Monthly Garden Chores for May – East Coast Edition

This is a guest post written by my buddy Heather from Massachusetts. I thought it would be fun this year to post Monthly Garden Chores from both the West Coast and East Coast. You can see my May garden plans for my Seattle, Washington garden HERE.

May – whooooo-hoo! May is where it’s at! Not only did I get to put all my cold-loving plants out, direct sow a ton, but the garden has began to wake up and it’s rained a LOT, so everything is doing well!

Seeds I’m Starting Indoors this Month

• Chamomile
• More Tomatoes
• Delphinium
• Echinacea
• Cucumbers
• Pumpkins {which in hindsight was way too early}

What I Plan to Transplant Outside this Month

• Butterhead Lettuce
• Romaine Lettuce
• Celery
• Tomatoes started from seed in January, cozily under the Hoop House 
• Brussels Sprouts {direct sow}
• Kale {direct sow}
• Swiss Chard {direct sow}
• Broccoli {direct sow}
• Peas {direct sow}
• Carrots {direct sow}

Plants and/or Bulbs I Plan to Purchase this Month

Marigolds, no one can ever have enough marigolds. I plan to thwart the chipmunks by planting marigolds in every box – they hate marigolds. I might even get vindictive and plant them in and around the rock wall buh-wha-hahaa!

Trees and Shrubs

I am very excited/relieved to report that the blueberries bushes I snagged last fall in a sweet end-of-the-season sale are loooooving their new homes under some large pines. I didn’t trim them this year as I didn’t know how well they had settled in and I didn’t want to stress them. Turns out they’re doing great and are covered in new green growth and flower buds. Hmmmmm blueberries!

At that same sale, I picked up three raspberry bushes that were labeled a “container” variety, which I figured would be perfect for the raised bed I planned to put them in. I just saw new growth today, so alls well in the raspberry container. Hmmmmm raspberries!

Weed and Pest Control

Hair Around the Garden: Free

After being the “weird chicken-lady” in the neighborhood, plus worms in my basement, plus the elaborate garden and canning… it’s all just very not-very-suburbanite. I figured, what the heck – might as well be that weird lady that picked up hair from the local hair place.

I used to host a huge Hair Cutting Party for my son’s LaCrosse team right before the season ending jamboree {a tournament} to give them all mohawks they would spray their team colors for the jamboree. Alas, they have out grown this tradition I had to find a new source of hair to sprinkle around my garden, which keeps bunnies and deer away (they don’t like human smell). To get the hair I needed, you guessed it, I called the local hair place in the morning and after awkwardly explaining why I needed the hair and if they would save it form me. It turns out, I’m the THIRD person to call and ask.

One lady used it for her garden and the other lady crammed her rock wall with hair because the chipmunks don’t like it either. Yes, I can hear what you’re all thinking, and you’re right it is disgusting. Desperate times… and chipmunks, call for hair bombs. *gag*

Another trick I’ve used for years is hanging a bar of soap in an onion bag near the garden. Get a stinky brand like Irish Spring, deer don’t like the smell of soap.

Lawn Care

Let the fussing over the yard begin! Luckily this is not my arena. I have the HH to fertilize and seed and I have a teenager to mow. Yesssss.

Chickens

The babies are now in their awkward teenager phase. For the last two or three weeks I’ve put them in the chicken tractor next to the outside pen so the big girls could see/hear/smell the babies but can not get at them.

Yesterday I cleaned out the pen, did a little rearranging and generally cleaned up so I could start the next phases of putting the babies and the big girls together. Today I was able to put the babies in the chicken tractor inside the outdoor pen – the big girls were not psyched about this new development but they’ll get used to them or the next couple of weeks.

Houston we have a Broody Hen. I don’t spend a lot of time watching the chickens, and honestly the two black ones look the same and the two red ones look the same. Also, I couldn’t really tell if the same black hen who was always in the same nesting box, or if it was the other black hen, or, maybe I just kept catching them at egg laying time. Either way, I just wasn’t sure until I saw her tail all drooped down in the nesting box. So when I put the babies away for the night I put Ms. Broody in the tractor with some food and water. She was a bit put out but happily ate and drank.

“Mom, why does my chicken have a waddle already?” Hmmm, that’s right I’m pretty sure we have a roo. My plan to have an even number of chicken breeds is now shattered and I’m rattled. First, we can’t keep the roo. Second, now I’ll have two Black Sex-Links, two Rhode Island Reds and one Barred Rock. Hmph

Big Projects

The rubber mulch is still the unsightly blemish on my back yard. But it’s JUST SO MUCH. And like regular mulch you shovel and shovel and shovel, it’s just never-ending! So, the pile is a work in process. I know have about 25 bags filled {up from 14 last month}, unfortunately it seems that I still have half of a giant pile.

A couple of months ago the HH was watching hockey and I was on the couch simultaneously reading the three garden books laying around me and perusing Pinterest at the same time when I blurted “I’m gonna dig up those pokey bushes in the front that I hate and plant flowers for the bees ok?” His response? “Sure wifey.” Saaaweeet.

So I contacted my high-energy friend Hana who I’ve unloaded , er uuuuh bartered with before. Sure enough she wanted them all {thank goodness}. Not only did I not have to dig them up {Hana made quick work of the job} but she brought me periwinkle for the densely shaded side yard and some wicked cool curvy vines that I’ll use in the pen for new perches for the birds. Bartering is the deal. 😉

~Heather

**These garden chores are based on my Zone 5b Southeast/Boston MA location. Find your garden zone HERE.