Panhandle Plantings-A new column by Master Gardener Val Ford
May Day! An alert of sorts, but not the kind that immediately came to mind, I’m willing to bet. When I was a little girl living in Virginia, we marked this annual celebration of Spring by distributing flower-filled baskets to friends. Sadly, this tradition seems to have fallen by the wayside, except with the French, who still celebrate May Day with tiny bouquets of Lily-of-the-Valley.
Here in the Panhandle, we’re tenaciously hanging on to the last of the mild weather before summer sets in with a vengeance. Most of us have already set out summer gardens, whether vegetable or ornamental, and are well into maintenance mode. But there’s still time to begin warm-season vegetables such as lima beans, okra, eggplant, southern peas and sweet potatoes.
For anyone with the desire to try their hand at propagation, May is the time to make cuttings of shrubs such as azaleas, hollies and camellias, just as the new growth becomes half-hardened.
Now is the time to really begin thinking about summer herbs. Basil will begin to germinate as the soil temperature reaches 75°F. If you’re planting more than one variety, remember to keep them separated by at least ten feet, if you intend to save seed for next year. Next to thyme, basil is the most rampant cross-pollinator, creating random varieties that may or may not be what you want.
Along with fennel and lemon grass, other herbs that welcome the heat and humidity of summer include lemon balm, borage, rosemary, sage and oregano. Keep in mind that all herbs appreciate some afternoon shade and are susceptible to crown and root rots in our high-humidity environment. Both can be minimized by utilizing a rock or shell mulch; this keeps foliage off the ground and also creates a micro-climate of rising air, pushing moisture and humidity away from the plant.
A good warm-weather substitute for fresh garden lettuce is French Sorrel (Rumex acetosa). This fountain-shaped plant produces tangy, lemon-flavored leaves that are great on sandwiches. FrenchTarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) is a favorite herb of many, but one not suitable to Florida. We can get around this problem by using a summer-friendly perennial, Mexican tarragon, a. k. a Mexican marigold (Tagentes lucida), and get a jump on autumn color at the same time (it has a beautiful little yellow marigold bloom all fall).
Garden wisdom: Herbs grown for culinary use need a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight daily to produce the essential oils (taste) they’re grown for.
Val Ford is a Holmes County Master Gardener. She is a three-time recipient of the Florida MG Award for Written Mass Communications for the weekly DeFuniak Springs Herald "Gardeners’ Dirt" column. If you have gardening questions or problems, contact your local County Extension Office, or Val at Flsnowflake7592@aol.com.
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