9 Gardening Projects to Tackle This Memorial Day Weekend
Memorial Day is a nice time to spend in reflection and gratitude for the freedom to spend our time in the ways that we enjoy. Join gardening expert Melissa Strauss for some projects you can do this holiday to take the garden from spring to summer seamlessly.
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Memorial Day is a somber holiday that usually marks the end of the school year and the beginning of warm weather for many gardeners in cooler climates. While some folks enjoy spending this day gathering with friends and loved ones, I find that it’s a good weekend to spend time in the garden.
Working in the garden always gives me a feeling of gratitude for the freedom to spend my time in a way that brings me joy. If you, also, enjoy the time of quiet reflection, there are a multitude of projects and things that you can do to prepare and maintain the garden as we head into the hot summer months.
Whether you have one afternoon or an entire Memorial Day weekend to spend in the garden, there are timely tasks and projects that you can fit into this upcoming holiday. Here are some of the ways the Epic gardeners will spend time outside, making good use of the time off.
Fertilize
Espoma Garden-tone Organic Plant Food (4 lbs.)
Espoma Garden-tone Organic Plant Food (4 lbs.)
Natural & Organic fertilizer for an abundant harvest
Buy at Epic Gardening ShopBy the end of May, most gardeners have already taken care of that first fertilizer application of the spring. Chances are, you fertilized at least a month prior, so everything is ready for a second application.
Summer bloomers are setting buds and preparing to flower, and spring bloomers are winding down. Those that finished flowering will need some rejuvenation and replenishment. Those that are about to get started will benefit from a boost before it gets too hot to take in the necessary nutrients.
Summer heat can be taxing for your plants. You want them to be as strong and healthy as possible going into the season. Since Memorial Day precedes the summer solstice by only a few weeks, this is a perfect time to feed the garden in preparation for the heat.
Organic fertilizers are better for the environment and the ecosystem in your garden. They’re also gentler, breaking down over an extended time, so there is less risk of nitrogen burns.
I’m taking the opportunity to give everything in my garden a good feeding this holiday. From flower beds to fruit trees, and everything in between, I’ll be giving my whole yard what it needs to strengthen up for the hotter days that are certainly on their way.
Prune and Deadhead Spring Bloomers
Felco 2 Classic Hand Pruner
Felco 2 Classic Hand Pruner
The iconic, award winning, red-handled pruning shears/secateurs made in Switzerland. The FELCO 2 is the standard-bearer of our brand’s core values of quality, reliability and durability worldwide since 1948.
Buy at Epic Gardening ShopIn most of our gardens, the big spring bloom is in the past, and it’s prime time to do some cleaning up and pruning. This gives your plants optimum time to recover, put on growth, and prepare for the winter, or for their next bloom cycle.
For all of your perennials that exclusively bloom in the spring, pruning should happen as soon as possible after they flower. Many of these bloom on old wood, so they set their buds during the summer and fall on the wood that grows this year. These will be next spring’s flowers. If you wait too long to prune, you risk cutting off the buds and reducing the flowers next year.
For repeat blooming plants, a light pruning or deadheading will give them what they need to head into their next blooming period. Repeat bloomers are plants that flower on new growth. By trimming off the ends of branches after they flower, the plant knows that the cycle is complete, and it’s time to produce new growth.
Offer Support
Vegetable Garden Freyr Trellis
Vegetable Garden Freyr Trellis
The Freyr trellis is designed to support crops with strings made of hemp, jute, or polypropylene. String trellising is the favored technique of professional farmers and makes it easier to train, prune, harvest, and clean up your crops.
Buy at Epic Gardening ShopBy now, you probably have some plants that need support. Maybe it’s cucumbers in the vegetable garden or a new jasmine plant. By Memorial Day weekend, it’s almost certain that you’ll have plants in need of support, and this could require a mini building project.
It’s important to get this task done before your plants grow too large. It’s ideal to put in support when you first put your plant in the ground, but you still have time if you weren’t able to do so.
There are many styles and types of support you can use in the garden, depending on your personal style and needs. When you install your supports, be careful about not damaging the roots of the plant you want to support.
Be gentle when attaching stems and vines to the support you choose. If you installed supports earlier in the year, you can simply go about training the plants on those supports. This is a simple task that can make a big difference in the health and appearance of your garden.
Plant Summer Bloomers
The weather in May is just about as perfect as can be. While the tulips and daffodils have all gone away with the cool weather, there are lots of warm-weather flowers that you can plant. Memorial Day is a good time to create a memorial garden, plant a pollinator patch, or simply brighten things up in your beds.
