January	July
February	August
March	September
April	October
May	November
June	December

 

January January is the perfect time to think about last year’s garden so you can look ahead to the new season. One of the things you will want to do is collect those beautiful seed catalogs, sit down with a cup of tea, and browse…find those “must have” annuals and select some unusual varieties of veggies. It is the perfect time to plan a garden and order your seeds. Not only will it brighten your winter days but you can plan the garden at a leisurely pace. If you keep a garden journal check it to see what failed and what thrived; knowing this will help you make better choices. Or, maybe you have a collection of newspaper and magazine clippings that you want to review. Armed with this information you can sit down and map out a plan for your plantings to reflect your passions and showcase your successes. Next, check your seeds from last year and discard any in bad condition. From what is left you can determine what you need to order, and remember, some seed companies offer discounts or free seeds for early-bird orders. Order only what you need. Another thing to do is check your tools inventory to see if you need any new ones. It is worth spending a few months talking to other gardeners, checking catalogs, and surfing the Internet before buying so you will know exactly what you want. Then, you should start thinking about the other plants you would like to plant in your garden and draw some plans. After doing this, send for some plant catalogs and start browsing. It is a good idea to order early because nursery inventories are usually in limited supply. February Even though it may still be cold, damp and miserable outdoors, an occasional dose of sunshine could certainly put the gardening bug into you. But don't be caught off guard, winter is far from over! If exceptionally cold weather is forecast, provide protection to early flowering or tender plants by covering them with burlap or some type of cloth material. Remove the covering as soon as the weather moderates again. Timing is everything when your goal is a beautiful lawn and garden. These February gardening tips and chores apply to USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6. Finish ordering seeds from garden and nursery catalogs. Continue planning your gardens and ordering plants from nursery catalogues for later delivery. Start indoor seeds of annuals which require a long growing season, e.g. lobelia, petunia, vinca, snapdragon, verbena, etc. You can purchase these later from your local gardening center, but it is much cheaper to grow them yourself and you can try unusual varieties that won't be available locally. Prune away storm-damaged branches promptly from trees and shrubs in order to prevent tearing the bark and other damage. Unfortunately, a few warm days can incite plants into new growth. If you are beginning to see life in your dormant shrubs, especially hydrangeas, be prepared to protect them for when another cold snap occurs. Tender new growth is much more sensitive to cold than their dormant counterpart. Covering large plants is difficult, but you can throw on some extra mulch or even a cardboard box over a small shrub. March March marks the beginning of the growing season, but not many plants will bloom. Look for the foliage of your bulbs and when you see a flower stalk emerging it is time to fertilize; use a complete, balanced fertilizer. If you have a witch hazel it will probably be blooming - depending on the cultivar, it may actually have started to bloom in February. It is too early for garden planting and transplanting, and don’t rush to remove the winter mulch – there are always late cold snaps - but it is a good time to put a couple of inches of compost on your beds. Here are some other tasks to accomplish this month: Start your winter cleanup of the lawn and planting beds. If you let your compost rest over the winter you may want to get it started again. Remember not to add any yard waste from previously diseased plants to the compost pile. Remove burlap wraps and other winter protection by the second half of the month. Pruning can begin in earnest but only for perennials that are not early spring bloomers. You can remove broken or diseased branches from any plant now. Get your lawn mower checked and its blades sharpened if you didn't get the job done in late winter. Sharp blades cut better and leave your lawn grass healthier. You want to be ready to start your lawn work in April. Sharpen and clean your gardening tools if you forgot to do this last fall. Start seeds indoors for broccoli, cabbage, and celery between March 1 and 15; for leeks, peppers, and tomatoes after March 15. You can direct-seed in the garden after March 15 for carrots, endive, escarole, green onions, peas, radishes and spinach, Resist the urge to start digging in your flower beds too early. You can damage the soil's structure. If you pick up a handful of soil, it should fall apart, not stick together like glue. When it's dry enough, you can start to dig beds and add compost or manure in preparation for planting. As soon as the ground thaws you can begin edging your beds. Fertilize trees and shrubs in late March or