The garden season is well underway and a few tips should make everything greener, healthier and fuller.

 

Fertilize the lawn. Many lawns were fertilized in May and they should be fertilized again, especially with the recent rain which drains the fertilizer out more quickly. Use a good quality fertilizer with the added minerals such as 24-4-16 a granular slow release fertilizer.

 

Fertilize trees, shrubs and hedges with a tree/shrub fertilizer such as the granular 18-4-8. The high nitrogen (1^st number) will promote lots of new healthy foliage.

 

Vegetable and flower gardens may need a second application of fertilizer by now, as they are really beginning to grow. Use a fertilizer with a higher second number as this promotes fruit and flowers. 8-20-20 is a good granular fertilizer for flowers and vegetables.

 

Hanging baskets and containers need to be fertilized at least once a week to keep them looking beautiful and healthy. A water soluble fertilizer that is added to the water when giving the plants water works best. Use a flowering plant fertilizer such as 12-36-12 for flower production, but you may want to use 20-20-20 once a month to help feed the foliage as well.

 

Deadheading is an important chore to keep your plants blooming. Remove the old finished flowers before they start to form seed pods as this takes energy away from the plant. Removing the finished flowers will also help prevent mold and mildew that can be caused from the decaying flowers, especially during the wet weather we’ve recently been experiencing. Also remove any yellowed, broken or diseased stems and foliage as quickly as possible to help prevent diseases from spreading.

 

Mildew has become a problem due to the wet weather. There are several products available on the market that can be used. The organic ‘Serenade’ and ‘greenearth Bio-fungicide tomato & Vegetable Disease Control’ are both safe to use on the garden and will help with mildew. They can be used as a preventive and applied every 7-10 days.

 

The early blooming shrubs that were pruned in the spring should be pruned after they have finished blooming. Regardless of how much or little pruning is needed Lilacs should have the finished flowers removed so the plants energy goes towards producing new flowers for next year. Other early blooming shrubs include forsythia, purple leaf sandcherry, and double flowering cherry.

 

Evergreens such as junipers, cedars and spruce are sheared this time of year. Shear only the new growth and this will keep the tree/shrub looking full and evenly shaped.

 

Keep up on the weeding. The weeds seem to enjoy the wet weather because they are certainly growing. I’ve noticed even at home that the weeds that were hoed are still growing, because the soil is so moist. Weeds can cause poor air circulation which then causes mildew. Weeds also take away important nutrients from the wanted plants and also could harbour pests and disease. A weed free garden is a healthier garden.

 

Have a great weekend and week ahead. Let’s hope that the summer weather is here to stay!