Market Garden
Seasonal tasks in the veg garden - Bill Hudson says that in May there are too many jobs, too few hours in the day!
 |
| Plum-shaped tomatoes are good for bottling and cooking |
THIS is probably the busiest time in the gardening calendar. There are not enough hours in the day; everything is growing before your very eyes including weeds.
Unless you are very well prepared and have carried out all the hard preparation work in winter, you can be caught out. Plants love this time of year; longer, warmer, moist weather encourages rapid germination and shoot development. However, do not be tempted to try to plant or sow too much overnight. Rome wasn't built in a day! Pace your work schedule over the month.
May can be a very dangerous month weatherwise. In the south of the country the danger of frosts should now have receded but this is not the case in the Midlands and the north of the country. Many tender vegetables, such as courgettes and runner beans, and even young seedlings can be killed overnight with one hard frost. So don't be tempted to be too keen and plant everything out early in the month. Take note of the weather bulletins.
Horticultural fleece is an excellent material for preventing frost damage on young vegetable plants. Simply pull the fleece over young plants and anchor it down at the edges, this will prevent frost damage down to about -3C. It can be a bit of a chore to cover and uncover plants, but well worth it when your plants grow away and early crops are produced. By the end of this month frost should have disappeared with the exception of the far north, and planting out of all crops can continue. Those young tender plants that have
been growing in pots will be desperate to get into the soil, for example outdoor tomatoes.
Tomatoes can be grown easily now without a glasshouse and taste fantastic if grown in a hot spot. They can be either grown in the ground or in large pots or grow bags. Nothing is more delicious than picking a tasty ripe tomato from the vine!
There are many indoor varieties, but outdoor types need to be selected with more care. Seed catalogues list outdoor types, which are quicker to mature and shorter in height than their indoor cousins. Choose varieties that you will like and try one or two new ones. A good choice is a "standard type", such as Alicante' which produces heavy crops of smooth, good-flavoured fruit. Another variety which I grow and has delicious cherry fruits is Gardener's Delight', which is a must in any tomato range. For culinary use have a try at the Italian variety San Marzano', which is a plum-shaped fruit good for bottling, cooking, and tomato sauces - scrumptious!
Plants growing in 9cm pots can be planted outside into well-cultivated soil 45-60cm apart when the flowers of the first truss are beginning to open, or, if you have no available soil plant 2-3 tomatoes in grow bags or singly in large plastic pots. It is important that plants have been hardened off in cold frames or a cool room before planting out. Tie the main stem to a vertical bamboo cane or wind it gently around a well anchored string. Bust types need very little, if any, support.
Remove side shoots of standard varieties as they appear to keep the plant producing one main stem. Bust types such as Tiny Tim' should not have side shoots removed, just let them grow naturally.
Tomatoes are fast growing and will need plenty of sustenance to produce good healthy crops. Water regularly and keep the compost uniformly moist since split tomatoes can result! Start feeding when the first fruits are forming and feed every week with a balanced tomato liquid feed which high in potash fertiliser. Do not be tempted to let them grow too tall, you should remove the growing point of outdoor plants when they have produced 4-5 fruit trusses. Ripe fruits will then form before late summer. Remove yellowing lower leaves to give the fruit air and sunlight. Following this, you will get more tomatoes than you can cope with!
Jobs for May
Sow French and runner beans, cucumbers and squashes into pots in cold frames or directly into beds outside in milder areas.
Sweetcorn is delicious and easily grown; it must be grown in blocks, not in single drills. Ideally grow in plug trays or two seeds per 9cm pots in cold frames or a glasshouse. Plant single plants 45cm apart in large blocks for successful fertilisation of the corn. Choose sweet varieties such as Sweet Nugget' or Tasty Gold'. Regular watering is important once the cobs start to form, and mulching with organic matter also helps if the ground is moist. The cobs are ready when the tassels or silks turn brown. To check, pull back some of the covering husk and squeeze a kernel, if the juice is milky the cob is ripe.
Harvest early lettuce, spring cabbage, spring onions and radish. Continue successional sowing of salad crops to produce an even supply later in the season.
Sow purple sprouting broccoli and cauliflowers for harvesting next year.
Brussel sprouts for cropping in the autumn and winter should now be ready for transplanting into final positions. Plan firmly to avoid wind-rock, about 75cm apart; you may need to cover with netting to prevent pigeon damage.
Earth up potatoes for when shoots are about 25cm high to prevent the new tubers greening up and to produce a larger crop.
Leeks can still be sown in drills or planted out now if seedlings have been grown. They can be grown as mini-leeks if 4-5 seedlings are grown in modules to produce small bunched plants. Traditionally, leeks are grown as individual plants and are placed into holes when 10cm high using a large dibber or old spade shaft to make the holes. Drop each plant into the hole and simply water in.
Fruit garden
Fruit plants both top and soft are looking at their best this month, with apples flowering and soft fruit growing actively.
Mulch all fruit crops to help retain any moisture in the ground, since dry soil will prevent fruit swelling properly.
Remove raspberry suckers that grow too far out from the row. Check ties on summer raspberries and make sure each cane has some space between them. Remove canes with secateurs if they are too close.
Net soft fruit such as gooseberries as they begin to ripen.
Strawberry runners will need to be kept in check, as they produce far too many. Remove some runners this month since they can reduce the yield from the main plant. It is important to water strawberries well in dry weather.
Control weeds around all fruit by hoeing on hot days and continue mulching.
Print 
Email this 
Comment
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
