This May, find out which grow your own veg you can get growing in the garden.
The weather is often lovely during May and you may be tempted to plant your non hardy veg seedlings outside but be careful. The old saying ‘Never cast a clout til May is out’ actually means don’t take your coat off, and the same applies to your non-hardy seedlings. There can still be a frost in May which may wipe out your young plants unless you protect them well at night with horticultural fleece. Non tender veg can be planted out as long as you’ve hardened them off first. This means keeping them outside during the day and bring them in overnight for a week before you plant them out. Here are my top grow your own veg for May:
Cucumber ‘Burpless’
May is the last opportunity to sow cucumber seed to get a harvest this year. Although, of course you can still buy young plants. This is a wonderful, crunchy, and sweet tasting variety that pumps out cucumbers for months. Sow the seeds vertically to stop them rotting and plant out when the last frosts have finished. You can also sow seeds of this variety outside from the middle of this month.
- Harvest July to September
- Half hardy
- Grows 1.8m tall and 60cm wide
- Moist but well-drained soil
- Full sun
- Sheltered
Potato ‘Cara’
Last month focused on planting out first early potatoes and this month is the turn of the main cropping variety ‘Cara’. This variety makes great chips and jacket potatoes and another good thing about it is that it copes well in times of drought. The tubers are oval-round blushed pink and have great resistance to disease. Unlike first and second earlies, they don’t need to be chitted before planting out. Plant in the same way as the first earlies.
- Harvest August to September
- Tender
- Grows 60cm tall and 60cm wide
- Moist, but well-drained soil
- Full sun
- Exposed
Borlotti beans ‘Lamon’
These attractive looking red speckled beans taste great as part of a bean salad or in stews and soup. They aren’t easy to find for sale, and they’re easy to grow, so why not plant a few seeds now? Start them off in pots under cover or on your windowsill, sowing seeds 4cm deep. Then, they’ll be ready to plant outside when they reach around 10cm, after the last frosts have passed. Also, this climbing variety is perfect for growing in raised beds up bamboo cane wigwams. Plant outside at 15cm apart with 50cm between rows and then grow in much the same way as you would runner beans.
- Harvest August to September
- Half hardy
- Grows 1.8m tall and 40cm wide
- Moist, but well-drained soil
- Full sun
- Sheltered
Romaine lettuce ‘Little Gem’
It’s a good idea to succession sow lettuce seed throughout the year, so as not to have them ripen all at the same time. ‘Little Gem’ is a crisp and sweet variety and early to mature. Unlike most other lettuce types, a romaine lettuce is good cooked, so you can try grilling some. They’re easy to grow, particularly in hot summers, as they withstand heat better than most other lettuce types.
- Harvest July to August
- Hardy
- Grows 20cm tall and 20cm wide
- Moist but well-drained soil
- Full sun or partial shade
- Exposed
Swiss chard ‘Bright Lights’
If you’re new to growing veg you can’t go wrong with chard. This variety is a total delight, with a random mix of different colour stems of red, pink, yellow, and white. Another great thing about it is it’s really easy to grow. Plus, you can pick the leaves for months on end which means you only need to make one or two sowings for the whole growing year. With leaves ready to harvest as little as 4 weeks from sowing this is a definite must-grow veg.
- Harvest July to November
- Hardy
- Grows 45cm tall and 30cm wide
- Will grow in most soil types
- Part shade
- Exposed
There is plenty of veg to get growing in your garden in May. With these top grow your own picks, you can have summer harvests of delicious and nutritious food.
David Domoney is a Chartered Horticulturalist, Broadcaster, and Author. David has worked with a number of the UK’s leading garden retailers as a plant buyer and strategic consultant. With more than 30 years experience, in horticulture, David is as passionate about plants now as he was when he bought his first plant at a village fete.
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