May in the garden: planting and maintenance

May is an important month for the gardener. With the return of sunny days and the first heat, it’s time to plant your vegetables and prepare your beds. Today, Sems le Jardinier explains to us how to properly prepare his vegetable patch and ornamental garden for the summer. Let’s go!

May in the garden: how to prepare for summer?

Between the last cold and the first heat, May is a month of transition in the garden. 

The end of the Ice Saints

The Ice Saints designate three days of May during which late frosts can occur overnight. The Ice Saints take place on May 11, 12, and 13, 2021. These drops in temperature can cause significant damage to crops. This is why it is advisable to wait until mid-May to plant cold-sensitive varieties outdoors. 

Take care of your soil in May

Last month, in April, Sems took care of his soil by cleaning and nourishing it. At the beginning of May, our favorite gardener finishes the soil cleaning operation by eliminating the last weeds in a natural way.

Whether in the vegetable patch or the ornamental garden, the simplest and most respectful technique for the soil is still to remove weeds manually using a hoe, a rake, or … with a gouge asparagus! The herbicides, too aggressive, be avoided. 

Use of the greenhouse in May 

If the weather is still cool and a greenhouse is available, some vegetable plants can be installed there. This is a good tip for vegetables that are sensitive to the cold, like: 

• The ‘Rocky ‘ cucumber or 
• the ‘Sebring ‘ zucchini for example.

However, remember to ventilate the greenhouse well: temperatures can rise quickly! In addition to lowering the temperature, aeration reduces the risk of fungal diseases.

What to do in May in the vegetable garden?

Planting vegetables and aromatics in May ensures abundant and delicious harvests in summer!

Plant the vegetables for the summer

May is the ideal month to plant fruit vegetables in the ground. You can opt for vegetables from the sun, such as: 

• tomatoes ‘ Fleurette ‘, ‘ Orange Fizz ‘ or cherry tomatoes ‘ Dolly ‘,
• ‘Poxigo’ or ‘ Bellania ‘ peppers ,
• the eggplant ‘Clara ‘. 

If you live in a cool area, installing a tunnel or a bell above the plants is a good way to protect your vegetables. This technique also makes it possible to speed up production. 

Sems is also taking advantage of the return of sunny days to transplant his salads, such as ‘Serpico ‘ lettuce or ‘Frantic ‘ batavia . Be careful, however: in case of rain, the snails and slugs are out and can come and nibble the leaves. Depositing sawdust, ash or coffee grounds helps protect salad crops. We can also distribute saucers of beers in the vegetable garden to trap these unwanted people.  

From mid-May, when all risk of frost has been ruled out, Sems will also plant more chilly vegetables, such as ‘Cyrano’ melon, ‘Divine’ pumpkin, or ‘Betty Blue ‘ pumpkin.

Caring for aromatic plants 

Aromatic plants do not all have the same resistance to cold. The more vigorous ones like the mint ‘Mojito Cocktail ‘ can be taken out from the beginning of May. This variety appreciates partial shade and requires frequent watering. 

Other more fragile plants should be kept indoors while waiting for warmer temperatures. This is the case with the ‘Grand Vert Compacto ‘ basil: Sems will install it outdoors from mid-May.

When to water your vegetable garden in May? 

Once all these beautiful vegetables are planted, Sems does not forget to take care of his vegetable garden by watering abundantly. 

However, the hottest hours of the day are avoided and watering is preferred in the early morning or early evening so that the plants can make the most of the water supply.

What to do in the ornamental garden in May?

Sems is already preparing his ornamental garden for the summer period. 

Prepare your flower beds

In early May, we can start to imagine colorful and original scenes for this summer. Now is the time to organize your beds and buy your plants to be ready to fill the beds when the time comes. 

From mid-May, it’s time to plant the annuals. To ensure continuous flowering from spring to autumn, we can count colorful and very productive varieties such as:

• the ‘Easy Wave ‘ petunia , 
• the begonia ‘Megawatt ‘
• or the impatiens ‘SunPatiens ‘.

Note that these plants require regular watering and an organic amendment every two weeks to flower abundantly. 

In May, it’s time for Sems to plant the annuals and perennials that will decorate his new embankment. After having defined the location of each variety, he goes to his usual point of sale to buy his plants from the Facil’été® range. From May 20, he will begin to set up his massif. Gerberas ‘Garvinea Sweet ‘, dipladenias ‘Bella ‘ or calibrachoa ‘Cabaret ‘ … You will soon discover this superb combination of plants!