May 2018 gardening advice

It is time to plant potatoes!

by Jennifer Fairfield

Is April Finally over?! I, for one, say “Hooray!” I don’t know why this year’s crazy April weather got to me so much, but it really did – and I’m not the only one. Pretty much everyone coming into the store all month had something to say about the weather, and it usually wasn’t good.

 There was one person who visited us in April who had a different perspective, though – and it’s something to keep in mind for all of us. Our friend Eric Kampe, of Ann Arbor Seed Company, pointed out that, because we have had a very gradual warm-up (not the ones we often have, where we get a string of really warm days that gets everything growing early), we are not as likely to get unpleasantly surprised by a late frost that kills everything off, or at the very least, causes lots of things to lose their blossoms, like our fruit trees. So while I really would have liked it a little bit warmer last month, I can at least keep that in mind when I’m enjoying the blossoms on my cherry and apple trees this month!

With the warm-up this week, you might be tempted to go out and get everything done in your garden in the upcoming days. To that I say – slow down! There are certainly a number of things that you can get done in the early part of the month, but there are also a number of things that are better left for later – even the end of the month – if you want to be really safe.

Vegetables and Herbs:

• Among the things to wait to plant until late in the month are basil, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, and squashes. These warm temperature loving plants may not survive even a light frost, so it’s generally best to wait until there is no danger of frost. Our average date of last frost is around May 15th (possibly a few days earlier if you live right in town, and a few days later if you live in the more rural areas). But aside from frosts, even cooler weather can shock young plants, causing delays in their growth and fruit production. Waiting just a little longer than you might initially want to can mean that your plants will have a better chance at getting going right from the start. The best indicators that it’s a good time to plant them is when nighttime temperatures are consistently over 50°, and soil temperatures are consistently over 60°. Use a soil thermometer to check soil temperatures – it’s the most accurate way to know when it’s safe.
• There are some things to plant now, though – onions, potatoes, strawberries, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, and kale. Don’t wait too much longer, though. Once it gets really warm, you run the risk of cool-weather plants like broccoli and cabbage bolting (going to seed, and being inedible). Onions and potatoes need a pretty long growing season, so waiting too long to get those planted could mean that you end up with little or nothing to show for your efforts at the end of the season. Strawberries and asparagus will need all the growing time they can get this year, and into next year before you see anything edible, so getting them going early will help them get established.
• I’ve been saying it for a number of years, but it still bears repeating – you really should consider growing your own potatoes. Commercially grown potatoes tend to be grown using lots of pesticides. The reason for this is that potato beetles are some of the most destructive pests in the world of crops, and they are also very difficult to kill. So, potato growers tend to go after them with large amounts of chemicals. If you’re not interested in consuming lots of pesticide residue with your meals, growing your own potatoes organically is a relatively easy alternative.
• Seeds to plant now include spinach, lettuce, carrots, radishes, and beets. About mid-month, it’s safe to plant beans of all sorts. Squash, cucumber, dill, and cilantro seeds can be planted directly into your garden mid-month as well.
• When you plant your seedlings, start a program of fungicide immediately, and keep at it on a regular basis. We have had a lot of disease pressure the last few years, and the cold, wet conditions in April won’t help alleviate any of that. So, as soon as you plant things like tomatoes, peppers, and squashes, spray them with an organic fungicide (my favorite is the Serenade Garden Disease Control we carry at the store), and then reapply once a week – or more often if we are getting heavy rains. The only way to deal with these diseases is to stay ahead of them. Once they take hold in your garden, it’s really too late.

Flowers:

