University of Maryland Extension

Ask a Master Gardener plant clinic

March 19, 2025 by University of Maryland Extension Leave a Comment

The delightful hum of lawnmowers is right around the corner. Soon we’ll be tackling outdoor tasks that have been calling our names during the cold winter months. As we transition into warmer days, our 2025 summer “Ask A Master Gardener Plant Clinics” will be traveling around Queen Anne’s County to various events and open houses. This is a great opportunity to have Master Gardeners help with all your questions about gardening, from garden pests, to plant problems, to selecting the perfect native plants, and beneficial insects. Master Gardeners will be on hand to give tips and tricks to make your home garden flourish, help troubleshoot tricky growing situations, and offer encouragement on creating the perfect garden for your space. These events are free and open to the public.

Dates/Topics:

April 19, 2025- It’s Grow Time at An Eastridge Garden (533 Dulin Clark Road Centreville, MD 21617) – Master Gardeners will be on hand to discuss tips and tricks to getting things ready in your garden.
From 10 am to 2 pm

May 3, 2025 – Creating a Bay-Wise Garden at Greenwood Creek Nursery (201 Bennett Point Road Queenstown, MD 21658) Master Gardeners will be on hand to guide you throw gardening to help the Chesapeake Bay.
From 10 am to 2 pm

May 24, 2025-Enhancing your garden with native plants at A Little Farm and Nursery (100 Davidson Drive Stevensville, MD 21666). Master Gardeners will be on hand to discuss picking the right native plant for the right place.
From 10 am to 2 pm

June 7, 2025- If you plant it they will come, Pollinators at Unity Church Hill Nursery (3621 Church Hill Road, Church Hill, MD 21623). Master Gardeners will be on hand to discuss how to add pollinator-friendly plants to your garden!
From 10 am to 2 pm

For further information please call or reasonable accommodations to participate in this event contact the University of Maryland Extension Rachel Rhodes, at (410) 758-0166 or [email protected]

University programs, activities, and facilities are available to all without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, religion, protected veteran status, genetic information, personal appearance, or any other legally protected class.

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University of Maryland “The Woods in Your Backyard” online course

February 20, 2025 by University of Maryland Extension Leave a Comment

Registration is now open for the spring 2025 of “The Woods in Your Backyard” online course from the University of Maryland Extension’s Woodland Stewardship Education program. Our self-directed, non-credit course runs 10 weeks from March 24 to June 2, 2025. The course will help landowners convert lawn to natural areas, and enhance stewardship of existing natural areas. The course provides strategies to landowners of small parcels of land (1-10 acres) that improve the stewardship of their property for personal enjoyment and environmental quality. It uses a hands-on learning approach to help participants develop and implement a plan for their property. Activities include how to map habitat areas, understand basic ecological principles about woodland and wildlife, choose and implement a few habitat management projects, and how to set a timetable and record your progress. Online discussion groups will allow participants to interact with others taking the course. A certificate of completion is awarded when all assignments are completed.

The course costs $125.00 per person, which includes the 108-page “Woods in Your Backyard” guide, workbook, and a tree identification guide. The course is limited to 25 participants, so sign up now! Registration closes March 31st or when filled. Registration is through Eventbrite; go to https://go.umd.edu/WIYB_Spring25.

For more information, go to https://go.umd.edu/the_course, or contact course coordinator Andrew Kling, University of Maryland Extension, [email protected], 301-226-7564.

The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity or expression.

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Master Gardener native plant project

November 11, 2024 by University of Maryland Extension Leave a Comment

In the spring of 2024, Master Gardener Intern Wendy Hubbert asked for a project. Knowing her deep-seated passion for Native Plants, I immediately shared an idea I had for a while but didn’t have the time to execute, a native plant giveaway for our fall booth activities. Wendy took hold of this idea and ran with it. She applied for a Plant Grant from Bona Terra Plant Nursery. Bona Terra’s goal of their Plant grant is to “annually place one million native seedlings into the hands of community members and in turn, these seedlings will support our local ecosystems.”

After successfully receiving this grant and picking up the seedlings, Master Gardeners put the plan into action by having a dividing day in July. One small flat of native plant seedlings turned into over 400 pots to share with our community. This day wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Queen Anne’s County Department of Parks and Recreation for providing us space to divide and repot plants and the countless Master Gardeners who showed up to help and took home plant babies to care for over the summer.

