May is a great month to be outside working around the house and in the garden. There are always things to do, and the following checklist are some suggestions to add to that overflowing May 'honey do' list.

You still have time to divide and replant clumps of perennial flowers before the stress of summer heat. Use these divisions to increase your garden display, start new planting beds or share with friends and neighbors as pass-along plants. But make sure you aren't passing along invasive plants such as lantana, Japanese honeysuckle or Mexican petunias.

Here in New Jersey, you will want to get into the ground tomatoes, peppers, corn, squash, green beans and melons. Mother's Day is the rule of thumb for planting here.

Some warm season vegetables such as okra, eggplant, southern peas, lima beans and sweet potatoes have a longer planting season and can be planted in late spring or early summer.

This is also a good time to apply mulch to the landscape and to the garden. A fresh coat of mulch does wonders for the landscaping around your home. The rich, even color makes the beds look neat, tidy and uniform. Mulch also protects the soil and plant roots from the fluctuations of temperatures and relentless summer sun. Less precious water is lost through evaporation if there is a two- to three-inch layer of mulch covering the soil. This is also important in the vegetable garden. Organic mulch will conserve moisture in dry weather, minimize weed seed germination and add to the organic content of your soil. When applying mulch, don’t let the mulch rest up against the base of plants.

Start checking your shrubs and flowers for aphids. These small insects are about 1⁄8-inch long and are usually green or dark in color. They feed on many shrubs, perennials and annuals by piercing the plant tissue and sucking out the plant juices. They love to feed on the new flush of plant growth that is abundant in the early spring. Some signs of feeding aphids are curled leaves or distorted flowers.

Many organic gardeners prefer to remove aphids and suppress populations by simply spraying the insects off with the garden hose. Once they are washed off, they won’t be able to make their way back to the plants. See "Don't lose Your Cool Over Summer Pests" below for more tips.

Happy Gardening!
Barbara

• Use Mother's Day as a rule of thumb for planting summer-blooming annuals and tender vegetables in outside beds and containers.
• Remove spent rhododendron and azalea blossoms and use fertilizer for acid-loving plants.
• Prune early-flowering shrubs such as forsythia, weigela, lilac and spiraea after blooming.
• Work lime into the soil around hydrangea to produce pink flowers or aluminum sulphate for blue.
• Remove spent flowers from any plant, unless you intend to harvest the seeds, as they consume plant energy.
• Remove any sucker growths from fruit trees as soon as they appear.
• Look for and control lacebugs with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil.
• Take steps now to control slugs in the garden.
• Pinch out growing tips of chrysanthemums to induce branching.
• Gradually introduce houseplants to the outdoors after the last frost.

Don't lose Your Cool Over Summer Pests

America’s most popular home crops, including tomatoes, corn, peppers, squash, melons and beans, demand the heat of the summer to produce their fruit. To get the most productive output from your garden during these months, you’ll want to be vigilant about a few things.

First, make sure your plants are getting adequate water. Most plants need 1 to 1 1/2 inches each week. Soaker hoses are a great way to deliver this water to the plant through drip irrigation as the water seeps out slowly. This method is very effective because it places the water at the soil level. Evaporation is eliminated, the root zone is soaked and the foliage stays dry.

Besides drought, the other major threat to your garden in the summer is pests. Fortunately, there are several ways to control any pests you may find. First, inspect your garden as often as you can to control populations and minimize damage as early as possible.

Be sure to identify the bug you think may be a pest. Only about three percent of bugs and insects are considered pests. The others are beneficials (good for the garden) or neutral. Whenever possible, handpick any pests you can. Dropping the offenders into a cup of soapy water will finish the job. This works well for most pests including squash bugs, potato beetles, and cutworms.

In my opinion, the second line of defense in pest control is to use the least-toxic methods available. This includes organic controls such as B.T or Bacillus thuringiensis. B.T is a bacteria that when ingested, paralyzes the digestive tract of certain insect larvae. B.T products are pest specific, so they don’t harm beneficial insects, and they are non-toxic to mammals.

Next in your arsenal of pest defenses should be insecticidal or horticultural oils. These products are derived from plant and petroleum oils, which kill eggs and immature stages of insects by blocking their supply of oxygen. Don’t apply these products to plants during times when temperatures are below 40 or above 85 degrees or when plants are under stress. Applications at these times can damage the plants.

Insecticidal soaps are another good choice, comprised mostly of fatty acids. These products act on contact by paralyzing the insects and work well for pests such as aphids, whiteflies and spider mites.

The best time to apply insecticides is in the evening. At this time, most pollinating insects have retired for the night, and pollen-filled flowers have closed until morning.

By then, much of the toxicity has broken down, and exposure to beneficials will be greatly reduced. Do not apply non-selective pesticides in the morning as this would certainly wipe out many lady beetles, soldier bugs and pollinating insects such as honey and bumblebees.

Summer is a great time to garden. Remember, knowledge is power. The more you know about gardening, the more confidence you’ll have to accept and welcome the challenges you’ll face.