Things To Do In May In Your Garden

In May, things are really beginning to flourish in the garden. If you do not keep on top of things this month then things can begin to get a little out of control. Here is a list of some of the jobs you should try to get round to some time this month:

Jobs in the Vegetable Garden:

• Earth up your potatoes or bank up with a thick mulch.
• Plant out brassicas and leeks into their final growing positions.
• Thin out direct sown lettuce, spinach etc. and continue to water well.
• Weed around onions and garlic carefully to make sure they do not have competition.
• Make a frame for runner beans and plant out towards the end of the month.

Jobs in the Fruit Garden/Orchard:

• Keep young fruit trees well watered while they put on rapid growth.
• Surround strawberry plants with straw to protect the fruits as these begin to form.
• Check gooseberry bushes regularly for sawfly caterpillars which could quickly decimate foliage.
• Put netting around soft fruit bushes where there is a risk of birds eating your whole crop.
• Hang pheromone traps in fruit trees if you have a big problem with various moths.

Jobs in the Flower Garden:

• Take cuttings from tender perennials such as fuchsia and pelargoniums (geraniums).
• Use the fresh shoots of hardy perennials for cuttings.
• Take softwood cuttings of shrubby herbs such as sage and lemon verbena.
• Tie in climbing and rambling roses and tie in sweet peas to encourage them to climb and flower.
• Closely inspect plants for pests and diseases to nip any problems in the bud.

Jobs Under Cover:

• Continue pricking out and potting on seedlings throughout the month.
• Sow cucurbits or transfer cucurbits sown indoors into your greenhouse or polytunnel.
• Towards the end of the month, consider placing tomato plants grown indoors into a polytunnel or outdoors into a sheltered spot, after all risk of frost is gone.
• Be sure to make sure there is enough ventilation in your greenhouse or polytunnel.
• Water regularly, usually every day and damp down growing spaces on very hot days.

General Garden Jobs:

• Remove duckweed and blanket weed from your pond, leaving it beside the pond to allow any trapped pond creatures to escape.
• Clip any evergreen hedges.
• Stay on top of weeds throughout your garden.
• Keep on top of the lawn, mowing and watering when necessary.
• Don't forget to spend some time enjoying and observing your garden now the weather is warming up.