Planting:

• Plant vegetables, flowers and bedding plants. Spruce up the garden for colorful displays and future harvests. Terra Tuff Hand Tools are on sale now! For planting in containers, hanging baskets and raised beds, consider using Sunshine Pro Premium Potting Soil.
  
  
• If you haven't already, add warm season edibles to the vegetable garden. Plant vegetables and herbs –It’s time to plant warm-season crops like tomatoes, squash, peppers, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, melons, okra and corn. Also plant basil, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary and thyme and other heat-lovers. Consider using Superthrive for healthier, fast growing plants. Superthrive is excellent for reducing transplant shock and reviving stressed plants.
  
  
• Many spring and summer blooming annuals can be planted from seed or transplants this month in pots or directly in the ground. As the weather warms switch out winter annuals for summer picks
  

• Container Gardening: If you don't have backyard space for a garden, consider container gardening. Herbs, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, eggplant and zucchini can all be grown in containers.
  
  
• Plant and care for citrus and subtropicals –Plant citrus trees from containers. Feed established trees with a complete fertilizer such as Yara Triple 15. For organic growing use Dr. Earth Citrus & Avocado Food.  Water as necessary.
  
  
• Plant cool-season lawns –This is a good time to plant fescues from sod or seed. Grangetto’s Tall or Dwarf Fescue Grass Seed is on sale this month. See our ad for SUPER SAVINGS!
  
  
• Make sure your soil is healthy. Use Gypsum and nutrient-rich compost such as Gardner & Bloome Soil Building Compost to amend your soil before you plant.

• Roses. Roses. Roses. There's still time to plant roses.

• Time to plant dahlias, begonias--and get in the gladiolus bulbs. Add some Dr. Earth Bone Meal to the planting hole for great root development and beautiful blooms!

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Maintenance Duties:

• If you are a beneficial insect lover, flat-topped flowers like Shasta daisies, scabiosa, strawflowers, and yarrow are perfect additions to your garden for feeding them. Beneficial insects such as the almost microscopic parasitic wasps, ladybugs, etc. keep other insect pests away from your vegetable gardens by eating aphids, scale, and other annoying intruders. You can use beautiful flowers to tempt these garden friends into your garden. Try putting some of these flowers near to your rose garden for aphid control!

• Revitalize Garden Soil: Gardening in the same location over the years may mean your garden needs refreshing. Rotate your crops (i.e., plant tomato plants where peppers were grown last year) and this year introduce an organic soil blend such as Sunshine Pro Planting Mix or Kellogg Amend followed by a two to three inch layer of mulch around garden plants. Try using John & Bob’s Soil Optimizer twice a year for optimal soil reconditioning!

• Reseed Your Lawn: Now is the time to reseed thin or bare patches or the entire lawn. First, make sure the lawn is mowed closely. Then apply grass seed and cover with a thin layer of Kellogg Topper. Water twice a day for two weeks. New growth will begin in about three weeks. When you mow this spring and summer (mowing

• The narcissus and daffodils are blooming, as well as other spring blooming bulbs. As soon as the blooms are spent, you can deadhead--but don't remove the foliage! The bulb needs that green foliage to add nutrients back to the bulb for next year's flowers. Hide the clippers for a little while longer. Try an old-fashioned technique of braiding the leaves. If you must cut, leave at least half of the leaf length for the bulb. It will thank you with next year's bloom!
  
  
• Continue with fertilizing those areas of the garden you haven't gotten to yet. Gro Power Flower ‘N’ Bloom is a great plant food for all your flowers!
  
  
• Once your azaleas and camellias have stopped blooming, they will thank you if you feed them. Feed them with Dr. Earth Cottonseed Meal and top dress with Worm Gold Plus, an organic product that contains worm castings along with kelp and rock mineral.

• You may see some chlorosis on your acid-loving plants like the azalea or camellia, and possibly on your citrus. This yellowing of the leaves between the veins is a sign of iron deficiency for the plant. Feed with a good iron supplement such as Ironite or Lilly Miller Azalea & Camellia Food. Use Dr. Earth Azalea & Camellia Food for organic growing.