early April. April This is the month when your perennials will start to leaf out in earnest. There is much excitement…and much to do…forsythias will bloom, the lawn will green up, hellebores, apple trees, and pulmonarias will bloom, So, here’s a check list to help you get organized and keep things in perspective. It is the right time for many activities and tasks but others must wait for yet another month. Continue to prune summer-blooming shrubs. See Pruning. Wake up your roses around the middle of the month. Remove winter protection, fertilize, prune, and water. See Roses. Now that the ground has thawed it is a good time to get a soil test. All spring bulbs should be up and growing now; some – like the crocuses – are even in bloom. When you see the flower stalk emerging from the foliage, it’s time to fertilize. Use a complete fertilizer such as 20-20-20 or a special bulb formulation that is available from most garden centers. Tulips and hyacinths will benefit from removing the spent flower after bloom – a technique known as deadheading. Crabgrass will begin to germinate when the soil temperature reaches 50 degrees F. So, watch the forsythias and when they bloom apply a crabgrass preemergent to your lawn. Hold the fertilizer until after the first mowing. Seed, re-seed, or overseed your lawn during the first week of the month (if you didn’t already do this in March). Then you will have to wait until after the seed has germinated before applying a crabgrass preemergent. Perennials will appear in local nurseries this month. Till soil as needed for new beds and renovations and prepare the vegetable garden. Fertilize all perennials. Plant seeds in the garden for beets, carrots, chard, endive, kale, lettuce, green onions, peas, radishes, spinach, and turnips. Transplant shrubs, trees, and divided plants before they leaf out. Apply dormant oil spray to fruit trees [before bud break]. Cut back ornamental grasses. May Well, it is now mid spring and the perfect time to plant trees and shrubs as well as transplants, cuttings, and divided plants. It is also time to plant your dahlias…right at the beginning of the month and you will have blooms by early July. Another activity for the month of May is to plant your containers. It is also the month when our last frost date will occur – latest date is usually May 15. After that date you can plant tender perennials and annuals…but wait until Memorial Day to plant your tomatoes. Many perennials are emerging from their winter dormancy. Daylilies are greening up, hellebores are really growing and blooming, and columbine, hostas, astilbes, poppies and bleeding heart are all making an appearance. Watch for late cold snaps and throw a little extra mulch on tender plants if warranted. This month your roses will also begin to grow rapidly…they should already be leafing out…so that by the middle of June you will have beautiful blossoms. For your vegetable garden, plant seeds for beans, beets, carrots, chard, cucumbers, pumpkins, radish, and spinach and transplant kohlrabi, lettuce, cauliflower, celery. Keep up with the job of mowing, setting your mower to a height of about three inches. Don't remove more than one-third of the blades at one cutting. Water newly planted trees and shrubs, ground cover plants, and perennials if there isn't enough rain. Your most important mid-spring garden job is to weed. Weeds are growing vigorously so getting them now will mean less weeding later in the season and you'll also prevent weeds from going to seed. Cover your planting beds with 2-3 inches of mulch. Another important spring garden job is to stake perennials such as delphiniums and peonies before they've grown too tall (bamboo sticks and string do a better job than most commercial supports). Water your garden and your lawn if it doesn't rain enough – most plants need an inch of water per week. June-July It’s early summer…time to sit back and enjoy all your hard work through spring. Clematis, peonies, iris, and possibly roses are already in bloom and the annuals are ablaze with color. Of course, there is always something that needs looking after so here are some brief reminders: Trim deciduous and evergreen hedges. Continue mowing the lawn – keep the height to 2 ½ to 3 inches – and apply weed killer only if necessary. Apply grub control (the chemical is imidacloprid) at the beginning of June (no later than the end of June). Continue to water your perennials and the lawn as needed. Remember, the rule is one inch of water per week (this translates to one gallon per square foot). Deadhead perennials and annuals and many will reward you with a second or continuous bloom. Prune rhododendrons, lilacs, and any other spring-blooming perennials that finished blooming if you think they need it. Cut back yellow bulb foliage. It is also a good time to look around the garden and decide where you would like to plant more bulbs in the spring. You could order these now so you have them in time for fall planting. Pinch back asters and mums to encourage compact growth and more blooms. Roses need ongoing care so deadhead, water, and feed them. Be alert to insect and disease problems and call the URI Master Gardener Hotline (1-800-448-1011, in RI only) if you need help.