During some of the hottest and driest long weeks of summer, Master Gardeners doted on seedlings ensuring that the plants thrived. We kicked off our Native Plant Giveaway at Corsica River Awareness Day in September at Conquest Beach. Master Gardeners eagerly talked to participants about native plants and the benefits of adding them to their home landscape. Rounding out the end of fall, Master Gardeners were at Centreville Day in October to hand out the remaining native plant seedlings. Each participant was able to take home a native plant and a factsheet about their native plant. When asked how Master Gardeners felt about this project, Master Gardener Denise Malueg said “I am happy that we introduced native plants to gardeners who are our neighbors! That impacts our environment as well as their immediate surroundings.”

In total over 400 native plant seedlings were given away at both events, Master Gardeners volunteered over 142 hours to this project equaling over $4,755 dollars in-kind services back to Queen Anne’s County. Organizer, Master Gardener Intern Wendy Hubbert reflected about the impacts of the project “I loved about this project was seeing groups pool their resources to accomplish a common goal. We made a tangible difference in adding native plants to our area’s gardens because of Bona Terra’s free seedlings, Queen Anne’s County Master Gardeners’ time and expertise and community outreach opportunities created by UMD Extension. It was super rewarding to see how people can accomplish a lot just by being aware of each other’s’ unique capabilities and shared goals. Giving people free plants makes educating them easier and more effective because they see how painless it can be to make small improvements in their own environments. I hope this will become a regular annual QA Master Gardener effort.”

For further information please call or make reasonable accommodations to participate in any event email the University of Maryland Extension Queen Anne’s County, Senior Agent Associate for Horticulture and Master Gardener Coordinator, Rachel J. Rhodes, at 410-758-0166 or [email protected] at least two weeks before the events or see us on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/QueenAnnesCountyMasterGardeners

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Harvest and postharvest practices for improving apple fruit marketability: Fruit quality and safety workshop on Nov.4, 2024

September 9, 2024 by University of Maryland Extension Leave a Comment

Harvest and postharvest practices for improving apple fruit marketability: Fruit quality and safety workshop will be held at the University of Maryland, Western Maryland Research and Education Center, 18330 Keedysville Road, Keedysville, MD 21756, on Monday, November 4, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The cost to attend the workshop is $25, which includes snacks, lunch, coffee, and networking. Learn about the latest technologies and strategies for improving apple fruit marketability while maintaining fruit quality and produce safety. Presentations, demonstrations, and discussions!

To register, go to https://go.umd.edu/AppleWorkshop

AGENDA

8:30 a.m. REGISTRATION

APPLE FRUIT QUALITY/ HORTICULTURE
9:00 a.m. Horticultural Practices and their Impact on Apple Fruit Quality. Dr. Macarena Farcuh, University of Maryland

9:45 a.m. Integrative Solutions for Controlling Fruit Drop and Enhancing Apple Coloration. Dr. Sherif M. Sherif, Virginia Tech

10:30 a.m. Break

10:45 a.m. An Update About Apple Postharvest Diseases and their Management for Growers in the Mid-Atlantic. Dr. Kari Peter, Penn State University

11:15 a.m. Achieving Fruit Quality by Managing Fireblight and Other Orchard Troubles. Mr. Dave Myers, University of Maryland Extension-Anne Arundel Co.

Noon Working Lunch (Graduate students present their posters)

APPLE FRUIT SAFETY

1:00 p.m.     Benefits and Food Safety Risks in Postharvest Produce Washing. Dr. Rohan Tikekar, University of Maryland
2:00 p.m.     Break
2:15 p.m.     Navigating the New Pre-Harvest Agricultural Water Rule. Ms. Carol Allen, University of Maryland
3:30 p.m.     Wrap up and evaluation/surveys

For more information or if you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event (two weeks prior), please contact Dr. Macarena Farcuh at [email protected] or by calling (301) 405-1323

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June Gardening Tips

May 12, 2021 by University of Maryland Extension

In a few weeks, we will celebrate the official start to summer on June 21^st. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the varieties of plants that you plant after this point will usually become fall crops. Here are some helpful tips to growing a successful garden as we transition from spring into summer.

