May 2007

Edible

Buy healthy vegetable transplants. Leaves and stems should be green and healthy without any signs of yellowing or browning. Yellowing or browning leaves may indicate an insect or disease problem. Gently remove transplants from their tray and check the root system. Roots should be white with visible soil. Transplants with brown dead roots should not be purchased. Check for insects such as whiteflies or aphids. Be sure to gradually introduce your transplants to the outdoor environment over a period of days, especially plants grown and purchased in a greenhouse. When you do plant, water your transplants in with a starter fertilizer that is high in phosphorus that helps to promote root development.

Think about using organic mulches in the vegetable garden. Mulches help to hold moisture in the soil and reduce weeds. Organic mulches include compost, shredded bark, leaves, pine needles, cocoa bean hulls and dried grass. Avoid using grass clippings that have been treated with pesticides. As the organic mulch decays, it adds nutrients to the soil and helps to improve soil structure and drainage. Apply a two to three inch layer of mulch around plants. Another application of mulch may need to be added later in the season. Dig the mulch into the soil at the end of the growing season.

Use a rain barrel to collect rainwater for your garden. Rain barrels collect water from downspouts on homes instead of it flowing into sewer systems. A 1/2-inch rainfall will fill a 50- to 55- gallon barrel. Water your trees, shrubs, flowers, vegetables and houseplants with collected water. The City of Chicago will sell a discounted Chicago Rain Barrel to Chicago residents only beginning May 21.

Ornamental

Periodical cicadas will emerge after 17 years underground at the end of the month. They will push out of the ground when soil temperatures reach around 65 F. The nymphs will climb the nearest trees, plants and structures and molt into adults. The male adults will start singing for a couple of weeks to attract females and mating occurs. The female will lay eggs into twigs and branches and six to ten weeks later the eggs will hatch and the nymphs will drop and move down into the soil to feed on the sap of tree roots until the next emergence in 2024. Damage to trees will be minimal. Hold off planting new trees until fall.

Sod can give you that instant lawn and can be layed throughout the growing season. It is more expensive than seeding a lawn, but is weed-free. Choose fresh sod that has been grown on soils similar to the soil in your yard. Lay the sod in a pattern similar to laying bricks. Water the sod after installation and continue watering until it is established. The sod will root in two weeks.

Now is the time to kill creeping charlie. Creeping charlie has kidney-bean shaped leaves and blue flowers. It is most susceptible to weed killers when it is in flower in the spring. It tends to establish itself in parts of the lawn that are too shady for grass. Control with hand removal or hoeing before it sets seed. Borax is often mentioned as an effective control, but Iowa State studies showed that it caused yellowing of turf. It also doesn’t break down in the soil, so that use over a long period of time will not allow anything to grow in the application area. Two applications of a broadleaf weed killer provides the best control. Be sure to follow all label directions.