Jobs For May

May is usually a super-busy month in the garden: all the tender vegetables will need to be planted out as and when the conditions allow. Timing is key; the longer they have in the ground the better the harvest is likely to be. This is especially the case for some of the chillies. Last year my two Krishna Jolokia plants only started to set fruit in late October just as the first frosts wiped out the plants. But we must be patient, if the ground hasn't warmed up enough yet, or the weather is too cold, or if the plants are still too small or haven't be hardened off properly then we will have to wait until the  time is right.

The Blow-away greenhouse - stage 2 between the house and the garden.

In May I should be planting out in no particular order - 

Chillies

The 2019 Tomato Frame ready for planting.

Sweet Peppers
Aubergines
Tomatillos
Tomatoes
Courgettes
Pumpkins
Cucumbers & Gherkins
Melons
Haricot (French) beans
Sweetcorn
Basil
Flowers like sunflowers & zinnias


Seed sowing, pricking out (where necessary) & planting out will continue for things that I repeat sow - 

Lettuces
Radish
Beetroot
Turnips
Coriander & Parsley
Haricot (French) beans

I will also be planting out those brassicas that will hopefully feed us through next winter and spring - 
Kales
Cabbages
Cauliflowers
Brussels Sprouts
Calabrese
Sprouting Broccoli

And having done all that there will still be a phenomenal amount of maintenance to keep on top of. Clematis and other climbers will need tying in, roses dead-heading and rampant tendrils of wisteria removing before they get in amongst the roof and windows!  

The pink Rosa Rugosa is now flowering as part of a hedge.

The normally warm May weather combined with moist ground will see grass growing at quite a rate. I have grass paths throughout the potager which will need cutting every week to ten days, as will the main grass. But fortunately a thin layer of grass clippings on the veg beds will help to keep the weeds down and reduce the amount of weeding needed. I also find this an effective way to distract the slugs from my baby plants, while the blackbirds and thrushes have a much easier job searching for slugs and snails under loose mulch than sun-baked soil. Retuning mulch to the beds is a much quicker job than weeding them.

Shrubs and hedges will also be growing at an alarming rate, but be very wary of cutting anything at the moment - we are in the middle of nesting season and we need as many chicks as possible being fed on the aphids and caterpillars that might otherwise devastate our crops! We never cut hedges before August: we currently have blackbirds on their second brood in the most vulnerable patch of hedge at a junction of two paths next to the wood shed. I would have thought this safe to cut if I hadn't taken a really close look first.

Sweet William up in the wild flower meadow.

In May, enjoy the abundance of flowers and the vibrant green of the new growth; the heat of June and July is not far away!