Photo: Cut iris flower stalks down to the crown when they are finished blooming. Leave the foliage alone. If you are planning to divide your iris later next month, tie the same color ribbon as the flower around the foliage, making it very easy to know what color the plants are later when ready to divide. (Photo credit: Rachel Rhodes)

Outdoor Garden and Yard Tips

Practice IPM(Integrated Pest Management) in your landscape. Do not spray your trees and shrubs preventively. This kills the predators and parasitoids that are helping to keep destructive pests under control.
Water newly planted trees and shrubs until they become established (for about 2 years), especially in the summer and fall. Water deeply by allowing the water to soak into the soil directly underneath and around the root ball. Check the depth of water penetration into the soil by digging a small hole after watering. It should be moist about 6 inches down. A 2-3 inch layer of mulch is helpful. Keep mulch away from the trunk or stem.
Containers need extra attention, especially ones in direct sun; they tend to dry out quickly. Keep them watered during the heat of June.
Apple scab and a number of rust diseases (cedar-apple, cedar-quince, cedar-hawthorn, Japanese apple, and pear trellis rust) are destructive diseases of crabapple in the landscape. They cause severe leaf defoliation by mid-summer if not treated. The best defense is replacing disease prone cultivars with resistant selections available at garden centers.
When creating a cut flower arrangement make sure that you clean and wash the vases and scissors with hot soapy water between uses. Completely change the water every 2 to 3 days. Trim flower with a fresh cut every few days.
Bagworm larvae are hatching out this month and constructing new bags. Look for the little bags moving around on evergreen trees and shrubs and be prepared to spray infested trees with the microbial insecticide, B.t. between now and mid-July.
National Pollinator week is June 21-27, 2021 celebrate by creating a pollinator garden. Plant native plants for continuous bloom throughout the growing season.
Lilac borers enter older canes, especially on stressed lilacs. You will notice wilting of individual branches and small holes below the wilting indicating the point of entry. Prune out affected branches.

Vegetable Garden

Young tomato plants may be exhibiting symptoms of various leaf spot diseases such as septoria and early blight. Remove badly infected lower leaves, keep a thick organic mulch around plants and avoid overhead watering.
Pinch off tomato suckers, to encourage larger, earlier fruit, especially if training to one central stem.
“June drop” of excessive fruits (especially peaches) is a natural thinning phenomenon and is more pronounced where no hand thinning has occurred. Hand thin the fruits on plum, peach, apple and pear trees, leaving space (the width of one fruit) between remaining fruits. Disease and insect problems, environmental stress, and lack of pollination or fertilization can also cause fruit drop. Pick up and throw out all dropped fruits.
Flea beetles are a serious pest of eggplant and also affect potato, tomato and members of the cabbage family. Floating row covers (https://youtu.be/oNm6D0KKG_Q) are an effective means of management but should be removed when plants flower to allow for cross-pollination by bumblebees. Spraying plants with “Surround” (kaolin clay) creates a white particle film that can minimize flea beetle feeding. You can also control flea beetles with “neem”, a botanical insecticide.
Plant a second crop of beans.
Keep watering and weeding; mulch new crops to keep them from drying out.
Learn to identify beneficial insects and keep a vigilant eye out for possible pest infestations.
Hand pick cabbage worms from broccoli and other members of the cabbage family, or spray with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), if necessary.
Hand pick Colorado potato beetle adults, larvae and orange egg masses on potato and eggplant plants.
Hand pick harlequin bugs and their black and white eggs from plants in the cabbage family. Do the same for Mexican bean beetles (yellow egg masses on leaf undersides).
Prevent flea beetle infestations with row covers. Spray with pyrethrum or neem, both are derived from plants and considered low-risk organic controls. A light dusting of eggplant leaves with flour or wood ash can also deter flea beetles.
Search the undersides of squash and pumpkin leaves for copper-colored squash bug eggs, and destroy them.
For slug damage, in a wet period, set out tuna cans filled with beer or a brew of molasses, water and yeast. The slugs will crawl into them and drown. Boards and grapefruit rinds, turned face down, will also attract slugs; turn the board or rind over in the morning and destroy the slugs.
Plant pumpkin seeds this month for fall harvest.

Indoor Plants and Insect Tips

Monitor houseplants kept indoors for mealybug, spider mites, aphids, whitefly, and scale. If houseplant pests are a problem consider spraying with a labeled horticultural oil or insecticidal soap. If possible, move the plants outside before spraying and when dry, move them back indoors. Discard heavily infested plants.
Pantry pests, like Indian meal moths, grain beetles, cigarette beetles, and carpet beetles may be found around windows trying to get out of your home. These pests can be swept up or vacuumed. No chemical controls are recommended.

