CRAIGS MONTHLY TIPS

May

1. Clean out your plant pots - full with fresh compost ready for all your new summer bedding plants!
2. Get planting! It's time to get pots and baskets planted up, but remember to protect from late frosts. A simple piece of fleece will do the job.
3. Remember to feed regularly, your plants are now growing and could do with the extra help. A feed twice a week is a good way to go. Feed shrubs with a slow realise fertiliser. If they are looking a bit worse for wear, feed with a liquid first to get the nutrients to them quicker.
4. Now that the sun will be making an appearance (or at least we hope it will!) remember to keep pots, baskets and planters well watered and continue throughout the summer. This helps to get the best start to the season
5. Weed control. Weeds can effect new seedlings, so it may be an idea to get rid of them. They start to spring up this time of year, so keep an eye out if you have a particular area you don't want them in. But remember, the bees do love dandelions, so leaving some could also be good for the garden. 
6. Pest control. The pesky snails and slugs will be coming out ready to eat away at all your plants! There are a number of ways to rid your garden of them from snail bait, beer traps and even getting up at the crack of dawn to collect them and put them elsewhere!
7. Greenhouses - if you're lucky enough to have one, remember to open doors and windows to allow the plants to harden up to outside temperatures. If you gave tomatoes in there, remember to keep it heated at night. And open vents on sunnier days.
8. Watch out for mildew, blackspot and rust on roses. It's a good idea to apply rose clear as a preventative measure.
9. Get ready to stake perennial plants before the wind blows them over!