May is here at last. The weather is warmer and sunnier, the days are getting longer and summer is definitely on its way.
Our top picks to keep you busy in the garden this month:
- Earth up potatoes and promptly plant any remaining.
- Plant summer bedding at the end of this month.
- Collect rainwater and recycle it for irrigation.
- Open greenhouse vents and doors on warm days.
- Mow lawns and weed regularly for great results.
- Apply a liquid fertilizer to spring bulbs after they have flowered, to encourage good flowering next year and help prevent daffodil blindness.
- Allow the foliage of daffodils and other spring-flowering bulbs to die down naturally.
In the greenhouse / indoors
- Start off sweetcorn in modules ready for planting out once all risk of frost has passed. Grow at least 12 plants for good pollination and cropping.
- Sow basil in pots for the greenhouse or windowsill
- Try sowing lettuce in module trays under glass for transplanting into the garden later. Sow every 3 or 4 weeks for continuous harvesting.
- After all risk of frost has passed, plant out tomatoes and courgettes that were previously sown under cover.