August August is the time for looking ahead to autumn...and to begin planning for next year. You are probably still harvesting zucchini, tomatoes, and cucumbers, but in the first part of the month you can put in new plantings of peas, lettuce, spinach, beets, cabbage, and kale. Seeds need to be planted deeper than you did in spring as the moisture level in the soil is lower. Your crops will also benefit from an extra application of nitrogen fertilizer about halfway though the maturity cycle. And, although the performance of your second plantings to be as good as crops planted in May and June you should be able to get a decent harvest before the first killing frost of fall. Here are some tips and tasks you may find helpful for this month: Take a good look at your garden. Is your perennial garden overgrown? Do some plants need to be relocated because they are too tall or the wrong color for that particular bed? Take notes so you can correct the problem. Don't depend on your memory because by the time catalogs arrive in January, you may have only a vague idea of what this year's garden was like. Remove foliage from early garden crops to promote healthier plants and remove annuals that have finished blooming for the season. Aging foliage can harbor plant pests and diseases. If you plan to do some landscape planting this fall, now is a good time to decide on the plants to use and how to arrange them. Autumn is also usually the best time for moving and dividing perennials, especially garden irises and daylilies. Add new bulbs to your design at the same time and order your spring-flowering bulbs now. You may notice a talcum-like powder on a great many ornamentals this month, especially roses, phlox, and lilacs. That's powdery mildew, a fungal disease that increases with high humidity, but while it is unsightly, it causes little damage to plants. Applying a fungicide now will keep the disease from spreading. It will not, however, get rid of the problem. If you prefer not to use chemicals, thin the plants to improve air circulation and lessen shade; water early in the day, avoiding water on leaves; reduce nitrogen applications to avoid excessive, late-season growth; and pull mulch away from roots and stems. Late summer/early fall (August 15 – September 15) is the best time to establish a new lawn seeding or overseed an existing lawn. Keep deadheading perennials to encourage a second flush of bloom. Annuals also need to be deadheaded to encourage continuous bloom. Continue to actively weed the garden. Water rhododendrons deeply once a week since they are starting buds for next season's bloom. Also, immature holly and pyracantha berries may drop if the plants are water stressed. Raise the mower setting to cut the lawn higher so it can better withstand hot, dry weather of the mid-summer garden season. Also, be sure to mow the lawn before going on vacation and if you will be gone more than two weeks, arrange to have it cut while you are away. Avoid deep cultivation in the flower beds because loosening the soil under the hot, dry conditions reduces water uptake by increasing loss of soil water and damaging surface roots. Take cuttings of favorite annuals or sow seeds in pots for winter flowering indoors; coleus, geraniums, impatiens, wax begonias, and fuchsia root easily. Many plants in the flower border make excellent house plants over the winter, including begonia, coleus, geranium, and ivy. If they are already being grown in containers, it is a simple matter to bring them indoors. Start moving them in at night when the temperature drops below 60 degrees F and locate the plants where they receive sunlight equivalent to what they received outdoors for optimum bloom. At the end of the month prune raspberry bushes, waiting, of course, until the harvest is over. Prune out the old canes to make way for the new ones. Do not fertilize at this time as this encourages new growth that will only be killed by fall frosts. September It’s September – there is a lot to do in the garden…it’s time to start getting ready for winter. In the vegetable garden we are still harvesting leeks and squash and celery and tomatoes. And don’t forget, it is apple harvest time. You can almost smell the pies and taste the cider. This is also a good time to record this year’s garden results in your diary before you forget how excited you were about a particular vegetable variety or the location for that new perennial you were thinking about for the bed behind the house. Collect seeds for sowing next year. Plant spring bulbs…the crocuses, daffodils, narciissi, and snowdrops that will cheer the garden in spring. (Tulips can be planted in late October when it is cooler.) Transplant shrubs and herbaceous perennials early in the month…they need six weeks before the first killing frost. Make sure to water them well for at least a week to establish their roots. Divide and plant perennials. Do the peonies toward the end of the month and put them in a sunny location. During the second half of the month, lift gladiolus when their leaves yellow. Renovate the lawn if necessary, it is the best time of year to sow cool-season grass seed. If you need to aerate or dethatch the lawn wait until after you do it to sow seed. Don’t mow a newly seeded lawn until the grass is at least 2-3 inches tall. Continue planting conifers and other evergreens. Start giving the evergreens extra water to hydrate them in preparation for winter. Take cuttings of annuals and pot them up for overwintering. Dig up herbs such as parsley, rosemary, chives, thyme, and marjoram and put them in pots