Gardener's Monthly Checklist For May
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Successful gardeners in Colorado and the surrounding region know there's always something to do throughout the year. Whether it's planning your layout, starting seeds, planting or fertilizing, InColor is here to offer key steps each month to help keep you on track throughout the year.
Now that spring is in full swing, your garden is ready for some extra help and daily comfort. Let’s see what we can do this month to help ensure the healthiest flowers and crops we can produce.
1. Practice deep watering
While it may sound weird, deep watering your garden is an incredibly helpful tool that is recommended to encourage deep down root growth. Shallow watering is the usual method and waters only the first several inches of soil. Deep watering can go down to 12" into the soil. If you have a sprinkler system, the best deep watering method would be to turn on the sprinklers for 15 minutes, then come check to see if the area being watered has any runoff. If water is running off, that means the soil needs more time to absorb the water. Turn off the water for 40 minutes or even an hour to let the water soak in, then water for another 15 minutes or until you see runoff. You can use the same principle to water areas by hand, it just takes some patience.
2. Plant more warm weather options
With the ground warming up, you can begin to plant fewer hardy, cold-resistant plants in your garden and focus on warmer weather options. Annual flowers like geraniums, dahlias, begonias, and marigolds can be planted now either from seed of from a container at a local store, just like the ones that InColor sells at Home Depot and Costco. You can also begin planting warmer weather vegetables like beans, corn, squash, gourds, and melons. Just make sure your soil is above 60F before you start your warm weather planting.
Be sure to read our blog: 13 Warm Season Vegetables For Your Colorado Garden
3. Do a lot of perennial pruning
Pruning is such a critical part of caring for our yards that it can be overlooked while you’re focusing on getting your garden into shape. Keep a lookout for any deadwood on shrubs, trees, and your perennial plants. Lilacs are beginning to bloom now, so keep an eye on them and make sure they’re ready for the new growth.
4. Give extra love to perennials
Be sure to give some additional attention to your perennials with some healthy fertilizer and maybe a new compost mix into their soil. Then top it all off with a healthy layer of mulch to lock in moisture and nutrients.
Be sure to read our blog: 5 Best Perennials To Grow In Colorado
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