Verdant View – May 2024

The Simple Life

I’ve tried to simplify my life since I moved back to Mexico 13 years ago. I still drive a secondhand, 26-year-old family van purchased from my sister Sandra and brought from Santa Monica, CA. I still wear secondhand store-bought clothes that my mother Rebecca used to bring me every July for my birthday. I walk as much as I can knowing that my body needs and craves the exercise. I find I notice things during my walks that zip by my attention radar while traveling in an automobile. I mostly cook at home and share meals with friends and family. I try to limit my outings to one a day, be they food shopping, running errands or helping friends.

My carbon-lean lifestyle fits me well and makes me feel good. Several studies have shown that most actions that lower our environmental impact make us more happy, not less. Having the feeling that we’re contributing to something bigger, more important than ourselves can be psychologically powerful. A study published in 2020 confirmed that there can be a strong connection between sustainable behaviors and mental well-being.

You know that “green glow“ that you feel after doing something friendly for someone or something that is eco-friendly? That can be defined as a mood boosting pat on the back.

Gardening also gives me that “green glow.” While gardening, I seem impervious to heat, cold, hunger and thirst. My senses focus on the present, and the usual thought traffic in my head becomes quiet. I also feel a much deeper connection to the natural world.

I have value to my world and my community beyond ceaseless production. Pursuits like gardening foster joy, wonder and connection to place and essentially give me a sense of a fulfilled life.

Watering Methods

One thing we know here in the Ribera de Chapala is that the month of May is hot!

We anticipate the rains to start mid-June, so until then your plants will need extra watering and protection. Container plants and hanging baskets may need daily watering now that they have established themselves and the temperatures have risen. Some plants may need relocating to a shadier location where the brutal direct sun is tempered with shade. Water perennial plants, vegetables and shrubs thoroughly and allow the plants to dry adequately between watering.

The garden will definitely need irrigation, so start applying water either by hand or via soaker hoses or drip irrigation or overhead sprinkler.  Each method differs in how it moistens the soil surrounding the plant, and consequently different plants do best with different modes.

By hand is best for individual attention to plants when they need specific attention like filling a basin of a tomato plant.

Soaker hose that weeps along its length (not just with holes a foot apart) can be strung about 9” apart throughout and around plants so the entire bed is moistened. This is ideal for closely planted vegetable beds.

Drip irrigation can be applied to individual plants that grow several feet from other plants. Be sure to use the appropriate head that will moisten the soil completely around the plant. One great fault with this method is for the head to provide water only directly onto the center or stem of the plant alone and leave the rest of the root zone dry.

Overhead sprinkler is ideal for grass. The problem with its use for perennials or other ornamentals is that once they attain some size after a year or two, chances are the sprinkler spray will be blocked for any longer-distance plant.

Depth and Frequency

Depth of watering is consistent year-round depending on the individual plants – however much is necessary to reach just below the full root zone of each plant.  For grass this is 6”. For most ornamentals this is 12”. For many vegetables this is 12”. For tomatoes it can be 3 feet. For trees it’s 18-36”.

Frequency of watering changes with the seasons because of the intensity of the heat and evaporation, and the bulkiness of the plant’s foliage. Test how long it takes for water to reach the desired depth – water one day and dig into the soil the next day to see how far down the water penetrated. Then, adjust the length of time you applied the water. If your soil is heavier, like clay, you may have to water some on one day (until runoff) and again more the next day (until runoff) to get the soil moist, deep enough but avoid having runoff.  Timings may be as little as once a month during winter, once every two weeks in the Spring and Fall, but as frequently during our Summer as twice a week during our weeks of high temperatures.

Avoid overhead irrigation so late in the day that foliage cannot dry completely before sunset. Fungal and bacterial diseases thrive in warm, moist conditions and can develop overnight.

You might want to keep a pest journal to track your unwanted visitors. Walk around the garden with your garden journal and note the pests you see in your May garden.

Consider what companion plants will attract predatory insects to your garden to combat pests this season. Today I spotted leaf damage due to a grasshopper I have seen in my garden. In the past, I’ve left it to its own devices, rationalizing that one will not do much damage…now I am rethinking this approach and plan on capturing the ‘hungry hopper’ and relocating the critter.

It’s also a great time to fertilize your vegetable garden, perennial gardens, and container plants. You can add compost around your fruit trees to give them a boost. Remember to always fertilize after you have weeded so that you are not feeding the weeds.

Encourage bees to visit your garden for better pollination. They’ll come more readily if you provide them with their favorite plants including basil, borage, calendulas, catnip, hyssop, lemon balm, mint, summer savory, thyme, and other plants with blue flowers.

What to plant in May

May is the ideal month to plant the heat-lovers, the vegetables and flowers that seem to thrive and bloom more lustily when the weather is hot and sunny. Earlier in spring and later in fall, we coddle them to stretch the seasons, but now is when they grow quickly. 

This month is our hottest and driest month of the year at Lakeside. Extra water may be needed, as well as shelter during the hottest time of day for you and your garden. Look for Portulaca, Lantana, Geranium, and Penta at the viveros, but it’s too hot for pansies, Petunias and primrose. The Reina de la Noche blooms in May. Start cucumbers and squashes, eggplant too, but remember they need lots of water (moist, well-drained soil). Plant seeds for Gaillardia, Coreopsis, Coleus and Cleome. Cut back Ageratum, Alyssum and Petunias after blooming, and Geraniums too, removing the shaggy growth. They will all look better for it. Don’t forget to mist your orchids regularly.

If you plan to preserve some of your garden’s bounty, you may prefer to grow vegetable varieties which will be ready for harvest within a short period of time like three weeks. On the other hand, you may prefer processing several small batches rather than making a marathon effort or enjoying just a few of them a couple of times each week. In this case, reseed or transplant seedlings every two or three weeks for continuous harvests.

You could also put in sweet corn now, but most people wait until the rains begin. Plant corn in blocks of at least four rows in each direction to assure good wind pollination. Make succession plantings through the end of June only, as later plantings generally suffer from severe smut problems when they mature in September. Corn stalks make convenient pole bean supports. Plant the beans after the corn is six inches tall, no sooner, or the beans will outgrow the corn.

Maintain a good mulch of organic matter covering garden soil throughout the summer. This prevents crusting and cracking of the soil surface, holds in moisture, encourages earthworms, moderates soil temperatures for optimum root growth, improves the soil as it decomposes, and prevents weeds from germinating. A two-to-four-inch layer of mulch decreases evaporation from the soil by 70 percent or more, allowing you to water less often (but still deeply.) Keep mulch several inches away from tree trunks and plant stems, however, for good air circulation.

“When you live a simple life, the ordinary seems extraordinary.”