• Especially near the coast, this is the time we begin to see powdery mildew on our rose foliage (and other plants too). There are several different foliar fungicidal sprays to that can help.  Consider Bayer Insect Disease and Mite Control or Ortho Rose Pride are good conventional use products. Use Monterey E-Rase for organic growing.

• Aphids will be back. Remember that you can first wash them off with water. Really, it does help. For more severe infestations, ask a Grangetto’s Garden Expert to recommend something suitable for your particular plants.

• Watch for snail and slug damage. Treat for snails & slugs in vegetable gardens and ornamentals with Gro Power Organic Snail & Slug Spray.  Copper snail bands offer protection around trunks of fruit trees.

• Feed palms this month with Gro-Power Premium Palm & Tropical Plant Food 9-3-9. It contains magnesium & manganese for greening up palms plus humic acid. For larger areas consider using Apex 13-4-12 Palm K.
  
  
• Care for roses –Feed and protect from insects and disease with Bayer Advanced™ All-In-One Rose & Flower Care Concentrate. One application applied to the roots lasts up to six weeks. To control diseases, insects and spider mites, use Bayer Advanced™ 3-in-1 Insect, Disease & Mite Control Concentrate or Ready to Spray.
  
  
• Control weeds –Weeds in garden beds are easiest to control when young. Use an appropriate herbicide such as Green Light Amaze, hoe or pull by hand. (Be sure to take care in applying herbicides to prevent spray drift from damaging desirable plants.) 
  
  
• To control weeds in lawns while giving them a good feeding use Lilly Miller Ultra Green 28-2-3 Weed & Feed.
  
  
• Before Planting your Garden put down DeWitt Weed Barrier Landscape Fabric. This will let air, water and nutrients through, but will prevent weeds from coming up!
  
  
• Control indoor & outdoor pests –To control insects like spiders, fleas and ants, use Spectracide Triazicide Once & Done, which provides up to 12 months of insect protection. It controls insects in lawns & around homes so they don’t come inside!
  
  
• Control mosquitoes –Use Mosquito Dunks in ponds or standing water to help control mosquitoes.
  
  
• Control Gophers – Use Cooke Gopher Mix to keep pesky gophers out of your yard and away from your prized crops!
  
  
• Rabbits – protect your vegetables and herbs from foraging rabbits! Use Rabbit Scram Repellent to keep rabbits away. This repellent is natural and organic and works as a barrier so it never has to touch your plants.
  
  
• Fertilize lawns –If you didn't fertilize last fall, feed cool-season lawns. As Southern lawns, like Bermuda grass, begin to green-up, feed them as well. Use Yara Turf Royale 21-7-14 for quick green up. For convenience in small areas use Scotts Handy Green II Hand-Held spreader. For larger areas use the Scotts Basic Broadcast Spreader.
  
  
• Landscape –It's prime planting season for everything from flowering trees and shrubs to ground covers and roses. Protect new plantings from insects with Bayer Advanced™ Tree & Shrub Insect Control Concentrate.
  
  
• Mow –Cool-season lawns are growing vigorously. Mow weekly.
  
  
• Water gardens –Check irrigation systems. Fix clogs and broken sprinklers. Adjust spray heads. Begin watering as weather warms. Apply a fresh layer of organic mulch to conserve moisture.
  
  
• Water lawns –Check irrigation systems. Fix clogs and broken sprinklers. Adjust spray heads. Begin watering if weather warms but only after soil has partially dried. Check with your local water department or cooperative extension service for lawn watering guidelines.
  
  
• Did you know that you could SAVE up to 30% on Your WATER BILL? Consider replacing old irrigation systems with updated water efficient weather based systems from HUNTER Irrigation. All HUNTER Water Efficient Devices are 15% off this month only!
  
  
• Mulch, Mulch Mulch!
  We will always tell you to mulch. This does not mean mound up the mulch to 5 feet. It means continue to replenish the mulch and maintain a 2-4 inch blanket over your soil. So when you hear us singing the MULCH song, you know just what we mean!