now for growing indoors. Alternatively, you can harvest herbs to freeze of dry for use during the winter. Sow seeds for radish, lettuce, spinach and other greens in a cold frame. Pick pears during the first week of the month before they mature and store them in a cool, dark basement to ripen. If you are not planting more vegetables it is a good time to amend the soil in your veggie garden with manure or compost. You can also amend the rest of your garden and planting beds. Conifers typically lose inner needles during this month. It may be especially noticeable on pines. Feed your roses for the last time this month. October Fall is here and while much of the garden may still be blooming it is time to start putting the garden to bed for winter. Here is a check list for the month...then you can relax and turn your attention to the holidays. Fertilize the lawn for winter no later than October 15. Continue mowing the lawn until the grass stops growing — sometime in mid October. Don't be in a great rush to cut back all the perennials. Seed heads and foliage that's coloring up can be beautiful, and the seeds provide food for migrating birds. Just cut back plants that are diseased, those looking past their prime, or those that may become "weeds" if allowed to self-seed freely. Clean up fallen leaves and plant debris and put everything in the compost pile except leaves of plants that were diseased, especially with fungus. Continue to water your evergreens so they are well hydrated for winter. Mulch the garden beds to protect plant roots. Do soil preparation for any new beds you want to start planting in the spring. By the end of the month, wrap any evergreens that are exposed to wind using burlap. An alternative is to erect wind screens with burlap, hardware cloth, pine boughs, or other material. Plant mums and colorful ornamental kale for fall interest. Ideally bulbs should be planted as soon as possible, but it is not too late to plant tulips, daffodils, and crocus; they can be planted until the ground freezes. Tender vegetables (beans, cucumber, eggplants, pepper, pumpkin, squash, sweet corn, sweet potato, tomato, and watermelon) will be damaged by light frost. Semi-hardy (beets, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chard, endive, lettuce, potato) vegetables tolerate light frost. Hardy vegetables (broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, onion, parsley, peas, radish, spinach, turnip) tolerate hard frost. September is the month for dividing perennials, especially peonies. Harvest herbs and dry them in a cool, dark place. Make notes about garden changes or plants that you might want to move in the spring. Stop deadheading roses so they can begin to prepare for winter. Find out more about roses… Pick apples at local orchards and watch the fall colors. November This is the month to bed down the garden for winter. There are a number of tasks to do before the end of the month … the most important thing is to protect your perennials and evergreens. Here is your check list for November: Winterize your roses…click here for details. Secure all climbing and vining plants to their supports to avoid whipping by winter winds, which can severely damage the plants. Dig up dahlias for winter storage. Store tubers in crates or cardboard boxes lined with ten to twelve sheets of newspaper and, starting with the storage medium (slightly dampened peat moss, sand, or sawdust/shavings) in the bottom, layer tubers and medium until the container is full. Never store in sealed plastic bags or plastic containers. Store in a cool, dry place with temperatures of 40-50oF. Too warm and tubers will shrivel; too cold and they will freeze or rot. Check tubers once a month throughout the winter. Clean up leaves and other plant debris from all planting beds. Deep-water evergreens to hydrate them for winter. For additional protection, especially from cold, drying west winds, erect a wind screen or wrap the plant in burlap. Cut the tops off asparagus plants, and add a winter dressing of aged manure to the bed. Cover strawberries with two inches of straw. Secure raspberry canes to stakes to protect them from wind whipping. Do a final mowing to keep the lawn at 2 inches for winter. Lime the lawn, if needed, and give it a good raking to lift away accumulations of leaves and other debris. Keep the leaves for composting. Alternatively, you can just mow over them, turning them to a mulch which adds important nutrients back to the lawn. Drain hoses and put them away so they don't freeze and burst. Clean and oil your garden tools for winter storage. This is also a good month to restock any tools that have seen better days, while the prices are lower. Start feeding the birds and other small creatures that may not be able to find food due to snow on the ground or other causes over the winter. December Well, another year has rolled around and here we are getting ready for the last holidays of 2007. As the New Year approaches, we are energized because it is time to turn our attention to spring and start planning our garden activities. For those who can’t wait, start looking at those seed catalogs and get ready to start your seeds. Even if you don’t have a greenhouse of your own, you can put together a small nursery in your garage or basement…just take a look at some supply catalogs and you’ll be all set. Other things to look forward to are the RI Flower Show and the Boston Flower Show. It is a time for reflecting on the past, savoring the moment, and looking to the future with great expectations. We wish you all the happiest of thymes!