What You Need to do in the Garden NOW

 Hello fellow gardeners! Sorry for the delay in posts. It being the busiest time in the garden for me, I've been too busy to write! In fact, I've been so busy that I've been over whelmed with the sheer amount of things to do outside. So I thought through what needs to be the top priority now that it's late May. Perhaps some of you are feeling like you don't know where to start in your garden so here is what REALLY needs to get done before Memorial Day. 

First, keep your seedlings and transplants well watered. We're having a dry and warm May and I've been out nearly every morning to keep my babies wet. Remember that seedlings have roots only a few inches deep so if the top 2 inches of soil dry out, your plant can wilt. Early morning is the best time to do this. 

As a side note, keeping those seedlings well mulched will go a long way to keeping the plants damp and cool. I've been using bark mulch in the front yard to look nice and half rotted leaves from last fall for the back yard and vegetable garden. Works great!

Second, any trees or shrubs you want to buy should happen now so you can get them in the ground before the really hot, dry weather starts. High summer is a terrible time to plant anything really. This is also true of any transplanting you want to do or dividing up perennials. Having your roots messed with is stressful to a plant and having to deal with the stress of dry heat at the same time can be too much for a plant. So do your planting/transplanting now. 

Finally, you should aim to get your summer vegetables planted before Memorial Day. Especially long season plants like melons, pumpkins and cucumbers. In fact, if you haven't gotten seeds started outside yet, you may want to purchase seedlings at a local garden center. There are exceptions to this, of course. I plant my green beans and zucchini later on. The important thing is to see the "days to maturity" on the plants to be sure they can ripen before your first frost date in the fall. 

So, those are the three things I'm focusing on right now. I've ALMOST gotten my plants all in and I'm working on getting things mulched. This month has been so dry! What are you doing in your garden? Feel free to comment in the space below.