May Growers' Guide
As May rolls around, it is prime time to plant cool season crops like spinach, lettuce and broccoli.
Take time to nurture the soil with cool season cover-crops, mulching and adding compost
to enrich fertility. By embracing sustainable gardening practices, we foster a deeper
connection with the earth and cultivate a thriving garden eco-system.
This month we celebrate Mother's Day, recognising mothers are a symbol of the earth
in many cultures around the world. We also celebrate World Bee D
ay valuing the
important role of bees in nature across the planet, including our reliance on bees for
pollination of many fruits and vegetables.
Flowers
Seeds to sow now
Alyssum, Billy Buttons, Corn cockles, Cornflowers, Delphinium, Daisies, Hollyhocks, Lavender, Lupins, Poppy, Pyrethrum, Tansy
If you like roses, now is the time to consider buying bare rooted roses.
Veggies & Herbs
Seeds to sow now
Beetroot, Bok Choy, Broad Beans, Carrot, Celery, Chervil, Chives, Chinese broccoli, Coriander, Daikon, Kale, Leek, Lemon balm, Lettuce, Mizuna, Mustards, Onions, Pak Choy, Peas, Potato, Radish, Rocket, Spinach, Spring Onion, Swede, Thyme, Turnip
Seedlings to transplant now
Artichoke, Asparagus, Beans, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, Leek, Lettuce, Rhubarb, Silverbeet
Start thinking about the potatoes you want to sow in the upcoming season.
Fruits & Nuts
Fruits & Nuts
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Keep watering regularly - especially citrus.
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Mulching your fruit trees is important for water retention in the soil.
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Order your bare rooted fruit trees if you have not yet already.
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Prepare soil for bare rooted fruit trees.
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Cut out citrus tree water shoots.
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Review your trees and their progress over the past summer
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After your last raspberry harvest, remove old canes.
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Use supports to hold up heavy bearing raspberry canes.
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Check for and remove dropped citrus to stop fruit fly.
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Thin citrus as the fruit develops to stop branches breaking.
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Remove any mummified fruit and fallen fruit from stone fruit trees.
Soil, Tasks and Tools
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Ensure your worm farm is somewhere warm for the winter
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Keep your veggies mulched
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Continue to weed, especially Mother of Millions
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Decide if you want to plant a green manure over winter - oats, vetch, mustard and clover for example
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Cut off dead and dying foliage
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Add a thick layer of mulch on garden beds to deter weeds and protect roots from cold
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Remember to turn off your irrigation system during periods of rain
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Create channels to divert water and stop beds becoming water logged
Harvest, Preserve
& Seed Save
Harvesting
beans, berries, lettuce, silverbeet, rhubarb and citrus fruit as they ripen, radishes, spring onions, mustards, spinach, squashes, tomatoes, herbs such as coriander, bananas, squashes, sweet potato, chillies
Seed saving
Beans, rocket, silverbeet, tomatoes, squashes
