May’s 5 MUST-PLANT Crops: For Any Climate

hi everyone I'm CaliKim Welcome to my garden  spring will quickly turn into summer today I'm   going to share with you five crops that you must  plant in May because after all April showers bring   May flowers so plant these crops now to get a jump  start on your summer harvest one of my favorite   crops to plant in May is melons the weather's  heating up and they love the warm temperatures   they really thrive best when the soil temperature  is about 70° if you're soil is not warm enough all   you need to do to solarize your soil or heat it up  is to place a piece of black plastic over the spot   where you're going to plant your melons or your  melon seeds a couple of weeks beforehand you'll   really heat it up and then your transplants will  take off and your seeds will pop right up start   seeds indoors about 2 weeks before your last  frost date or if you're already past your frost   date just plant seeds directly in your garden  beds or containers just drop them in here I'm   spacing them about 3 to 4 in apart and then I'll  thin to the strongest seedling once they pop up   if your soil is nice and warm they should be  popping up within a week or so now here I've   got some melons that are growing in little shorty  popped in some sugar baby melons so if you live   in a Northern climate where you don't have a long  growing season plant a more compact variety like   the sugar baby they're around 5 lbs and you can  get a harvest before the weather turns cold in   the fall so just popping your transplants into  your garden bed or you can plant them directly   from seed you do need a nice dirty trellis this  is a ladder mesh trellis which fits perfectly   over little shorty and they'll weave their way  up the trellis and it looks beautiful hanging   down as they grow you definitely want to get  them planted this month so that you can fit a   harvest in and really take full advantage of the  summertime warmth while sugar babies are compact   and great for smaller spaces or for containers  if you want to grow those big melons you're going   to need a nice sturdy trellis and lots of space  now here I planted a jubilee melon for my Melon   Seed Collection at the bottom of this A-frame  trellis it's a big 15 or 20 pounder and it's   a beauty let me tell you great for parties and  picnics and it'll serve a ton of people and by   the way don't miss our trellis video for how to  make this trellis I know you're going to love it   and it's super sturdy to grow plenty of heavy  duty watermelon as the Jubilee melon starts to   develop fruit it's going to need some support for  the fruit itself so I like to use panty hose or a   net little hammock to support it up the trellis  and plant your seeds or your transplants now in   may because it does take about 3 to 4 months to go  from seed to harvest and that way you have plenty   to harvest later in the summer when it's nice and  hot another crop I love to plant in May are beans   now we also planted these in April but beans are a  crop that you can plant each month throughout the   summer stagger your plantings to get a continual  harvest and that way you never run out of beans   they're the easiest crop to grow can grow them  from transplants or from seed one strategy I   like to do with beans is utilizing space in a  raised bed or here in little shorty underneath   a trellis so I've got transplants in which will  be ready to harvest in about a month or so before   they get shaded out by my melon plants they're a  nice quick crop and I also like to plant seeds at   the same time to spread my Harvest out again so  I never run out of beans to eat start your seeds   indoors about 2 to 4 weeks before your last frost  date if you're in a Southern Climate you can go   ahead and plant seeds directly in your garden  bed these are the Jackson Wonder bush beans   and I do recommend planting bush beans once  a month or so throughout the summertime just   by poking the seeds in about a half inch deep the  temperatures are around 70° these are going to pop   up in about 5 to 7 days and you'll be harvesting  a crop of beans in about 6 to 8 weeks they really   are one of the quickest easiest crops you can  grow I have my bean plants and my bean seeds   spaced about 2 to 3 Ines apart and beans do  get quite heavy when they're loaded down with   lots of beans so I like to install a really simple  trellis just to kind of support them a little bit   they kind of lean up against it as they grow this  is a little bamboo arch trellis which I picked up   for just a few dollars at the local garden center  and it works really well for a nice support for   my beans my number one rule of summer gardening  is mulch it protects the veggie roots from the   cooler temperatures in the spring and the hot  temperatures in the summertime means that you   have to water less often brings in the worms and  adds organic matter to the soil and it's just a   good way to go this is shredded leaf mulch you can  also use shredded straw or pine needles as long   as you don't leave any bare soil that's the most  important thing and your plants will absolutely   love it another one of my favorite must plants  in May is eggplant now eggplant does need a long   growing season loves the warm weather so get it  planted as early as you can for the best chance   of Summer Harvest start from seed indoors about  6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date it loves   German on a heat mat then pop it outside in your  garden after your last frost I have one of my very   favorite varieties Black Beauty already planted  here in my garden bed these are large very very   prolific purple eggplant so amazing so tasty  we absolutely love them on the grill eggplant   does need a nice sturdy cage especially the black  beauties because it's going to fill this cage out   and have plenty of nice heavy