MAY GARDENING

            April showers bring May flowers and lots of gardening activities.  This is a good time to cultivate your gardening inspiration and dreams.  Visits to local nurseries and public gardens will stimulate lots of viewing ideas and possibilities.  As you plan also think about how you might incorporate some of those landscaping ideas you have seen on television or in your travels.  If you like it - try it!

PLANTING TIME AND TRANSPLANTS

            For those tender vegetable plants such as tomatoes, beans, peppers, squash, melons, cucumbers and tender annual flowers, wait until May 15 to 20 to plant.

            When buying transplants, the condition of the plant is often more important than its variety.  A good transplant would be at least as wide as it is tall.  It should have a stocky stem with dark green, thick leaves and, if possible, it should not be flowering.  Choose the best, healthiest plants that are free of disease and insects.  Avoid any neglected plants.  Use caution when buying transplants after a cold, wet spring because they may not have been sold quickly enough.  Avoid tall, thin and pale plants that have not received enough light or water. 

            Transplants, if held for a few days before planting, must be kept watered, since the small cell-packs dry readily.  Place plants under the shade of trees and remove dead flowers as needed to prevent decay if planting is delayed.

            Do not store plants in the garage where gasoline engines are started.  Build up of ethylene gas, a product of combustion, can cause leaf drop and flower injury.  High temperatures and low light conditions will also lead to rapid deterioration of plants.

Small Space Gardening

No Space For A Garden?

If you don’t have space for a vegetable garden or if your outdoor space doesn’t provide the necessary elements to produce the flower garden you’ve always wanted, consider the possibility of “container gardening”.  A patio, deck, balcony, doorstep, or wall can provide enough space for a productive, attractive display.

If you live in an apartment with limited outdoor space, you might consider doing a little indoor gardening.  By using sunny windowsills, you can grow a number of herbs.

Clay and plastic pots, planter boxes, buckets, ceramic pots, wooden or plastic barrels and wire baskets lined with sphagnum moss can be used for container gardening.  If a container will hold enough soil to promote healthy plant growth, use it unless it has been used to store toxic and hazardous substances.  Never use a container if you are unsure what was in it before you got it.

A fairly lightweight mix is needed for container gardening.  Soil straight from the garden usually cannot be used in a container because it is too heavy, unless your

 garden has sandy loam or sandy soil.  Clay soil consists of extremely small (microscopic) particles.  In a container, the bad qualities of clay are exaggerated.  It holds too much moisture when wet, resulting in too little air for the roots.  Also, it pulls away form the sides of the pot when dry.

Container medium must be porous in order to support plants, because roots require both air and water.  Packaged potting soil, available at local garden centers, is relatively lightweight and may make a good container medium.

Tom McNutt is a professor emeritus at The Ohio State University and retired TV garden expert.