Gardening And More

  January Gardening Calendar Start planning for Spring. January is the perfect month to start planning your garden for the current year. As a refresher for last year’s thoughts, ideas or plants you were thinking about purchasing, dust off your gardening journal to see what changes or additions you want to make this year. A garden is always evolving. Start looking at seed and garden catalogs. January is a good time to start planning this year’s design features and plants. Seeds and new introduction plants sell out quickly. Don’t miss out and wait, try to order your seeds or reserve your plants soon. Reserving your plant purchase guarantees the plant will ship at the proper time for planting in your USDA zone. Seed starting Kits. Growers recommend starting the seeds indoors in a bright location to get a jump start to spring. There are seed starting kits which are advertised as seed starter germination kit or seed starter greenhouse kit. The kits usually feature a tray, growing...

  June Gardening Calendar 2025 June is the time of year to trim your Big Leaf Hydrangea, Oak Leaf Hydrangea, and Gardenia after blooming. After trimming, use an Azalea and Hydrangea fertilizer and add a new layer of mulch for the summer and fall months. The flower buds are set in the fall months for summer months blooming. Your cool season vegetables have already started to bolt (bloom), which alerts the gardener the season is over for cool season vegetables. You can either pull out the vegetables or till them into the soil to enrich and add nutrients to the soil. We can start thinking about planting winter squash, pumpkins, gourds, okra, and southern peas. There is still time to plant heat tolerant vegetables tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and watermelons. These I thought are worth mentioning to try in your garden: Malabar Spinach is a heat tolerant alternative to traditional spinach and grows as a vine. The leaves in salads are fleshy and have a peppery, citrus taste ...

July Gardening Calendar Extreme heat began earlier this year than previous years. In the past five years, each summer we currently break last year’s record.   Extreme temperatures were recorded around the world in June 2024 and we have two to three more months of the summer. Currently there are 11 states that are under extreme heat warnings: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.  Lantana camara ‘Miss Huff’ The CDC recommends these precautions for anyone who is involved in outdoor work or activities during extreme heat weather. Drink plenty of water and don’t wait until you are thirsty. Avoid alcohol and sugary drinks. Always where sunscreen and reapply as directed on label. Try to avoid working in mid-day heat and ask if the task can be rescheduled. Where loose fit clothing in light colors. Dri-fit is a brand of clothing that helps keep one cool during work or exercising. Where a large, brimm...

January Gardening Calendar Basil Start planning for Spring. January is the perfect month to start planning your garden for the current year. As a refresher for last year’s thoughts, ideas or plants you were thinking about purchasing, dust off your gardening journal to see what changes or additions you wanted to make this year. A garden is always evolving. Start looking at seed and garden catalogs. January is a good time to start planning this year’s design features and plants. Seeds and new introduction plants sell out quickly. Don’t miss out and wait, try to order your seeds or reserve your plants soon. Reserving your plant purchase guarantees the plant will ship at the proper time for planting in your USDA zone. Seed starting Kits. Growers recommend starting the seeds indoors in a bright location to get a jump start to spring. There are seed starting kits which are advertised as seed starter germination kit or seed starter greenhouse kit. The kits usually feature a tray, growi...

  June Gardening Calendar June is the time of year to trim your Big Leaf Hydrangea, Oak Leaf Hydrangea, and Gardenia after blooming. After trimming, use an Azalea and Hydrangea fertilizer and add a new layer of mulch for the summer and fall months. The flower buds are set in the fall months for summer months blooming. Your cool season vegetables have already started to bolt (bloom), which alerts the gardener the season is over for cool season vegetables. You can either pull out the vegetables or till them into the soil to enrich. We can start thinking about planting winter squash, pumpkins, gourds, okra, and southern peas. There is still time to plant tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and watermelons. It is always a good idea to monitor your garden for insects and diseases. Early detection is the key. When you are uncertain of the insect or disease, take a sample to your local garden center or nursery. Fertilize tomatoes every two weeks with a calcium enriched fertiliz...

  May Gardening Calendar Deadhead spring bulbs after flowering. Let the foliage die back naturally. The nutrients in the foliage gets stored in the bulb for next year’s nutrients. Stay ahead of your weeding chores. The month of May is when weeds start showing their ugly heads. I recommend using a Pre-Emergent Weed Control. Just make sure it is recommended safe to use around trees, shrubs, and perennials. Some Pre-Emergent’s are also recommended to use around your vegetable garden. So always read the label to see where you can use a pre-emergent. The way a pre-emergent works is by preventing the weed seeds from germinating. Before applying a pre-emergent pull all existing weeds by the roots because a pre-emergent will not kill existing weeds. Use a weed-N-Feed for your lawns. Check the label to make sure you can use the product on your lawn variety. Fertilize trees and shrubs. After fertilizing apply a fresh layer of mulch. Applying mulch to your beds helps to keep the roots c...

                  April Gardening Calendar Start planning for Spring. April is the perfect month to start planning your garden for the current year. As a refresher for last year’s thoughts, ideas or plants you were thinking about purchasing, dust off your gardening journal to see what changes or additions you wanted to make this year. A garden is always evolving. Irrigation: In zones where your irrigation was turned off for the winter. Irrigation should be checked each year in spring. Turn on the irrigation to make sure the irrigation heads are working properly. Check for leaks, cracked heads, and spray direction. Some issues you may be able to fix yourself, if not call an irrigation specialist. Roses: Your roses should be trimmed between February 12 – 20, if you have not pruned your hybrid tea roses it’s not too late to trim them now. For more information on trimming, caring, and fertilizing your roses click on my blog article on Rose...

  January Gardening Calendar Start planning for Spring. January is the perfect month to start planning your garden for the current year. As a refresher for last year’s thoughts, ideas or plants you were thinking about purchasing, dust off Beans and Tomatoes your gardening journal to see what changes or additions you wanted to make this year. A garden is always evolving. Start looking at seed and garden catalogs. January is a good time to start planning this year’s design features and plants. Seeds and new introduction plants sell out quickly. Don’t miss out and wait, try to order your seeds or reserve your plants soon. Reserving your plant purchase guarantees the plant will ship at the proper time for planting in your USDA zone. Seed starting Kits. Growers recommend starting the seeds indoors in a bright location to get a jump start to spring. There are seed starting kits which are advertised as seed starter germination kit or seed starter greenhouse kit. The kits usually fe...