Sam Says for May 2018
– Keep your suet feeders filled. Many parenting birds will bring their young near the feeder to feed them.
– Prune azaleas, rhododendrons, lilac, forsythia and other early blooming shrubs after they bloom.
– This month is a good time to over seed your entire lawn or just touch up the bare spots. Whether or not you aerate first be sure to fertilize and cover the seed with one-eighth to one-quarter inch of Black Forest Compost. The compost will help keep the seed warm and moist until it germinates and it will hide the seed from the birds.
– Prune off last year’s fronds on evergreen ferns. Be careful not to damage the newly emerging fronds (fiddleheads).
– The first of May is one of four times a year recommended to apply fertilizer to your lawn. We recommend Dr. Earth Super Natural Lawn Food or Gardener in Bloome Organic Lawn Fertilizer. The other three times recommended to fertilize are mid-June, mid-September and about the 25th of November.
– Sow seed for beans, corn, squash and cucumbers.
– Plant Dahlias in a sunny location with well-drained soil. Add Dr. Earth Fish Bone Meal or a 5-l0-l0 fertilizer for improved flower production. Do not water until first shoots appear. Watering to early can result in tubers rotting. Once the plants are growing water them deeply once a week and fertilize them every other week. Keep spent flowers pruned off.