Rachel J. Rhodes, [email protected] is the Horticulture Educator and Master Gardener Coordinator for the University of Maryland Extension in Queen Anne’s County. She is one third of the Garden Thyme Podcast. The Garden Thyme Podcast is a monthly podcast where University of Maryland Extension Educators, help you get down and dirty in your garden, with timely gardening tips, information about native plants, and more!

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Queen Anne’s County Master Gardeners Offer Virtual Seed Swap

February 7, 2021 by University of Maryland Extension

The University of Maryland Extension Queen Anne’s County Master Gardeners are hosting a virtual Seed Swap between February 7th and February 13th, 2021 online at go.umd.edu/SendMeSeeds. For this event, seeds will be grouped together and sent directly to you. You may also pick them up from the Queen Anne’s County Library in Centreville or on Kent Island. Because of limited supply, seeds will be limited to one packet per person. We will fill the orders in the order that we receive them and do our best to give you the top choice.

Seeds can be picked up at the Queen Anne’s County Library in Kent Island (200 Library Circle Stevensville, MD 21666) on Tuesday, February 23^rdfrom 10:15 A.M. – 5:45 P.M.or at the Queen Anne’s County Library in Centreville (121 S. Commerce St Centreville, MD 21617) on Wednesday, February 24^thfrom 10:15 A.M. – 5:45 P.M.

Container mix may include cucumbers, tomato, peppers, and/or herbs.

Pollinator will include a mix of annual flowers.

Salad Mix may include lettuce, peas, carrots, radish, and/or spinach.

Summer Vegetable Garden Mix may include tomato, peppers, squash, watermelon, cucumbers, bush beans, and/or cantaloupe.

Herb mix may include basil, thyme, cilantro, and/or parsley.

Salsa mix may include tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, and/or onions.

Cool Season Fall Vegetable mix may include lettuce, carrots, radish, beets, spinach, broccoli, kale, and/or cabbage.

Fall Squash mix may include pumpkins and/or fall squash.

Seeds for the seed swap were donated by the following businesses: Southern States, An Eastridge Garden, Burpee, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, and Price & Gannon True Value

For more information call or email the University of Maryland Extension Queen Anne’s County Master Gardener Coordinator, Rachel Rhodes, at 410-758-0166 or [email protected]. Rachel J. Rhodes is the Horticulture Educator and Master Gardener Coordinator for the University of Maryland Extension in Queen Anne’s County. She is one third of the Garden Thyme Podcast. The Garden Thyme Podcast is a monthly podcast where University of Maryland Extension Educators, help you get down and dirty in your garden, with timely gardening tips, information about native plants, and more! For further information, please visit https://extension.umd.edu/queen-annes-county/master-gardener-home-gardening or see us on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/QueenAnnesCountyMasterGardeners or listen to The Garden Thyme Podcast at: https://www.buzzsprout.com/687509

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Ask the Garden Hoes

June 17, 2020 by University of Maryland Extension

If you have a gardening dilemma or gardening questions join the Garden Hoes (Podcast) on their second installment of “Ask the Garden Hoes,” on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, from 11 am until 12 pm. This live webinar will address real-life gardening questions with a Q&A for participants. Feel free to submit your questions and photos ahead of time online: https://forms.gle/NJaYXxRdaqUYZkmn6 This program is free and open to the public, but registration required: https://go.umd.edu/askgardenhoes

The Garden Hoes Podcast is a monthly podcast where we help you get down and dirty in your garden, with timely gardening tips, information about native plants, and more! The Garden Hoes Podcast is brought to you by the University of Maryland Extension. Hosts are Mikaela Boley- Senior Agent Associate (Talbot County) for Horticulture, Rachel Rhodes- Agent Associate for Horticulture (Queen Anne’s County), and Emily Zobel-Senior Agent Associate for Agriculture (Dorchester County). University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all. To listen to the podcast visit https://www.buzzsprout.com/687509 or visit Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GardenHoesPodcast/

University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all people and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, or national origin, marital status, genetic information, or political affiliation, or gender identity and expression.

