May gardening tips

May:

Rainfall:
Average: 0.1 inches
Record: 1.3 inches (1930)

Temperature (degrees F):
Average High: 93.6 degrees
Lowest High: 54 degrees (1915)
Record High: 114 degrees (1910)
Average Low: 63.9 degrees
Highest Low: 86 degrees (1983)
Record Low: 39 degrees (1899)

Things To Do:

Weeding:
- Summer is coming, bermuda grass is actively invading flower beds. 
- Stick to your fertilizing program. It is a good time to use acid fertilizer with plants needing it. Check plants for chlorosis (yellowing of the leaves). 
- Thin fruits, to increase their quality and prevent them from dropping as the heat sets in. 
- Mulch wherever the sun is shining directly on the dirt to keep the roots cool. 
- Protect your Sago palms from direct sun to prevent them from yellowing. 
- Check your potted plants, except for the toughest most resistant, they might need to be watered twice a day. Keep the pot out of direct sunlight to avoid cooking the roots. 

Maintenance and cleanup:
- Check your drip watering system for the coming summer heat. Verify the ground humidity around all plants. - Check your drippers every other day to see if any popped out now that heat is making the hoses softer. 
- Replace bedding plants like petunias that won't take the heat.
- Finish the cleanup of last winter frost damage. 

Citrus:
-Check that all the trunk parts of citrus and young trees that are exposed to the sun are painted white. This keeps them cooler and protects them from sunburn. Use white latex paint diluted with water (1 volume white flat latex paint for 1 volume water). 

What to sow or plant:
Balsam, Celosia Cockscomb, Cosmos, Dahlia, Four O'clock, Gaillardia, Gloriosa Daisy, Gourds, Hollyhocks, Kochia, Marigold, Portulaca, Salvia, Shasta Daisy, Sunflower, Thunbergia, Vinca, Zinnia 

In the vegetable garden:
- Plant cantaloupe, pumpkin, winter squash.

Grass:
- Plant Bermuda lawns when soil warms up in mid to late May.
- Fertilize Bermuda grass lawns each month beginning late April or early May with nitrogen according to the directions on the package.
- Apply Iron each month according to the directions on the package.
- Apply one inch of water per week to Bermuda lawns
- Once every two or three years dethatch Bermuda lawns if necessary. Only dethatch during the active growing season, May through August. This enables the turf to quickly recover.

In the vegetable garden: 
- Plant Seeds: Black eyed Peas, Melons (Cantaloupe, Muskmelon), Okra, Sunflowers
- Plant Transplants: Jerusalem Artichokes, Sweet Potatoes
- Place shade cloth over tomatoes.

Roses:
- Continue fertilizing established roses, liquid fertilizers can be added at 2 week intervals, follow the directions on the container.

Things Not To Do:
- Do not prune citrus except to remove dead or damaged wood and branches obstructing pathways, views, or structures.
- Do not use pre-emergent herbicides in an area in which you intend to plant seeds.

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