Are we there yet?

May 2014

Pickaway to Garden

 

Are we there yet?

 

By Paul Hang

 

Are we there yet is a question any parent has heard when on a road trip. It also seems like an appropriate question on our annual journey of seasonal changes. Is it Spring yet? May usually means we have arrived. I think you can cut yourself out of your long underwear, change your breakfast from oatmeal to cheerios, and begin to plant a garden. No guarantees of course. We are past our new average last frost date of April 23^rd. By early May the chance of frost is about 30%. Memorial Day weekend used to be a traditional time to plant a garden. By then we were almost guaranteed that we were frost free. Almost. With climate change it seemed we were headed for earlier springs and able to get a jump on gardening. Not this year. Climate change means extremes will be more frequent and more extreme. It doesn’t guarantee steadily warmer and earlier planting seasons.

 

Are we there yet? Taking a hint from politicians, it depends on what your definition of there is. If you mean the season of spring then, yes we are there. If you mean we are out of the woods and   can put out those hundred tomato plants without fear of frost, then no, we are not there yet. Keeping with the politician theme, the future of a frost yet this spring is a known unknown.

 

This winter has been brutal on my plants. I have an expensive Sango Kaku Japanaese Maple that appears to be dead. Also My three Fothergilla shrubs, a Brandywine viburnum and a Winterberry Ilex all appear to be dead. Scratching the bark to not see underlying green seems to confirm my suspicion. Will I immediately pull them out or cut them down? No, I’ll wait and see and hope. I am not there yet.

 

On May 17th, 9am to 1pm the Pickaway County Master Gardener Volunteers will hold our annual Plant Sale at the library parking lot on N. Court St. It is a good opportunity to purchase some varieties of plants not always available commercially. It is also a good time and will get you in the mood to start planting if you haven't already been so motivated. Also our Helpline can be reached by calling 474-7534. A local master gardener will get back to you.

 

Also on May 17, after you attend the plant sale, the Circleville Giant Pumpkin Growers will give away quality pumpkin plants to first time growers who live within a 21 mile radius of Roundtown. If you grow a pumpkin from these plants and enter it in the weigh in at the Pumpkin Show you will be eligible for a first time grower's cash prize of $200 for the heaviest pumpkin, $150 for second place and $100 for third place. Plants will be distributed at Rhoads Market at 1pm. A seminar on growing these giant gourds will also be offered then. RSVP to Dr. Bob Liggett at 740-474-3682 or Cecil Weston at 740-412-0813 before May 8th.

 

June 4^th Pickaway County Master Gardener Volunteers will hold its second annual Founders Day Celebration. The topic is Gardening for Pollinators. The speaker will be Denise Ellsworth who directs the honeybee and native pollinator education program through the OSU Department of Entomology on the OARDC campus in Wooster. The program begins at 7pm at Trinity Lutheran Church, Noecker Hall on E. Mound St. Circleville.

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

If you haven't already, this month you can direct seed corn, beans, potatoes, melons, cucumbers and squash. Those last three are usually planted in "hills" in groups of three or four plants. Place cheesecloth or row cover cloth over them until they are lifted up by the growing vines. With any luck you will have prevented the cucumber beetles from invading the plants.

 

You can set out tomato, pepper and eggplant plants. There is still a chance of frost but as we go through the month the chances become less and less. Be prepared to cover those tender plants if frost threatens. Don't be tempted to overfertilize tomatoes, extra nitrogen will delay ripening.

 

Harden off the houseplants you plan to put outside for the summer. A period of transitioning to the new environment will help assure their health and vigor.

 

You can divide and move perennials. As the soil warms (50 degrees) you can plant summer-flowering bulbs such as caladiums, cannas, dahlias, and gladioluses. Some start them earlier indoors to get a head start.

 

Stake plants that need it. If you stake your tomatoes put the stakes in before you plant to avoid damaging those new tender roots.

 

You can begin spraying roses for black spot following the directions on the product.

 

Cut the seed pods off your lilacs, but do not prune the stems. If your lilacs are getting overgrown and leggy, cut the stems at the ground. Do this to a third of the stems this year, a third next year and the final third the year after that. This way you will rejuvenate the bushes.

 

Thin apples, peaches and other tree fruit (not cherries) to a fruit every six inches. Remember "June drop." It is a time when fruit trees rid themselves of excess fruit which the tree cannot support. This is a natural process.

 

Mulch your beds after the soil has warmed. When you set out those tender plants protect against cutworms that can wreak havoc on new transplants. Use collars of aluminum foil, plastic, cardboard or other material to encircle the stem. The collars should extend into the soil an inch and above an inch or two. There are cultural practices and pesticides that can help control these pests (Google "cutworms extension"), however collars will protect your plants immediately.