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The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

June Gardening Tips

June 7, 2020 by University of Maryland Extension

The official start of summer is just a few weeks away. The first defense against plant problems is to follow healthy gardening practices. Here are some useful gardening tips for the month of June:

Squash bug eggs on the underside of squash leaf. Photo credit: Rachel Rhodes, Horticulture Educator

Outdoor Garden and Yard Tips
• Cut iris flower stalks down to the crown when they are finished blooming. Leave the foliage alone. If your iris are over-crowded after flowering lift and divide them. Check rhizomes for iris borer.
• Practice IPM (Integrated Pest Management) in your landscape. Do not spray your trees and shrubs preventively. This kills the predators and parasitoids that are helping to keep destructive pests under control.
• Water newly planted trees and shrubs until they become established (for about 2 years), especially in the summer and fall. Water deeply by allowing the water to soak into the soil directly underneath and around the root ball. Check the depth of water penetration into the soil by digging a small hole after watering. It should be moist about 6 inches down. A 2-3 inch layer of mulch is helpful. Keep mulch away from the trunk or stem.
• Apple scab and a number of rust diseases (cedar-apple, cedar-quince, cedar-hawthorn, Japanese apple, and pear trellis rust) are destructive diseases of crabapple in the landscape. They cause severe leaf defoliation by mid-summer if not treated. The best defense is replacing disease prone cultivars with resistant selections available at garden centers.

Squash bug eggs on duct tape. Photo credit: Rachel Rhodes, Horticulture Educator

Vegetable Garden
• Young tomato plants may be exhibiting symptoms of various leaf spot diseases such as septoria and early blight. Remove badly infected lower leaves, keep a thick organic mulch around plants and avoid overhead watering.
• Pinch off tomato suckers, to encourage larger, earlier fruit, especially if training to one central stem.
• “June drop” of excessive fruits (especially peaches) is a natural thinning phenomenon and is more pronounced where no hand thinning has occurred. Hand thin the fruits on plum, peach, apple and pear trees, leaving space (the width of one fruit) between remaining fruits. Disease and insect problems, environmental stress, and lack of pollination or fertilization can also cause fruit drop. Pick up and throw out all dropped fruits.
• Flea beetles are a serious pest of eggplant and also affect potato, tomato and members of the cabbage family. Floating row covers (https://youtu.be/oNm6D0KKG_Q) are an effective means of management but should be removed when plants flower to allow for cross-pollination by bumblebees. Spraying plants with “Surround” (kaolin clay) creates a white particle film that can minimize flea beetle feeding. You can also control flea beetles with “neem”, a botanical insecticide.
• Plant a second crop of beans.
• Keep watering and weeding; mulch new crops to keep them from drying out.
• Learn to identify beneficial insects and keep a vigilant eye out for possible pest infestations.
• Hand pick cabbage worms from broccoli and other members of the cabbage family, or spray with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), if necessary.
• Hand pick Colorado potato beetle adults, larvae and orange egg masses on potato and eggplant plants.
• Hand pick harlequin bugs and their black and white eggs from plants in the cabbage family. Do the same for Mexican bean beetles (yellow egg masses on leaf undersides).
• Prevent flea beetle infestations with row covers. Spray with pyrethrum or neem, both are derived from plants and considered low-risk organic controls. A light dusting of eggplant leaves with flour or wood ash can also deter flea beetles.
• Search the undersides of squash and pumpkin leaves for copper-colored squash bug eggs, and destroy them.
• For slug damage, in a wet period, set out tuna cans filled with beer or a brew of molasses, water and yeast. The slugs will crawl into them and drown. Boards and grapefruit rinds, turned face down, will also attract slugs; turn the board or rind over in the morning and destroy the slugs.

Bagworms. Photo credit: Rachel Rhodes, Horticulture Educator

Indoor Plants and Insect Tips
• Monitor houseplants kept indoors for mealybug, spider mites, aphids, whitefly, and scale. If houseplant pests are a problem consider spraying with a labeled horticultural oil or insecticidal soap. If possible, move the plants outside before spraying and when dry, move them back indoors. Discard heavily infested plants.
• Pantry pests, like Indian meal moths, grain beetles, cigarette beetles, and carpet beetles may be found around windows trying to get out of your home. These pests can be swept up or vacuumed. No chemical controls are recommended.

For further information, please visit https://extension.umd.edu/queen-annes-county/master-gardener-home-gardening or see us on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/QueenAnnesCountyMasterGardeners. For more information contact: Rachel J. Rhodes, Horticulture Educator and Master Gardener Coordinator for the University of Maryland Extension in Queen Anne’s County at (410) 758-0166 or by email at [email protected].

