With the horticulture season in full swing , in May you have lots to do in your veggie garden : the first harvest are quick , some involve fertilise , then you have seeds to plant … Stop there ! Are you sure you want to sow during this calendar month ? I would n’t , I was you – and in fact I do n’t !
“ But why ? ” you may demand , “ The atmospheric condition ’s fine , water system is still plenty and I still have space in my garden to fill up up . ” Ok , I can see your point , but you will be surprised to get laid that you may be wasting your clock time . And I am going to tell you why . But also what else to do , and the very few crops you could seed in May …
Why Is May Such a Bad Time for Planting Seeds?
It sound counterintuitive , because May has all right weather , but the problem with sowing now is that your plant wo n’t have enough meter to maturate and get strong before the spicy and often dry days of summer come …
Then , if your pocket-size plant or seedling are not strong enough , they may have , become weak , and even fail .
likewise , it is far too other to inseminate fall crops , because , again , you want the hot days of summertime to be over before you take up them off in your garden .
This is , of course , about planting seed , while you may still transplant some seedling , which , instead , already have roots and that they are hard enough to face the heat of summertime , or they will be in about a month at least .
Can I Still Sow Seeds in May in Colder Climates?
And the resolution is … yes , you may ! I would n’t implant seed during May in USDA zones 7 and above , which is the guinea pig for most of us … But in cold clime , the time of year is behind , and summers are never too raging .
So , if you live in USDA zones 6 and below , you’re able to still use the month of May to sow your semen …
But now , on to some footling exception … Because there are some vegetable miscellanea you could still sow in May …
A Few Veggies You Can Still Plant in May
There are a few veggie you could still sow in the calendar month of May , especiallysquash , pumpkin and courgette .
But if you have a pocket-size back garden , mash and pumpkin vine are unremarkably out of the question , because they grow monumental plants and take up raft of space . Zucchini is still fair large , but still more manageable in a modest - sized curtilage …
You could also sowsweetcorn and helianthus , but again , the first is not really pop with home growers , and the second – well , it ’s usually for the hiss , and we commonly just grow one or a few , more for fun than for food …
While on planting calendar you will study that you could sowroot vegetables , likebeetroot and carrot , I would do it in the first place , when they have time to demonstrate themselves in your vegetable garden before the hot season come , especially in warm climates .
lastly , you may still plantsweet potato slip , but it ’s actually more transplanting than sowing , as you will use the immature vine that turn from the tubers . But even here , verify that they have grow to minuscule adult , at least one foot tall ( 30 cm ) , if you want to put them in your garden in the month of May , and that the antecedent are well developed . They will need them warm and goodly for the hot daylight of summertime to come , or they might not get enough water .
Vegetables You Should Still Sow in May
On the other hand , there are still vegetables that you should sow in May , and one of them islettuce . You need summer varieties though at this stage , heat repellent ace , likelittle gem , cos , buttercrunch , butterhead , mordant seeded Simpson , Romaine , great lakes , dark-green forest , bibb , greenish ice , cervid tongue or red Lollo …
Cold varieties like lamb ’s ear and Tom thumb will not superintend the heat , and they will go off as well …
But remember that we can grow lettuce all class round in mild , even continental mood , but not in very insensate region .
And there ’s another exclusion …
You Can Seed Vegetables That You Succession Plant
veggie that you grow in Wave , so that you succession plant , can be seed in May too . These are short go varieties , that give you a big bumper harvest , but brief and intense . So , for example cuke , Swiss chard , radishes , and even peas and dome .
However , even if you want twilight tomatoes , you should wait till the end of June to constitute them ; they will need lots of water and they do n’t like temperatures above 80 ° F ( or 27 ° C ) , which are quite common in the thick of summer , so , a draw out point over this range will strain them out and it may even kill them .
They will manage a calendar month though , in July , if you keep them unused and well ventilated and , above all , well - watered !
So, What Should You Be Doing in May in Your Garden Instead of Planting Seeds?
you may still transplant some seedlings in May , as we said , but check that they are strong and that they have goodly root . But this is the month when you must make certain that your vegetables are doing well ; it is a clip of raise , rather than sowing …
And your main job in may are :
So , even if May is not the adept time for sowing veg , there are still a few you will have to imbed , and you may fill gaps in your garden , while you may fill your time with other action , and you will have a summertime of plenty and generous crops !
spell By
Amber Noyes was suffer and raised in a suburban California town , San Mateo . She carry a master ’s degree in gardening from the University of California as well as a BS in Biology from the University of San Francisco . With experience work on an constitutive farm , water conservation enquiry , sodbuster ’ market , and plant glasshouse , she understands what take in plants thrive and how we can better empathize the connection between microclimate and plant wellness . When she ’s not on the land , Amber loves informing people of young ideas / things related to horticulture , especially organic gardening , houseplants , and growing plants in a small distance .
