During the month of May in most parts of the country, it will be a great time to get your plants in the ground to start the gardening season.
Temperatures are now above freezing and the last of the frost warnings are behind us which means we can start planting.
May Garden Task List
Purchase your vegetable plants and seeds. I recommend using a reputable garden center to purchase your plants. It is always worth asking if they have a discounted area where they put overstocked plants that you can purchase at a substantial discount.
Bring your plants out to harden plants off for 1-2 weeks before planting. Even if you bring plants home that you purchased it is a good idea to introduce them to your environment for a few days before planting them.
Time to plant your vegetable and flower plants and sow seeds in your garden.
Layout your drip system for watering your plants and make sure you have adequate water for your plants.
Purchase your organic soil and fertilizers to plant your garden to give it a good start.
Be sure to wear protective layers to keep you warm in the morning, and cool in the afternoon. Also, be sure to put sunscreen on and wear a hat to protect your scalp from getting sunburned
After planting start your weekly weeding to keep the garden weed-free.
As soon as you have planted and placed your drip system for watering you need to mulch around your plants to reduce the watering needed and to reduce how much you need to weed your garden.
If you missed any dead or damaged branches on shrubs or trees now is the time to prune them out.
If you grow fruit that needs protection from predators now is the time to put your nets in place so that you can protect your blueberries, strawberries, and other fruit from birds and other predators.
Now is a great time to get your 2nd planting in of early crops to get a 2nd harvest, such as peas, onions, lettuce, and carrots.
May is a great month to get your flower baskets started for the beautiful color they bring all summer.
Peonies and Lilac are in full bloom, you can cut to enjoy these indoors as well as in your garden. Lilac flowers not only add great color to your garden but they also fill the air with an incredible fragrance.
Here is a list of seeds to sow directly in the garden. Squash, onion, cucumber, lettuce, swiss chard, pumpkins, radishes, kohlrabi, kale, and at the end of the month you can plant your beans.
Make sure you are protecting your plants from slugs and snails that love to eat freshly planted crops.
Place your hornet and yellow jacket traps out to reduce their population in your yard.
Release those good bugs to keep your garden safe, such as ladybugs, praying mantis, lacewings, and other bugs that are specific to your area.
Use crop cover material to protect from predators and sun on those plants such as cabbage and cauliflower.
Plant your companion plants to protect them from pests.
