PLANTING
- Annuals and perennials: direct seed or transplant. Allow transplants to harden off before introducing them to full sun. Try some Texas Superstar Plants, recommended by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service as performing especially well throughout our state; click HERE!
- Lawns: now is the best time to plant Bermudagrass and St. Augustine grass sod. Grade and smooth the area before installing sod to ensure good soil contact. Keep moist until roots are established. Seeded varieties of Bermudagrass may be sown starting mid-month. Keep soil moist until seeds germinate and grass has established a good root system.
- Herbs: basil, catnip/catmint, comfrey, fennel, horseradish, feverfew, oregano, thyme, rosemary, Mexican mint marigold, peppermint, lemongrass, lemon balm, lemon verbena, bay laurel.
- Vegetables: corn, cucumber, eggplant, okra, peppers, southern peas, summer squash, tomatoes, beans, and melons. Click HERE for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Vegetable Variety Selector for Ellis County.
FERTILIZING AND PRUNING
- Soil purchased for use in beds, low areas, and containers should be examined closely. Nutsedge and other weeds are often brought into the yard through contaminated soil sources.
- Add compost to beds. Mulch as you cut back dormant perennials. Fertilize with slow-release granular late in the month or as dormant perennials leaf out. Add compost around trees and fertilize. Be sure to dig out grass several feet from the trunk, ideally to the drip line of the tree canopy.
- Fertilize established lawns with an 8-2-4 or other similar ratio. Do not use “Weed and Feed” products.
- Look for rose rosette disease. New growth on diseased roses exhibits elongated/enlarged canes, reddish leaves and stems, and excessive thorns. Remove and destroy infected plants and roots immediately. There is no proven control for this fatal disease.
GARDEN WATCH
- Watch for aphids and spider mites. It’s easy to spray them off with a hard blast of water. Be sure to get the undersides of the leaves. Ladybugs and green lacewings will be chomping down those aphids, so watch for them and their larvae. Watch for tomato hornworms on tomatoes: squish or spray the plants with BT (Bacillus thuringiensis), a natural caterpillar control that won’t harm you or your pets. To fend off squash vine borers, keep row cover on and hand pollinate.
- Do not let weeds go to seed. Do not apply chemicals: pull them up or mow down before they set seed.
Make sure you HYDRATE, use SUNSCREEN and wear a HAT!