Garden Notes for the Family Vegetable Garden - May

Garden Notes for the Family Vegetable Garden

May

After a long warm autumn the garden has finally come to a time of rest.  Things have slowed down but there will still be plenty going on under ground.  Frosts will be upon us but the cooler mornings will concentrate the sugars in your leafy and root veges as well as the autumn leaves so should be a beautiful autumn display this year.  With the rains and a bit of residual warmth we might finally see some field mushrooms.

Nothing likes to grow in cold wet soils so your beds will appreciate the mulches and compost you applied in April while the ground was still a little warm.   I always have one bed that I use as a compost bed and keep adding to it over the winter.  Seaweed, animal manure, kitchen scraps, fallen leaves, straw – whatever I can find to build it up. It will build up the nutritional and structural component of your soil and your vegetables will repay you by growing extra well.

There will be lots of fallen leaves around this time of year. You can add some to your compost stash but why not make traditional leaf litter?  This makes a natural soil conditioner and mulch.   A good way to get leaf litter is to rake up damp leaves and put into a black polythene rubbish bag along with some horse manure or blood and bone and leave for a season. Make sure you put lots of holes in the bag for aeration. 

Sow or Plant : Lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, cauli, spring onions, parsley, peas, kale,

 The big ones for the month will be broad beans and garlic.  Start succession sowing of Broad Beans.  The addition of compost and a bit of lime will be beneficial but too much in the way of fresh manure will affect the development of seed pods in spring.  Plant in double rows 15 cms apart leaving about a metre to your next double row. Plant the beans 5cms deep and 15 cm apart.

Garlic – get a head start on the traditional mid-winters day sowing by starting your garlic now. It has a long growing season (6-8 months) but doesn’t take up a huge amount of room. Choose the fattest cloves either from your last year’s crop or buy them. It is a hungry root crop so plant in humus rich soil with blood and bone.  The rule with bulbs is to plant to twice the depth so about 5 cm deep. I water in with liquid fertilizer but then hold the feed until the following month.

Cultivate; Your December sown leeks will benefit from some mounding up to keep the stems white. Thin leeks to 5cm apart and pile up soil. 

then make sure you cultivate weekly between the rows. This also allows air into the roots. Stake any leggy Brussel Sprouts.

Harvest;  Brassicas, pumpkins, brussel sprouts, silverbeet, celery, parsnips, carrots,

Store: Root crops such as carrots and parsnips can be stored covered in a cool dark shed. Keep an eye on them as well as your stored pumpkins and potatoes. Take out any that show signs of rotting.