What to do in the Garden in May

Late May is usually a safe time to plant out bedding plants, but don't rush. If it's a cold May, bedding will not like it outside and cold can cause plants to sulk. The plants we buy from garden centres have been grown in perfect conditions, warm, no wind and perfect amounts of water. To bring these plants home and stick them outside in a cold May with a chill wind will give the plants a shock and set back growing. It could delay the plant's growth and flowering for a number of weeks. It is always better to plant bedding plants during a warm spell and get them off to a good start.

Video help When to plant out bedding plants

  Even if the plant is fully hardy, it is essential to " harden off" plants grown under glass so they are ready to be planted outside. To do this, put the plants outside on milder days and nights, gradually exposing them to more and more time in the outside conditions. On colder days and nights, bring back under glass or cover with a fleece, gradually reducing the cover until they are out 24/7 and acclimatised to the growing conditions outside. A good tip, if you have a potting shed or greenhouse, is to plant up the containers and grow them on in the greenhouse until late May. The plants will get established in the container and will be more mature when moved outside.

Whether outside or in, nip out the growing points ( see image above,)  to produce a bushier plant otherwise some plants, particularly petunia, fuchsia, verbena will grow leggy. Whether growing bedding plants on inside/windowsills/in the greenhouse, I usually stop them from flowering by pinching out the flowers until ready for planting out. There is no point in the plant using energy to flower in the greenhouse, nip out the flower and divert the energy to the plant's growth until outside in the garden.

Continue to sow under glass the more tender vegetables such as French beans, tomatoes, sweet corn, squashes, Cucumber and courgettes. Keep underglass until frost-free conditions are available in the veg plot, which means late May/early June, depending on where you are in the country and the garden aspect. 

 If the weather conditions are right and the soil warmed up, you can sow outside the hardier veg such as carrots, broad beans, kale and purple sprouting broccoli. Carrots need protection against carrot fly and this needs to be a physical barrier such as euro mesh, illustrated in the image above. Carrot fly can severely damage the crop, and although it is a nuisance to erect mesh around the carrots, it is the only safe way. Specialist varieties of Carrots such as Flyaway are less vulnerable to damage, but not guaranteed.

Tips on how to grow carrots and a Video on how to plant out beans and Video on how to Grow and plant onions and garlic.

Any tomato plants which are filling their pots and looking at bit top heavy will need to be potted on before being planted in final position/container. More about growing tomatoes and video How (and why) to Pot on tomatoes. Even at this early stage tomatoes will be producing side shoots and it is important to remove these regularly. Advice on side shoots look like and how to remove them on growing tomatoes and video.

"Success with Tomatoes" by the Sunday Gardener, is a comprehensive guide to growing tomatoes.

When growing potatoes outside, keep an eye on the top growth, because if there is a frost, the top growth, called 'haulm', will need protection. This is illustrated left, and it can be damaged by frost. If the top growth gets caught in a frost, the Potato will survive, although it is likely to delay the flowering and harvest. 

 Potatoes like to be planted into a warm soil, so check the soil, not the calendar, if you want to get them off to a good start. 

  The same applies if you are growing potatoes in containers. Check the temperature of the compost as bags because if they have been stored outside the compost can be surprisingly cold. Cover the bed or tubs with fleece if there is frost. The early potatoes may need earthing up for the first time in late May/early June, which helps to improve the crop as it allows more potatoes to form as the season goes on; more about growing potatoes with tips and hints on how to get the best crop.  

Even at this early stage in the growing season it is worth thinking about how to avoid gluts which is by "Successive sowing and planting" To have a regular supply of veg it is necessary to sow/or plant a regular supply of plants or seeds at regular intervals so that they are ready to harvest spaced by the of planting interval. Seeds sown together, will crop together, and so create a glut. A useful rule of thumb, (and easy to remember) is to plant or sow every fortnight for successive cropping.

  Also in May check out emerging fruit on the strawberries before the birds do. Net and protect the plants from the birds to make sure you can enjoy the crop as the birds love strawberries. Place straw around to protect the fruit from dirt and rain splashes (which can cause mould). I like to keep strawberries covered with a cloche through the early growing months as the extra shelter aids an earlier crop. 

These strawberries have been mulched with strulch a brand of mulch which I find very effective and easy to use. I use it on the strawberry plants and all around the garden as a good mulch. It is also very light and clean to handle.