Plants are popping out of the ground these days thanks to the warm temperatures and lots of rain. It’s time to get ahead of weeds before they overwhelm perennials and all those annuals you are about to plant.
Maple seedlings are in abundance this year and should be removed promptly. They grow amazingly fast into 6-foot trees. Chickweed has been blooming merrily and crabgrass is about to germinate in all the bare spots in lawns and garden beds.
Hand-weeding is much preferable to toxic poisons and this means you need good weeding tools. My favorite three-pronged weeder has gone missing and I must replace it at the garden center. The substitute I’ve been using just isn’t satisfactory. Many gardeners love the sharp-edged triangular Ho-Mi Korean weeder, which can be quite lethal so watch out when using it. A dandelion digger is great for garden beds as well as for lawns. A friend gave me a long-handled knife-like tool for use in between paving stones, bricks and cobblestones. You still have to get down on the ground to remove the weeds but the knife slices through the roots quickly. Vegetable gardeners can rely on a variety of hoes but they are seldom helpful in a perennial flower garden where plants are close together in haphazard patterns.
Mulch is the ultimate defense against weeds. It also holds moisture in the soil, a boon during dry spells. Wood chips around trees and shrubs are a great idea. Just be sure never to create “volcanoes,” those cone-shaped piles around tree trunks. Keep the mulch several inches from the trunk to avoid harboring diseases and insect pests. Mulch makes gardens look neat but the downside in perennial beds is that desirable self-sown flower seeds won’t germinate. You have to decide whether to reduce weeding and help retain moisture or provide a hospitable environment for forget-me-nots and little bulbs. Vegetable gardeners don’t face that dilemma. Straw — not hay, which has too many weed seeds — or grass clippings are great for vegetable gardens. That is assuming you never use pesticides on your lawn.
Get all those plants you bought at local nonprofit plant sales into the ground as quickly as possible and start a weeding routine for all your gardens. Gardening season has finally arrived and we need to keep ahead of Mother Nature.
NATIVE BEE POLLINATORS: Learn about essential native bees who pollinate food and ornamental plants on a walk at the Hitchcock Center in Amherst tomorrow, from 10 a.m. to noon. Joan Milam, a research associate at UMass, will lead the walk. Suggested donation, $5. Register by calling 256-6006.
BOREAL FOREST WALK: Aimee Gelinas will lead a spring ephemeral boreal plant and tree walk at Tamarack Hollow in Windsor tomorrow, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., under the auspices of Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary. Fee is $16. Call 584-3009 to register.
NATIVE WOODLAND PLANTS: Learn about native medicinal plants on an herb walk on Skinner Mountain Tuesday, 6-7 p.m. Herbalist Brittany Wood Nickerson will lead the walk. Meet at the main entrance to Skinner State Park off Route 47. Suggested donation, $10.
PLANT EXCHANGE: The Belchertown plant exchange is Tuesday, at 6 p.m., at 253 Warren Wright Road in Belchertown. Elaine Williamson organizes this twice-monthly exchange. Bring perennial divisions, seedlings, seeds and a box to take home your treasures. Fee is $2.
WILDFLOWERS: Uncommon ferns, yellow lady’s slippers and pitcher plants will be among the wildflowers expected to be seen on a hike at High Ledges in Shelburne on Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to noon. Botanists Janet Bissell and Connie Parks will lead the walk for Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary. Bring a hand lens and field guide if possible and be prepared for ticks. Fee is $8. Register at Arcadia, 584-3009.
GARDENING WITH MUSHROOMS: Fungi Ally will hold a workshop on growing mushrooms on May 24, 1-4 p.m., at Hacker Farm, 141 Franklin St., Belchertown. Fee, $30. Participants will take home a log inoculated with mushroom spores. Register at http://fungially.com/workshops/ or call Willie Crosby contact at 978-844-1811 or fungially@gmail.com.
PLANT SALES: Here is a list of plant sales scheduled in the next month. Visit as many as you can!
∎ May 17: Easthampton: Pascommuck Conservation Trust, 8 a.m. to noon, Big E’s Foodland parking lot. Perennials, ornamental grasses, shrubs, garden stepping stones, bird houses and a raffle of wicker rocking chair with gardening items. All proceeds benefit the trust, which is dedicated to land preservation and trail building; Easthampton Garden Club, 8 a.m. to noon, Emily Williston Library, 9 Park St., 527-1031. Holyoke: Wistariahurst Museum, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the museum, 238 Cabot St., 322-5660. Pelham: Pelham Library, 9 a.m. to noon, the library at the corner of Amherst and South Valley roads. Perennials, annual seedlings and vegetable starts. Benefits library programs. Shelburne Falls: Bridge of Flowers, 9 a.m. to noon, Trinity Church Baptist at the corner of Water and Main streets. Proceeds fund Bridge of Flowers maintenance. South Hadley: Council on Aging, 9 a.m. to noon, South Hadley Senior Center, 45 Dayton St. Soil testing and garden advice available from master gardeners; Mount Holyoke College Talbott Arboretum, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Benefits purchases for the greenhouse and campus grounds. (Sale also on May 24.) Southampton: Southampton Woman’s Club Anita Smith Memorial Plant Sale, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Conant Park. Locally grown plants at reasonable prices. Sunderland: Sunderland Public Library, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Graves Memorial Library at the corner of School and North Main streets. Plant donations accepted there on Friday.
∎ May 24: Amherst: 4-H plant sale, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Amherst Farmers Supply, 320 S. Pleasant St. Hanging plants, patio pots, vegetable plants, flowering plants, herbs and perennials. Leverett: Leverett Historical Society’s Plant and Garden Book Sale, 9 a.m. to noon, Leverett Town Hall. To donate plants or books or to help, contact Dawn Marvin Ward at 367-9562 or Julie at 367-2656. South Hadley: Mount Holyoke College Talbott Arboretum, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Benefits purchases for the greenhouse and campus grounds.
∎ May 31: Amherst: Grace Episcopal Church, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., on the Town Common. Plants, including house plants, garden tools, decorative pots and books. Proceeds finance landscaping at the church. To donate plants call the church office at 256-6754.
Speak Your Mind