Don’t miss the latest! You can subscribe to The Chestertown Spy‘s free Daily Intelligence Report here

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The Garden Hoes Podcast-April Showers Bring May Flowers

May 11, 2020 by University of Maryland Extension

You know what they say: April showers bring May flowers. However, we think that our early warm weather means April showers bring April flowers! After many weeks at home and many of us juggling teleworking with personal life, everyone is ready for that spring weather. In this month’s episode, we tackle the seasonal topics of hydrangeas, mulching, lawn care, and our features for tip/bug/native plant of the month!

Photo: Hydrangea-Flower color of the macrophylla species is dependent on soil pH. Did you know: that the actual mechanism of color variation is due to the presence or absence of aluminum compounds in the flowers. Aluminum is available to the plant in acid soils. A pH below 6.5 will produce blue flowers and a higher pH will produce pink or red flowers. Photo Credit: Rachel Rhodes

Hydrangeas are a fan favorite with large, dramatic blooms with low-effort. In our May episode, we talk about pruning hydrangeas, which is a little more complicated than you would think. Pruning practices are dependent on the type of hydrangea, but you can always remove dead, damaged, or diseased wood at any time of year! For more tips about working with hydrangeas, or to determine which hydrangea you may have, check out “A Quick Guide to Pruning Hydrangeas” from HGIC.

Lawn Care and mulching are both commonplace practices found in practically every landscape. Do not fall victim to “volcano mulching”, or piling mulch too high on shrubs and trees. We discuss mulching with organic materials that biodegrade and improve the soil. Ditch the mulching fabrics and chipped rubber, and learn why composted wood chips are preferable. Grass growth is in full swing, but do not be tempted to cut the grass too short! Turf-type tall fescue, a common turfgrass in Maryland, should be mowed at 3-4 inches high. While we would recommend waiting to seed a new lawn in fall, some overseeding or establishment may be done in the spring (see Fescue Establishment for Low Maintenance Sites for specific details).

To listen to our May episode

Timing:
Mulching (~1:37)
Pruning Hydrangeas (~11:29)
Lawn Care (~15:55)
Native Plant of the Month: “Blue flag iris”, or Iris versicolor (~20:48)
Garden Tip of the Month: “Bulbs, pruning, and warm-season crops” (~23:25)
Bug of the Month: “Spotted Lanternfly” (~39:08)

Photo: Iris veriscolor, commonly called northern blue flag, is a clump-forming iris that is native to marshes, swamps, wet meadows, ditches and shorelines. Flowering stalks rise from the clump to 30” tall in late spring, with each stalk producing 3-5 bluish-purple flowers (to 4″ wide) with bold purple veining. Clumps spread slowly by tough, creeping rhizomes. Photo credit: Mikaela Boley

If you have a garden question or topic, you like us to talk about you can email us at [email protected]

For more information about University of Maryland Extension and these topics, please check out the Home and Garden Information Center website at https://extension.umd.edu/hgic

The Garden Hoes Podcast is brought to you by the University of Maryland Extension. Mikaela Boley- Senior Agent Assoc. (Talbot Co.) for Horticulture, Rachel Rhodes- Agent Assoc. for Horticulture (QA Co), and Emily Zobel- Agriculture Agent (Dorchester Co.).

University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all.

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May Gardening Tips

May 3, 2020 by University of Maryland Extension

Warm weather is just around the corner, which means it is time get your garden ready for summer flowers and tasty home grown vegetables. Here are some helpful tips to get you started this month.