purple fruit for you  to harvest this summer now you definitely can grow   eggplant in a container as long as the container  is big enough this is a 20-gallon Smart Pot and   I'm going to plant one of my transplants in here  this is the Turkish Turkish orange eggplant a   gorgeous orange eggplant from my eggplant seed  collection so big enough container to handle the   plant size and the roots again the key is also a  sturdy support otherwise your eggplant stem will   break and just flop over as it grows and produces  all those big beautiful eggplant welcome to one of   my favorite spots in the garden my pollinator  Garden it's drizzling a little bit right now   and April Showers truly do bring in May Flowers  the flowers are popping and the pollinators are   starting to come in and one crop I love to plant  in May are zinnias now you may be saying wait a   second zinnias aren't a crop you can't eat them  but you know what you absolutely can the flowers   you can pop on top of salads into your beverages  they really are quite delicious you got to try it   but you definitely want to start your zinnias  seeds a couple of weeks before your last frost   date if you're already past your last frost date  just plant seeds directly in your containers or in   your garden beds or you could pop your transplants  right outside there's tons of absolutely gorgeous   colors of zenas from red to yellow to salmon  colored just the rainbow of colors in the garden   and you're going to need the zenas because they  bring in the pollinators to pollinate all those   vegetables that we just planted zenas are a flower  that you can literally plant all summer long and   as the flowers reach the end of their life make  sure you snip and dead head the blooms for lots   of blooms all summer long they will bloom from  early summer all the way until late fall or   until Frost gets them so definitely a flower you  must plant in May for maximum Bloom and maximum   pollinators I just can't say enough good things  about growing strawberries in your garden they's   such a delicious fruit and it's so satisfying to  pick baskets full of berries in the summertime   super important that you get them planted in May  they're very difficult to grow from seeds so most   people grow them with transplants or from be roots  and if you don't get them planted in May often   times the garden centers run out of transplants  and the online stores run out of be root plants   my favorite ways to grow strawberries is in a  strawberry crate tower it's a great way to grow   a ton of berries in a small space these are just  simple plastic crates stacked on top of each other   but the key is I've lined them with the smart  pots crate liners cut holes in the sides and then   fill the crate liners with soil and just poke the  strawberries through so I've got about 20 plants   in here which are going to produce and grow for me  all summer long now the key to Growing berries all   summer is to grow berries of different varieties  there's everbearing June bearing and day neutral   that produce at different times throughout the  growing season so plant varieties of each to have   a continual berry supply and when you plant your  berries it's super super important that you leave   the crown exposed the crown is the spot where the  berry stem meets the roots keep that exposed for   maximum growth little tip to save you money when  you're buying strawberry transplants at the garden   center look for seed growing containers that have  two to three transplants in them that way you can   break them apart and get two to three transplants  per little pot instead of just one so a little bit   of Savvy shopping will save you a ton of money on  your strawberry plants one of the biggest problems   I have with strawberries is snails slugs earwigs  pill bugs eating the leaves and eating the fruit   as it comes on so one thing I use whenever I plant  strawberries is Monterey's Sluggo Plus super easy   to apply and I really like to apply it at the time  of planting just sprinkle it down and what this   is is a bait that lures the pests to the bait and  then they take it somewhere else and die and they   don't have any more holes in your berries or holes  in your leaves now strawberries love lots of sun   and warm temperatures so put your strawberry crate  tower in a nice sunny spot you're sure to harvest   a ton of berries however they don't like it too  hot once the temperatures get above 85° they stop   flowering and stop fruiting so little tip to keep  them going and flowering and fruiting all summer   long is once the temperatures get above 85 just  keep a piece of sha cloth handy toss it over your   strawberry crate tower to protect them from the  Heat strawberries also look very pretty growing   in hanging baskets you can also grow them spilling  over raised beds or in containers just feed them   with a good water soluble fertilizer every couple  of weeks and you're sure to be harvesting lots of   delicious fresh strawberries this summer you  must get out in your garden this month get   your hands dirty get these crops planted to  make the most of the season and maximize your   summer harvest let me know I'll be reading the  comments see you next time in the garden [Music]

Channel: CaliKim29 Garden & Home DIY

Views: 41,034

Keywords: vegetable planting guide, garden calendar, organic gardening, CaliKim, southern climate gardening, plant vegetables in any climate, smart pots, how to plant beans, what to plant in may, must plant in may, how to plant melon, how to plant watermelon, how to plant strawberries, how to grow zinnia, how to grow eggplant, Aubergine, how to grow aubergine, how to grow, trellis ideas for watermelon, essential vegetables for may, may garden, vegetables to plant in may

Id: Fov_71WHZqc

Length: 10min 31sec (631 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 24 2024