
Do a final mowing and keep grass blades at 2 inches high. Adding lime at about 50 lbs. per 1000 square feet is the general rule. You may mulch leaves if not too heavy, adding nutrients back into the soil.

DECEMBER

Our warm fall has confused some plants. Cut blooming roses, sedum, phlox or any other strong willed soldiers you may have, and enjoy their blooms indoors. Mix with holly for a holiday bouquet!!
Store your dahlias, cannas and gladioli in buckets of dry leaves in a cool basement.
When the ground freezes, mulch roses, garlic and strawberries with compost for a nice winter blanket.
Indoor houseplants that flower need more water than non-flowering ones. Set them on a pebble-filled tray with water to protect from a homes dry air.
The average snowflake falls at 3.1 miles per hour. Get your shovels and snow brushes ready!