What To PLANT In MAY For Every Garden Zone - What To Start From Seed Or Transplant Right NOW In May

hey there Gardener welcome to my May Garden guide which gives you ideas on everything you can either start from seed or transplant right now in may no matter the garden zone I do a garden guide every month so if you enjoy this video make sure you subscribe to my channel so you don't miss a single one if you're new here hello and welcome my name is Jara and I teach people how to garden and grow food so you've come to the right place if you want to improve your gardening skills my monthly Garden guides are full of a lot of information to help you guys out and keep you on track I want you guys to relax and enjoy this video so I have created a free printable PDF checklist with all the things I'm about to mention that way you don't have to take notes to get a copy follow the link in the description and I will email it to you lastly before we begin if you're struggling to grow a particular crop I probably have a dedicated growing guide that will explain each step from sewing the seed all the way to harvest so if one exists I will link it below and don't forget to check out my website if you want to find seeds or plants for anything that I mentioned in my videos okay let's talk about all the things that can be started from seed or transplanted in May first up a very easy crop for all of us to grow beans May is a great time to direct sew seeds for beans if you're past your last spring froste and I'm talking about all sorts of beans green beans shelling beans good for drying cow peas Southern peas yardlong beans lima beans and I'm sure there's much more here is a list of some of my favorites in each category bush bean plants are compact staying around about 1 to 1 and 1/2 ft so they're great for small spaces or in green stock Garden Towers which is what I'm growing right here whole beans grow long Vines so they produce more than bush beans but they require a trellis to grow up on LM and beans usually are a vining plant too and they can be harvested and eaten fresh or allow the seeds to dry out so they can be stored over a long period of time cow peas and Southern peas tend to be low growing bushy kind of Vining plants usually the beans are shelled out of the pods and eaten fresh or allowed to dry out and they can be used as a storage bean yardlong beans are also in the cowp family but they grow really long bean pods some of them get like 3 ft long hence the name yarn long bean and they are best eaten fresh like the entire pot if you're a hot climate Gardener I highly recommend that you plant cow peas Southern peas or yard long beans right now don't plant the other kinds of beans like bush beans they don't grow very well in high heat conditions you will have better success and a bigger Harvest if you plant the cow peas Etc that grow great during the high heat of Summer our next crop is squash and I'm going to have to break this one down for cold climate gardeners and hot climate gardeners if you're a cold climate Gardener most of you in zones like seven and Below or the zone eight and NES in the Pacific Northwest those of you that get snow basically go ahead and direct those seeds for all sorts of squash if you're past your last spring Frost AE if you're a hot climate Gardener like most of you South USA zones a and up with very hot summers squash really struggles when it grows in the heat plus summer is when you experience the greatest amount of pests and diseases and squash catches them all it's challenging trying to grow squash over the summer ideally I like to be harvesting out all of my spring crop of squash by now and be done with it if you want to try planting some right now in may anyways pick cultivars in one of these two groups because they are the toughest kind of squash that you can grow or try growing chaote which tastes similar to zucchini but thrives in tropical conditions next we have greens if you're a hot climate Gardener it's time to plant heat loving greens like these right here stop planting cool season greens like lettuce and spinach your mindset right now in may is to plant warm season summer crops these tropical alternative type greens will carry you through summer a lot of these greens are actually quite tasty don't have a new texture and are a good source of plant protein like katuk experiment I'm sure you will be surprised if you're a cold climate Gardener you can continue to plant greens like these right here may is still wild enough that you should be able to plant and harvest before the middle of summer arrives not that you guys don't have hot summer days but it arrives much later in the year so you have more time here in Florida summer arrived way back in March this next crop is for cold climate gardeners only like those of you far north in parts of Michigan Minnesota New York Etc and that is things in the brasas family you guys can transplant once you're past your last spring frosta make sure you monitor your seedlings for warm damage and spray with BT if you find some worms can chew down small seedlings very quickly like overnight Brasa season has ended for hot climate gardeners and we will resume planting them in the fall next up we have herbs it is okay to either transplant or directo seeds for all sorts of herbs if you're past your last spring frosta here is a list of traditional herbs that I love to grow many of these are host plants for various butter flies and attract loads of beneficials to your garden and here is a list of tropical heat loving herbs that I love to grow one word for hot climate garders the traditional herbs struggle in the high heat of Summer and rains if you get afternoon rain every day like I do here in Florida these herbs grow best in Mediterranean type conditions so dry soil and warm temperatures not extreme heat it really helps if you grow them in containers or grow bags to one have good drainage to keep the soil more on the dry side and two move them into a spot that gets afternoon Mo shade so they get some relief from the Heat or just grow the tropical herbs that thrive in summer conditions anyways if you're not past your last spring frost a then start sewing herb seeds indoors I really love to sew rows and rows of herbs in these 72 cellc trays so I can grow a lot of them at once if you're past your last spring frost a you can direct SE seeds or transplant all sorts of flowers if you are not past your last spring froste then SE seeds indoors about 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost a here are a few flour and Herb ideas to depending on what you're trying to do flowers are host plants for various butterflies they attract pollinators beneficial insects and repel bad pest so don't skimp out on planting flowers now let me explain the last two on this list it is said that pests find veggie crops via smell so planting strong smelling plants confuses them because it makes it hard for them to smell where the veggies are I don't know how accurate that idea is but I can