Gardening in Eastern North Carolina during May is all about transitioning fully into the warm growing season. Here are some tailored tips to make the most of your garden this month:
Vegetable Garden
- Plant Warm-Season Crops: It’s the perfect time to plant tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, cucumbers, okra, sweet potatoes, and beans.
- Succession Planting: Stagger your planting of crops like beans, squash, and corn every 2 weeks to ensure continuous harvests.
- Mulch: Apply mulch around your plants to retain moisture and reduce weeds as temperatures rise.
- Watering: Water deeply and early in the day. Aim for 1 inch per week if there’s no rain.
Flowers & Ornamentals
- Annuals & Perennials: Plant summer-blooming annuals like zinnias, marigolds, and sunflowers. Also plant perennials like coneflowers, daylilies, and black-eyed Susans.
- Deadheading: Remove spent blooms to encourage continued flowering.
- Pinch Back Leggy Plants: To encourage bushier growth, pinch back things like basil, coleus, or mums.
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Lawns, Trees, and Shrubs
- Mowing: Keep warm-season grasses (like Bermuda or Zoysia) mowed regularly. Avoid cutting more than 1/3 of the blade height.
- Fertilizing: Fertilize warm-season grasses now, but avoid fertilizing cool-season grasses like fescue (wait until fall).
- Pruning: Only prune spring-flowering shrubs (like azaleas and forsythias) after they finish blooming.
Pest and Disease Management
- Inspect Regularly: Look under leaves and around stems for aphids, spider mites, or caterpillars.
- Integrated Pest Management (IPM): Use physical removal, beneficial insects (like ladybugs), or organic sprays (like neem oil) before turning to harsher chemicals.
️ Other Tips
- Watch the Weather: May can still bring surprise cold snaps or storms. Keep an eye on the forecast.
- Compost: Start or maintain a compost pile with yard clippings and kitchen scraps.
- Pollinators: Encourage bees and butterflies by planting native flowers and avoiding pesticide use during bloom times.
