Gardening by the Moon Weekend To-Do

An idea as old as agriculture, based both folklore and superstition but there are scientific ideas to back it up.

• Lunar Phase: Sunday, May 8, Mother's Day, 2nd Quarter begins
• Saturday-Sunday: Moon in the sign of Leo - Harvest, weed, cultivate, and control pests
  • Beneficial Nematodes are applied now to the soil around tomato plants to control the pupa stage of the Tomato Hornworm. This is the stage just before it emerges as an adult moth. The adult moth lays the eggs on the plant(s), which hatch into the large green worm with a horn-like structure on its tail.    

Later in the Week

•  It is not too late to plant Sunflowers from seed. Besides the giant edible seed varieties called 'Mammoth', there are many decorative varieties, such as' Vanilla Ice' is an heirloom variety with cream-colored flowers with a chocolate brown center. 'Crimson Thriller' produces six-inch wide mahogany flowers. Finally, 'Teddy Bear' is a dwarf variety with double golden-yellow flowers.

Other Things To-do

• Keep snails from climbing into the canopy of citrus and other shrubs by attaching Copper Tape to the trunk about two feet off the ground. The Copper will not kill the snails, but it will halt the forward progress.And finally, when spring flowering shrubs like Lilacs, Forthysias, and Wisteria have finished blooming,, I'd feed them with 16-16-16 to encourage the new growth