There are some wonderful, traditional flowers that you can plant to commemorate the holiday. Red poppies are the most popular, symbolic flower for Memorial Day in many parts of the world. Lilies, hydrangeas, roses, and carnations all have significance as well.
Think about planting flowers in patriotic colors. Red, white, and blue always look nice together. If you plant them now, you’ll have a gorgeous display for the 4th of July. Plan ahead and plant some fall bloomers for a patriotic garden that lasts until Labor Day.
Weed and Mulch
CobraHead Original Weeder & Cultivator
CobraHead Original Weeder & Cultivator
The Original CobraHead Weeder and Cultivator is here to make those jobs easier so that you can focus on planting and nurturing your garden.
Buy at Epic Gardening ShopIt’s probably about time to start weeding your garden, and though I realize this is not anyone’s favorite garden task, it does feel good to get it done. Weeding may seem like a time waster to some, but it has an important purpose.
Removing weeds from your beds helps the plants you want there to have access to resources. Weeds can take more than their fair share of water and nutrients from the soil. They can also attract nuisance insects and even block the sun, making it harder for your plants to thrive.
If you have the time and energy, this is the perfect time to thoroughly weed your beds. After weeding, help keep the weeds away and minimize your work later in the year by putting down mulch. Just make sure you weed first and mulch right after. This helps to suppress the weeds that might try to pop up next week and over the rest of the season.
Add Pollinator Plants
Power Planter DIY Guru Auger (3″ x 12″)
Power Planter DIY Guru Auger (3″ x 12″)
Not only can this garden drill auger bit make digging and planting in your garden much easier and more enjoyable, it also has what it takes to tackle many other jobs around your house.
Buy at Epic Gardening ShopMany of the pollinators we love to see in the garden are returning right about now, and they are certain to be hungry. Feeding pollinators is the best way to keep them coming back, which means a more bountiful harvest and more floriferous flower beds.
When you plant for pollinators, there are a few things to consider. First, you need plants that flower at different times of year. This provides a continuous supply of food for bees, butterflies, birds, and bats, among other creatures.
Planting native perennials will be the most effective way to allocate your budget for this project. Native plants are best at supporting the ecosystem, and they are less costly and labor-intensive to maintain. Most native plants thrive in your particular climate without much intervention; this saves on fertilizer, water, and time in general.
Don’t forget to research your native butterfly species and add some host plants to your garden. Each butterfly species has one or more larval host plants that supply food for its young in the larval stage. If you include these in your Memorial Day garden, you’ll see those species come back throughout the summer and fall.
Transplant Summer Seedlings
The Ultimate Seed Starting Kit
The Ultimate Seed Starting Kit
This seed starting bundle is a complete kit designed to help beginners or experienced gardeners start their seeds before transplanting them to their garden or outdoor space.
Buy at Epic Gardening ShopIf you haven’t yet, Memorial Day weekend is a good time to transplant the seeds you started earlier in the spring. By now, you should have vigorous, healthy seedlings and starts that will thrive now that the soil and air are warming up.
Even in cooler climates, your last frost date should be in the past by now, and you no longer have to worry about a late frost. In warmer climates, you may have accomplished this task already and are on your way to harvesting tomatoes.
Direct Sow Vegetable Seeds
If you’ve been holding onto those vegetable seeds that are best directly sown, it’s time to get those started as well. Many vegetables like squash, beans, peas, and cucumbers perform best when you plant the seeds directly in the garden. It’s difficult to do this when you’re worried about a late frost, but by now, you should be all set.
I find directly sowing seeds to be easier than starting them indoors and transplanting. However, not all seeds perform well this way. The size of the seed is a good indicator of whether it can go directly into the ground.
Small seeds and those that need light to germinate are best started in trays. They can wash away easily if you toss them right into the garden. Larger seeds, and those plants with a tap root, like carrots and beets, should go right in the soil.
Spruce Up Your Irrigation
Olla Watering Kit
Olla Watering Kit
Happier Plants. Bigger Harvests. 61% Less Water. Grow a lush garden with minimal effort. Vacation-friendly. This is your solution to the daily hassles of growing your own food.
Buy at Epic Gardening ShopOne of the most helpful Memorial Day garden projects I’ve done is installing more efficient irrigation in my flower and vegetable beds. If you are still watering overhead, with a hose, you can save a lot of time, money, and hassle, in the long run, with a more effective irrigation system.
There are many directions you can take with irrigation. Drip lines are great, and I love soaker hoses for my cutting garden. If you have a small space that you want to keep moist without having to water every day, consider an Olla irrigation kit. These clay vessels go into the ground. You will them with water, and the porous clay allows just enough water through to keep the surrounding soil moist. It’s an easy and cost-effective strategy for the bed that isn’t close to a hose.
