Have a merry month in the garden

Gardeners love this time of year. Temperatures are moderating, and spring is exploding with color. It's a great time to be in the garden. But May is also a good time to take care of many necessary chores. These are enjoyable jobs for gardeners, however, because they result in working outdoors in the fresh air.

* Worried about sowing tiny, pinhead-size seeds too thickly? Just mix them with sand, pour into an old salt shaker and shake the seeds into their proper place.

* After the foliage has faded on naturalized spring-flowering bulbs is a good time to dig up and divide any clumps that have become crowded. One of the most obvious signs of crowding is a drop in flower production.

* Liven up a shady porch or deck with a container garden or hanging basket with begonias, ferns, impatiens and English ivy.

* Warm-season bulbs such as acidanthera, caladiums, cannas, dahlias and gladioli can be planted now.

* It is also a fine time for vines. Quick growing annual eye-catchers such as climbing spinach, hyacinth bean, moonflower, morning glory and black-eyed Susan vines can not only add vertical interest to a garden but can also provide a quick, all-natural screen.

* Hydrangea lovers, remember: Acid soil turns the blooms of many Hydrangea macrophylla cultivars blue, while alkaline conditions will coax them into shades of pink. Adding dried blood meal or any of the common garden sulfur compounds such as aluminum sulfate or ferrous sulfate will lower the soil's pH. Adding lime will increase the alkalinity.

* It's warm enough to plant dahlias. Many cultivars tend to grow tall and become top-heavy, so secure a support stake in the planting hole.

* Annuals such as zinnias, salvias and petunias can become lanky, but pinching the plants back when they are 6 to 8 inches tall encourages bushier growth.

* Plants in the water garden have awakened by now. For best production from lilies and lotus, fertilize them about every three weeks; marginals will benefit from added nutrients every five to six weeks.

* The soil should be warm enough in the next few weeks to round out the vegetable garden with southern peas, okra, eggplant, hot and sweet peppers, lima beans and sweet potatoes.

* As early-planted beans, peas, lettuce, cucumbers and summer squash mature and begin to produce crops, establish a regular harvesting schedule to keep the plants picked. This will encourage a larger, more extended yield.

* Water is critical in the vegetable patch, but it is especially important to keep onions and cucumbers from drying out. If they aren't watered regularly, onions will not mature to their proper, plump size and cukes will develop a bitter taste.

* Love radishes but hate the heat that builds in them as the spring season grows long? Try planting a Daikon-type radish, which remains crisp and mild.

* Blossom-end rot prevention on tomatoes and peppers begins now. Keep the plants on a regular watering schedule and, at the end of the month, mulched to prevent them from becoming stressed and thus more susceptible to blossom-end rot.

* Keep your basil bushy. Pinch it back for more compact growth.

* Want fresh, home-grown fruit that doesn't require thinning and constant spraying? Try blueberry bushes, which can also be attractive ornamental additions to the landscape.

* By the end of the month, the soil should be warm enough in annual vegetable and flower beds to allow the addition of a 3-inch layer of organic mulch to protect root zones through the heat of the summer.