• Wait until at least mid-month to plant most annuals in the ground or pots. Some annuals can stand a light frost, as long as they have been hardened off, but if you really want to be sure, wait until you are planting your tomatoes to plant annual flowers. If you decide to chance it, just be sure to keep row covers handy for nights that are predicted to get below 36°. Frost can still form at that temperature, especially in low-lying areas. Why? Because air temperatures are usually taken a few feet above the ground, and cold air falls, meaning that the temperature at ground level – where your plants are – is colder. Using 36° as your cut-off for taking precautions means you are less likely to wake up in the morning to frost-damaged plants.
• Most perennials can be planted out any time now, but check with the grower to be sure that they can handle any late frosts we may yet see.
• Now is the time to divide and transplant late-summer and fall-blooming perennials that may have outgrown their space. Wait to transplant spring and early-summer bloomers until after they have finished flowering (best to do it in the fall). Flowering plants can put all their energy into leaf production and putting down roots in their new homes if they are planted when not in bloom. Flowering takes a lot of energy, so you could be stressing your plants out if you ask them to try to get established in a new space at the same time they are trying to put out flowers.
• Work compost into the top few layers of soil in your beds, being careful not to disturb roots, and put down a new layer of mulch, once the soil has warmed up, to help keep moisture in and keep soil temps consistent. Don’t put mulch down too early though, or you will keep the soil temperature cooler longer, which can stunt growth. Also, don’t just pile mulch on top of the stuff that is already there. The likelihood is that last year’s mulch is matted down from the snow over the winter, and piling new mulch on top of that will just add another layer for water and air to have to get through. Use a garden fork to fluff up the existing mulch first, before putting any new mulch down, to give air and water a chance at getting down to the soil, and therefore the roots of your plants.

Trees and shrubs:

• I’ve seen lots of forsythia in bloom in the last week or so, which is a sure sign of spring!  Once your forsythia have finished flowering, they can be pruned. If you let them go too long without pruning, forsythia will get very woody and you’ll have leaves and flowers on the ends of long branches, instead of a bushy plant with blooms and leaves throughout. Other spring-blooming shrubs should also be pruned after they have finished blooming.
• Plant trees and shrubs now to give them a chance to get acclimated before summer heat sets in. While fall is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs, spring is still a good time, as long as you are diligent about watering. Newly planted trees and shrubs are not as good at taking up water from the soil as those that are established. Be sure to put down a good layer of mulch when you plant, to help retain water and to keep the soil temperature even throughout the growing season. Just be careful not to mound the mulch up around the tree trunk like a volcano. Doing that can cause all kinds of problems for your trees.

Lawn:

• It’s lawn mowing season again! Keeping your lawn properly mowed is one of the keys to keeping it healthy, especially when we aren’t getting much rain. In general, the grass experts recommend keeping your grass mowed to three to four inches high, and cutting off no more than one third of the blade each time you mow, which means that the grass should be no higher than five to six inches tall when mowed. Mowing higher has all kinds of benefits for your lawn, including helping to prevent grub damage, shading out weeds, and retaining moisture during droughts.
• If you are seeing large patches of dead grass in your lawn as it greens up this spring, there are a number of possible reasons, and it’s a good idea to figure out the cause before you decide what to do about it.

Birds:

• With the extended cold weather we had in April, hummingbirds have been slow to make their way to Michigan this year – and who can blame them? The first reported spotting this year of a ruby throated hummer didn’t occur until April 22nd. In 2017, we had our first arrival reported on April 9th. Now that it’s warming up, you can expect to see them in your yard soon, so get your feeders out and fill them up – you don’t want to miss the show!
• Oriole feeders should be put out now as well. Along with nectar, orioles like grape jelly and cut oranges. Giving them a variety of their favorite foods can help convince them to stick around and nest in your yard. I am frequently asked if orioles only pass through our area on their way somewhere else to nest. The answer is no – they do nest here, but you generally won’t see them at your feeders once the babies are born, because they are busy catching insects to feed to the babies. However, they may bring the fledged youngsters to your feeders before they head out of town in the late summer, so leave the feeders out, if you want to catch a glimpse of them later in the season.
• There’s no need to stop feeding the rest of your birds for the season. While many of them will be primarily eating insects this summer, they will supplement their diet with food you offer, and will also take some back to the babies in their nests.
• Don’t forget that you can provide homes for the birds, too! Bluebirds, wrens, swallows, ducks, woodpeckers, owls, and more will happily take up residence in houses you provide for them. Each type of bird has a different preference for house size and shape, so putting up several types of houses will get you several types of birds.
• One more thing for the birds – put out bird baths now, if you took them in for the winter. There’s almost nothing as fun as watching birds in birdbaths. Adding some sort of movement to the water, with a dripper, mister, or wiggler, will attract even more, and has the added benefit of deterring mosquitoes.
• Actually, there is still one more thing I should mention for the birds – clean out feeders and baths regularly to help prevent diseases.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.