May, 2010
In This Issue:
Mark's Choice Product of the Month
Where is Mark this Month
On-line tree atlas
Composting Garden Party
Mosquitos & Mojitos
Made for Shade
For the Birds
Gardens of Uxbridge Tour
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"All gardeners live in beautiful places
Because they made them so.”
~ Joseph Joubert
It is the month of May. Time to get serious about the garden.
I don’t quite mean this the way that it sounds: serious is not a word that we should ever attach to the gardening experience. After all, you got into this thing for the fun of it right? May is the month that we really dig in, if a great looking garden is in the plan for this year at all. That is what I mean.
As I travel the country talking with gardeners it is becoming clear to me that the emerging generation of gardeners have some lessons to teach those of us who have been doing this for a time: #1 “There are no rules”.
We now mix up vegetable plants with perennials – in the same container! And most every plant that goes in the garden also goes into containers… and most everything that can hold some soil is a container for planting most everything else. No rules.
However, Mother Nature is not to be messed with. There are some things that we do in May because this is the best time to do it.
We sow vegetable seeds in May. Including potatoes.
We plant perennials and roses in May.
We plant annuals in late May (and June).
We take this last opportunity to thicken the lawn in May.
We plant our containers in May (because the earlier we plant them, the better they look come summer).
We move bare root plants in May – we plant strawberries, raspberries and ‘mail order’ roses in May.
In short: we get a serious start to the gardening season in May (dang –there is that ‘serious’ word again!).
Where to start: THAT is the question!
Vegetables to plant:
For most of us Canadian gardeners it helps to look at May as two months – early (when frost can still occur) and late (when the threat of frost is much less likely).
Plant in the first half: all ‘frost hardy’ vegetable seeds. There are many that thrive in cool soil and will tolerate some frost once out of the ground.
Radish, carrots, all members of the onion family including spring sets, Spanish onions, leeks and multipliers. Plant peas now, both the ‘snow’ peas and the podded peas, (plus, for the record Sweat Peas), lettuce – leaf, head and bib varieties, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts (providing you can find someone to eat them). In fact virtually all of the ‘gassy vegetables can be planted early –like now.
Later, when the threat of frost is no longer a consideration plant out your tomato plants and peppers, seed potatoes, squash, pumpkins and beans. Corn should be planted when the leaves of your oak trees are the size of a squirrel’s ear. If you lack squirrels, come over to my place and help yourself.
Perennials.
All perennials can be planted in your garden this time of year. I recommend that you choose the plants sold in smaller pots – sometimes called ‘starter’ pots as they will quickly fill in while planted in your garden: there is no reason to pay the extra for the larger potted plants until early summer when you will be playing catch up, growth-wise.
Right now you can split many perennials. Hosta, daylilies, monarda and most anything else that comes back year after year is a good bet. Peonies should be dug up and divided in September and German Iris should be divided in mid August.
When digging up well established perennials it is not necessary to take a lot of care with the roots as the plant will spread out and make new ones quite readily. A hosta that needs dividing is dug out of the ground as one large root and literally sliced in half with a sharp spade and then into quarters again with a sharp spade or an old kitchen knife. Plant the quarters out and space the plants at least 25 to 50 cm apart. Or give them away to friends!
Containers.
I have a way to cut your watering down by up to one half this summer. Water Wicks are a new product in the Mark’s Choice line up that I am very excited about. Each ‘Water Wick’ tea bag absorbs up to 400 times its’ weight in water.
 When you prepare a hole for planting, drop a pre-moistened Water Wick tea bag into the bottom of the hole and place the plant directly on top of it. Firm the soil around the plant as per usual. Now, as the soil dries out the plant will draw moisture from the Water Wick. When you water your plants the Water Wick is automatically recharged with water.
The results are that you will water much less and your plants will become deeply rooted in their search for water at the bottom of the planting hole.
How do we know these work? We tested them ourselves. But not until the Ontario Flower Growers applied them to over one million potted plants that were shipped to retailers across the country.The Water Wick concept was such a hit that reforestation projects are now using them when planting tree seedlings. We (Home Hardware and I) have the exclusive use of the product in the retail market.
Give them a try and let me know what you think. I have used them in the veggie garden, under newly planted perennials and in containers with great success.
Water Wicks are made in Canada and are a 100% Canadian concept!
More information visit www.markcullen.com.
The BEST Wheel Barrow. Ever. It took us a while to perfect this one, but the new Mark’s Choice wheel barrow is a winner. I know this because my wife has claimed mine as her own.
 It has a generous 5 cubic foot capacity, a low centre of gravity (so it will not tip unless you really try), it is perfectly balanced (the part that we worked on the longest), it has two heavy duty wheels, a thick gage high impact plastic hopper and a comfortable wrap around handle for ‘one handled’ work (so you can hold a beer in one hand and walk a load around the yard with the other!).
Like I said: THE best ever. For more information go to www.markcullen.com or www.homehardware.ca.
Compost Week!
The first week of May is Compost Week across Canada. Learn the importance of knowing your soil and celebrate the miracle of compost at a special event near you, including the Stone Soup event in Toronto May 2 nd. For details go to www.compost.org.
Feed your Roses and Perennials:
Roses and perennials enjoy a dose of fertilizer in May. Look for the new Once and Done fertilizers from C.I.L. You only apply them once by spreading a small amount over the surface of the soil according to directions. Every time that you water or it rains a mild solution of fertilizer moves down to the root zone of the plant. It is finished working at the end of the season. Great for people with a cottage or who just enjoy not having to think of one more thing…. Like having a car that does not need an oil change every 5,000 kilometers.
Seed your Lawn.
If you have thin patches in your lawn it is best to thicken them with some fresh Golfgreen grass seed in May, while the soil is still cool and damp. Try the new Mark’s Choice Lawn Soil from Home Hardware for best results.
Tulips and Daffodils in bloom?
Remember to cut some of your spring flowering bulbs and bring them indoors to enjoy on the kitchen table. There is nothing else that you need to do with your bulbs this time of year other than to let the leaves stand for 5 to 6 weeks before you cut them down. They will convert the energy of the sun into plant sugars and push that energy into the bulb to ‘beef it up’ for a gorgeous show next spring.
Here is where you will find me this month:
Come on out and say Hi! I am always pleased to meet you and to know what you think of my monthly newsletter.
 Wednesday, May 12 at Brockville Home Hardware, Event Night. Brockville , Ontario .
Tuesday, May 18 at Orillia Home Hardware Building Centre, Ladies Night. Orillia , Ontario .
Friday, May 21 at Geerlinks Home Hardware Building Centre, Garden Centre Grand Opening. St. Thomas , Ontario .
‘Til June, have a great one and remember, to keep your knees dirty!
Mark
Merchant of Beauty.
p.s. be sure to check out my weekly blog and podcast on www.markcullen.com. Also get direct access to my broadcasts on 680 News and CTV/Canada AM plus my weekly newspaper column in the Toronto Star.
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The event will be held in downtown Toronto at the historic Steam Whistle Brewery Roundhouse on Friday, May 7th from 6:30pm - 10:00pm at an incredible $30 per person and includes a complimentary welcome mojito. 