Outdoor Garden and Yard Tips
• If your azaleas, rhododendrons and other spring flowering shrubs are growing too large prune them after they bloom.
• Thin out interior boxwood branches to improve air circulation and reduce disease problems such as volutella canker. Also, look out for boxwood blight. Watch How to Prune Your Boxwoods.
• Older leaves of holly and magnolia may begin to yellow and drop. This is a natural process of regeneration and does not indicate a problem with the trees.
• Lace bug feeding may be seen on rhododendrons, azaleas, andromeda (Pieris japonica), and mountain laurel. Look for small white or yellow spots on the upper sides of leaves. On the underside of leaves, you may notice small black fecal spots, nymphs, and adults. Damage on new growth indicates overwintering eggs have hatched and the new generation has started to feed. There are multiple generations per growing season. Lace bugs are more of a problem on stressed plants growing on exposed, hot, and sunny sites.
• Rose Rosette, a relatively new disease of roses caused by a systemic virus and spread by small eriophyid mites, can kill landscape roses. Including the more disease resistant roses such as the Knockout cultivars.
• Summer annual bulbs like gladiolus, tuberous begonias, cannas, caladium, and dahlias can be planted now.
• Attract pollinators and natural enemies to your landscape by planting a wide variety of flowering annuals and perennials, including native plants that will bloom over the entire growing season.
• Begin setting out transplants of warm season crops like squash, pepper, eggplant, and tomato. There is still a small possibility of late frosts. Be prepared to cover plants with a tarp or light blanket if frost is expected.
• Pinch the blooms from flower and vegetable transplants before you set them out. This will help direct the plants’ energies to root development and will result in plants that are more productive. Gently break up the roots of root-bound transplants before planting.
• Did weeds overtake your garden last year? Start spreading mulch around plants and between rows. Use dried grass clippings, leaves collected from last fall, sections of newspaper covered with straw, black landscape fabric.
• Cover strawberry plants with bird netting, tulle (found in fabric stores), or floating row cover before the berries become ripe to exclude birds, squirrels, and other hungry critters.
• Leave grass clippings where they lay. Grasscycling eliminates bagging labor and costs, adds organic matter and nitrogen to your soil and does not contribute to thatch build-up.
• Carpenter bees cause concern at this time of year. They make clean, round holes about a ½ inch in diameter but usually will not bother wood that is freshly painted or stained.
• Ticks are active when the temperature is above freezing. Wear light-colored clothing and get in the habit of checking yourself, your loved ones, and pets closely for ticks after spending time outdoors. Repellents are also an effective tool to keep ticks away.

Vegetable Garden
• Pinch the blooms off tomato, pepper and other plants before setting them out in the garden; this will encourage root and stem growth. Continue to pinch off pepper blossoms for 2-3 weeks to establish a stronger, higher yielding plant.
• Keep cutworms away from cabbage, broccoli and other susceptible plants by putting a cardboard or plastic collar around each plant, or sprinkle ground up oyster shells, cat litter, sharp sand, or other gritty material around each one.
• Keep weeding and thinning plants. To keep down weeds, mulch plants with dried grass clippings, sections of newspaper covered with straw, black landscape fabric or black plastic. Do not mulch with wood chips or bark, which takes nitrogen out of the soil as it decomposes.
• As peas ripen, pick pods when tender, to keep plants producing.
• Don’t let transplants or young seedlings dry out. Use a drip irrigation system, soaker hose, sprinkler, or hand-held hose with a water breaker (shower head), to keep beds evenly moist, but not too wet.
• Plant warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers, only after danger of frost is past. Mix ½ cup of ground lime with soil in the planting hole to prevent blossom-end rot. Water each transplant with a soluble fertilizer, like compost tea or kelp extract to get them off to a good start.
• Pound in stakes or install tomato cages, at planting time, to prevent plant damage later.
• Set out herbs in pots or plant in garden beds.
• Inspect plants daily for cucumber beetles, cabbageworms, vine borers and flea beetles, which can be excluded with row covers. For plants requiring cross-pollination—cucumber, squash, melon, pumpkin—take covers off when plants are flowering, to let in pollinators.
• Hand pick cabbage worms from broccoli and other members of the cabbage family, or spray with Bt(Bacillus thuringiensis). Bt may injure non-pest butterfly larvae, though, so use judiciously.

Indoor Plants and Insect Tips
• Move houseplants outdoors after the danger of frost has passed. To avoid sunscald first place them in a shady location and over a period of two weeks or so gradually introduce them to more sunlight.
• Fleas are sometimes observed in homes where there are no pets. The most likely source is a wild animal such as a raccoon living in the attic, crawl space, chimney or some other sheltered area connected to the inside of the home. If you have pets that have a flea problem, contact your veterinarian for the safest and most effective flea control products.
• Clover mites are usually most noticeable in the spring when temperatures are between 45° and 80°F and the humidity is high. On warm days they cross the grass and crawl up the sunny sides of buildings and will possibly enter into homes.

For further information, please visit https://extension.umd.edu/queen-annes-county/master-gardener-home-gardening or see us on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/QueenAnnesCountyMasterGardeners. For more information contact: Rachel J. Rhodes, Master Gardener Coordinator at (410) 758-0166 or by email at [email protected].

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