May Checklist
Prevent olive fruit set with Florel Fruit Eliminator. Spray the olive when the tree has just reached full bloom. Olive flowers are very small, so watch closely. Full bloom usually occurs in early May. Spray the whole tree thoroughly. We have the names of commercial spray companies that can help too.
Protect your cherry crop! Prevent wormy fruit. Start spraying weekly when fruit is still green. Spinosad is a spray to consider, It’s organic.
Feed roses now and every two weeks for maximum rose production. Use MaxSea plus Kelp Sea Life for the trace elements and minerals.
Thin apple and peach crops if too much fruit has set. You’ll get fewer but larger, juicier fruit.
Timing is important for grub control. If you had trouble with grubs last summer and fall, now is the time to ready a treatment plan for prevention. Treating your lawn in May with Bonide Grub Beater or Nematodes while the grubs are young and vulnerable is best. Use Nematodes in your vegetable garden.
Ladybugs and praying mantis to the rescue! Control aphids, beetles, scale and leafhoppers naturally.
Deep-root water trees and shrubs. Never depend on lawn watering to take care of trees and shrubs. Begin deep watering with a Ross Root Feeder now and continue monthly through the hot summer season. The use of soaker hoses helps deliver deep water as well.
Plant 4-inch vegetable plants and save several weeks of growing time. Remember to protect them from hungry snails and slugs with pet safe Sluggo or Sluggo Plus. Both are labeled for organic gardening, both control slugs, Sluggo Plus controls insects too.
Scale insects affect citrus as well as a slew of ornamentals. Adults are little stationary bumps on stems and leaves. Offspring hide beneath mother’s protective shell, venturing out as the weather warms searching for a new place to colonize. Control by spraying with Bonide All Season Spray Oil after removing visible scale insects with a powerful blast of water or a wet sponge. For tough cases, apply Malathion.
Do you have bugs on your vegetables? Use vegetable safe Bonide All Season Spray Oil.
Mulching does wonders for your garden As well as looking good, mulching conserves water and suppresses weeds and keeps roots cool. We suggest a mulch layer 4 inches thick. We are especially fond of Micro-bark because it looks good and breaks down relatively soon. Don’t mulch right up to the plant trunk or stem. Leave 4 to 6 inches of breathing room.
Whitewash the trunks of fruit trees with Tree Trunk White. Applying a whitewash coating to the trunk will reflect heat away from the tender tissue and protect the trees.
Regular feeding for Citrus. Citrus perform well with monthly light feedings of fertilizer specifically formulated for Citrus. This will ensure that your tree gets a nice even supply of food year round instead of occasional periods of highs or lows. We recommend Master Nursery Citrus Food, or for a completely organic approach, use E.B. Stone Citrus and Fruit Tree Fertilizer. Make quarterly applications of Iron Sulfate for optimum feeding and greening.
Use Turflon Esther for Bermuda grass control. This controls that wiry-stemmed, nuisance weed Bermuda grass. It also works wonders on Oxalis, a yellow clover look-alike.
Prep your roses for a second wave of bloom! Cut back and feed roses as the first set of blooms fade. Feed with Master Nursery Rose and Flower Food. Water and stand back since roses typically rebloom six weeks after pruning and feeding. For a special treatment, feed roses with water soluble Maxsea. It can be sprayed on the leaves and gives the plant a dark glossy appearance.
