MAY

GARDENING TIPS

May brings warmer sunnier days, cooler nights and springtime rains, the perfect combo to get your newly planted trees, shrubs and perennials established! Here are some timely tips to make the most of your May garden.

Viburnum burkwoodii photo by Keith Kurman

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SOIL CARE: Feed the Foundation

Nourish your soil! Healthy soil = happy plants. Now is the time to enrich your soil with nutrients that support strong roots and vibrant growth. Whether you’re using bagged compost like Coast of Maine or Fafard, or creating your own from kitchen and yard waste, your plants will thank you.

Pro Tip: Test your soil! We’ve got easy-to-use soil testing kits in stock, so you can give your plants exactly what they need from the ground up.

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FERTILIZE: Give Last Year’s Plantings a Boost

Time to fertilize last years new plantings. Sprinkle organic fertilizer around the drip line (not too close to the base), where roots are actively growing. Organic fertilizers are best for slow, steady feeding and include secondary nutrients like calcium and magnesium, along with the essentials: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K).

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MULCH: Nature’s Blanket

Leaf compost is a great island resource to use in your garden beds! This imitates the annual forest leaf fall and provides established plants with all the nutrients they need. Use leaves from your own yard and and/or leaf compost (shredded leaf mulch) that we carry to return local island nutrients to your gardens. We carry shredded leaf compost (island grown) as well as bagged Coast of Main mulches.

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ANNUALS: Cool-Weather Favorites Are Ready

Get planting! These hardy varieties love the cooler weather, so take advantage while spring is in full swing. Ready to brighten your beds and containers.

Pansies, Violas, Alyssum, Calendulas, Bachelor Buttons, Argyranthemum Daisies, Osteospermum, Lobelia

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PERENNIALS: Time to Plant and Divide!

It’s prime time to start planting your perennials. Already have some in the ground? If they bloom in summer or fall and are starting to emerge, now is a great time to divide them and spread the beauty.

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VEGETABLE GARDENS: Plant Now, Harvest Later

Prep and plant those garden beds! May is the season for cool-weather veggies, small fruits, and fruit trees. These are available at the nursery now! And a heads-up, mid to late May we will be bringing our basil and tomatoes out from our production facility to the nursery, but hold off planting them until nighttime temps warm up a bit more.

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TREES & SHRUBS: Perfect Planting Weather

Now is a great time to add trees or shrubs to your property. Early May brings sunny day, cool nights and springtime rain which are all great ingredients to get your trees and shrubs established! It’s the sweet spot to help them settle in and thrive through summer and beyond.

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PRUNE: Out With the Old

Now’s the time to prune away dead or diseased wood from trees and deciduous shrubs. Focus on plants that bloom on new growth.

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LAWN CARE: Out With the Old

Want a lush lawn all summer? May lawn tips:

Water less often, but deeply, to encourage deeper roots.
Mow a bit higher to prevent browning in the heat of summer.
Apply fertilizer if you skipped April.
Lime your lawn if you missed it in the fall, this helps balance soil pH over time. Lime now to ensure a healthy fall lawn.
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Always think ahead when gardening. Timing is everything!

GARDENING TIPS

June is here and gardening season is in full swing! We have longer days of sun, warmer temperatures and the flowers are abundant. Now while working in the garden you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor, picking fresh flowers, nibbling on fresh veggies and berries, watching pollinators at work and enjoying all the summer scents.

VEGETABLE GARDENS

We are still in the midst of our planting season and this is a great time for planting! All the warm season vegetables can go in now: tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, beans, corn and squash. A second crop of most of the spring plants can also go in now: lettuce, arugula, carrots and beets. Stake vines and veggies as needed. Mulch or top dress around vegetables to prevent weeds and conserve moisture. Our new favorite mulch is Leaf Mold. Ask about it at the nursery.

FERTILIZE

If not done so already it is a good time to feed anything that is already in the ground. Use a time release fertilizer to avoid burning plant roots and give gentle nutrients that will last for several months.
Use organic fertilizers. The Espoma fertilizers break down slowly and are packed with micronutrients in addition to the three macronutrients Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium.
For quicker nutrient availability, water it in using a liquid fertilizer. Ask about our organic liquid fertilizers at the Garden Center.

ANNUALS

Plant out your containers, window boxes and garden beds with annuals. Don’t forget to deadhead your flowers to encourage more and enhance the appearance of beds and containers. Add slow-release organic fertilizer when planting, then give them a weekly snack with a quarter-strength liquid fertilizer.

WATER

Water consistently!

All the newly planted or transplanted plants need to be watered deeply 1 to 2 times a week depending on whether or not we get rain and how sunny it is.

The best rule of thumb for trees and woody shrubs is water once a day for the first week to get the soil good and moist around the root system. Then once a week for the first year if there is not a good rain. July and August are usually the most important months to water.

A “deep water” depends on the precipitation rate, for example holding a hose full flow on a shrub would only need a few minutes while a sprinkler that covers a large area should run an hour as long as there is not run off.

Morning is a good time to water because there will not be as much evaporation as when it is sunny and hot. It is a myth that watering in the heat of the day the water drops will be magnified by the sun and burn the leaves. If that were so it would happen every time there is a shower and then the sun comes out.

A 1 to 3 inch layer of mulch helps slow down evaporation and is very beneficial for plants. The mulch also breaks down over time and becomes organic matter which helps hold moisture and nutrients.

Vineyard Gardens can help you out with your watering needs, from a basic watering service to installing an irrigation system. We’d be happy to evaluate your needs and give a quote. We do hand water, especially newly planted beds or trees and shrubs.

MAY

GARDENING TIPS

SOIL CARE: Feed the Foundation

FERTILIZE: Give Last Year’s Plantings a Boost

MULCH: Nature’s Blanket

ANNUALS: Cool-Weather Favorites Are Ready

PERENNIALS: Time to Plant and Divide!

VEGETABLE GARDENS: Plant Now, Harvest Later

TREES & SHRUBS: Perfect Planting Weather

PRUNE: Out With the Old

LAWN CARE: Out With the Old

Always think ahead when gardening. Timing is everything!

JUNE

GARDENING TIPS

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VEGETABLE GARDENS

PRUNE

WEED

MULCH

FERTILIZE

ANNUALS

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WATER

Vineyard Gardens can help you out with your watering needs, from a basic watering service to installing an irrigation system. We’d be happy to evaluate your needs and give a quote. We do hand water, especially newly planted beds or trees and shrubs.