Feb
Feb
GARDENING CALENDAR – MAY
May is the busiest month for us with kinder weather and two Bank Holiday weekends!
Bedding plants make their first appearance in the early part of the month. Unlike other stockists we choose to hold back on bedding plant sales as they really do need protection from potential frosts.
We will also have plenty of plants for your hanging baskets, as well as ready made-up baskets.
All sorts of veg will be on offer from tomatoes, pepper and cucumbers and runner beans to packs of brassicas and other allotment crops.
Dahlias will also be poking their heads above ground and will now be on sale.
Planting
Plant ornamental cherries but keep them well watered.
Pot on petunias, salvias and verbenas grown in the greenhouse.
Finish planting up hanging baskets, patio tubs and window boxes – but do not leave outside until all danger of frost has passed, usually the end of May or beginning of June.
Plant out gladiolus corms and dahlia tubers. Add supports for taller varieties.
Things to do in the garden
Lower the height of lawnmower blades for summer cuts.
Lay new lawns.
Ventilate greenhouses regularly.
Protect young shoots on early potatoes against frosts by ‘earthing up’ or covering with fleece.
Apply a mulch around raspberry canes.
Push twigs along rows of peas to help with support.
Thin out rows of vegetable seedlings.
Tie-in sweet peas using garden twine or flexi-tie.
Hoe borders weekly to prevent weeds becoming established.
Get to grips with bindweed before it takes over the garden.
Remove blanket weed from ponds.
Boost trees and shrubs by sprinkling an all-purpose feed around them.
Liquid feed potted lilies with tomato food like Tomorite®.
Give lawns a top dressing of feed like EverGreen® Complete.
Feed roses with rose fertiliser like Toprose.
If you’ve bought bedding plants or tomatoes you can harden them off now by introducing them gradually to outside conditions, in the daytime only at first.
Keep a good eye out for pests and diseases throughout the garden; problems spotted early are much easier dealt with.
Keep a look out for aphids, particularly on roses, and spray where necessary.
Spray roses with Roseclear or Multirose to protect against mildew and blackspot. Because the disease develops resistance, it’s a good idea to rotate the treatments you use.
Hang pheromone traps in apple and pear trees so moths steer clear of the fruit.
Pruning
Trim privet hedges.
Lightly trim lavender bushes – don’t prune back to old wood.
Prune back forsythia when flowering has finished.
Remove sideshoots from greenhouse tomatoes.
Cut away flowering rhubarb stems.
Watering
Check daily watering as necessary.
Sowing
Sow carrot seed at fortnightly intervals.
Sow herbs like dill, chervil and rocket directly into the soil.
Sow runner beans.
Sow biennials (sweet williams, wallflowers and stocks).
Sow outdoor vegetables including beans, broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, leeks, lettuce, spring onions, parsnips, spinach and turnips.
Sow French and broad beans, sweetcorn, turnips, cabbage and carrots.
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Church Walk, Sturmer, Haverhill CB9 7XD
Tel: 01440 706416
Email: info@sturmernurseries.co.uk
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