tell you from experience that planting strong smelling maragold for example underneath my rows of Tomatoes has repelled the army worms that I usually get I have not had any worms on my tomato plants since I planted them way back in September the only thing different I did this time was plant dwarf maragold under them so I am a believer that it works somehow a lot of gardeners also report that planting basil under tomato plants repels worms too so give it a try and let me know if it worked the last line here in this list trap crops this might seem a little counterintuitive like why would you plant something that would attract the bad pests I get the question all the time wouldn't that be attracting them into my garden the pests are going to come might as well control where they go pests prefer to eat some things over your veggie crops which is fine by me for example I planted a lot of straw flowers this year here's a group of them here and they were covered and leaf footed bugs they really like to suck the juices out of straw flowers for some reason and they left my tomatoes alone I'm fine with that plus they were all congregating in one spot which made it easy for me to gather them all up and drop them in a bucket of soapy water or vacuum them with a hand vacuum much easier than examining every plant in my garden to find them so that is the way that you use trap crops and just make sure you plant them at the back or edges of your garden all right moving along let's talk about root crops like these right here cold climate gardeners can plant potatoes but potato season has ended for us hot climate gardeners you should have harvested all of your potatoes by now and should start switching on over to Tropical root crops same thing with carrots cold climate garders can direct so seeds now while hot climate gardeners need to wait until fall next we have radishes beets and turnips these are great for cold climate gardeners only you guys can direct those seeds after your last spring Frost but if you're in a hot climate it's too warm for these crops right now instead wait until fall to plant seeds directly in the ground the next category of crops is cucumbers watermelon and melons here are some of my favorites anyone that has passed their last spring froste and all danger of Frost has passed can direct SE seeds or use transplants these kind of crops grow much faster when direct sewn than when compared to transplanting so capitalize on that I like to make a long trench right under my trellis and direct so cucumber seeds right into it here are some China Jade cucumbers that germinated with melons it is best to sew about three seeds in Mounds spaced about 2 ft apart if you're a hot climate Gardener I highly recommend you focus on Asian cultivars of cucumber when growing during the summer because they tolerate the Heat and rains much better and a tip for all of us these crops are highly susceptible to powdery mildew so spray with 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water to treat and disinfect our next category is onions I also have to break this one down for hot versus cold climate gardeners if you're a hot climate Gardener we transplant onions in the fall so they grow over the winter and get harvested in spring onion planting season passed a long time ago you should be harvesting out your Onions by this point I like to harvest mine out in May and early June before my rainy season arrives the extra rain rots out onion bulbs I will be transplanting onions again in October but but you can sew seeds or transplant other things in the alien family like chives and green bunching onions like these right here if you're a cold climate Gardener I recommend you purchase onion transplants and plant them into the garden once you're past your last spring Frost Aid okay up next we have my favorite thing to grow tomatoes and peppers and eggplants but tomatoes are first if you're a hot climate Gardener you should be harvesting Tomatoes by now not just getting around to starting them from seed it's the summer heat rains and pests that terminate my tomato season in about mid June I start pulling out all of my tomato plants and cleaning up the garden they will just become host for tons of diseases so I'd rather just remove them by this point I harvested a ton anyways you might get away with transplanting a decent sized hybrid cherry tomato or the Everglades tomatoes because they tolerate the heat better but that's pretty much it plan to sew seeds indoors in July to transplant more tomatoes in September my pepper and eggplants handle the summer heat a little bit better so I keep those plants in the garden but they stop producing because it's just way too hot except for hot peppers and thae lavender frog or little fingers eggplants those keep going once temperature start to cool down and fall they bounce right back start putting on New Growth and producing again cold climate gardeners can either transplant tomatoes peppers and eggplants right now or if you're passing your l Spring Frost Day to May start sewing seeds indoors I have tutorials on how to grow each one of these crops from seed which I will link below moving along our next crop is corn you can direct SE seeds for all types of corn if you're past your last spring Frost at a couple tips about corn is that it's wind pollinated and if you don't grow it in a thick block I would say at minimum four rows that are 8 ft long they won't pollinate very well resulting in gaps where kernels didn't form on the cob or the cob is not full of kernels all the way to the top going into summer I really like to grow Dent Flint or maze specifically because it handles the extreme heat a lot better than sweet corn next we have asparagus it pretty much is always a good time to plant asparagus crowns for all of us except during the winter time when the ground is is not workable if you want to grow asparagus from seed it's easy it just takes some time and the best time to do that is in spring so you can plant the crowns before summer like right now in may just make sure you prepare a rather large area to grow asparagus because mature plants are over 4T tall and wide the roots are very deep so not easy to pull out if you need to move them and they don't grow well in pots or containers unless you have a really really big one up next we have some tropical heat loving crops primarily just for hot climate gardeners like these right here I lump all of these plants together because they require warmth to germinate grow quickly and get to Harvest Time hot climate Garners can start sewing seeds indoors or direct sew the seeds or transplant plants once all danger of Frost has passed I don't recommend these crops for cold climate gardeners because you guys have like less than 6 months in a row of warm weather these plants need to grow for a long time before they start producing and usually it starts getting cold before that can happen for you a crap idea for all of us that are passed our last spring Frost States is fruiting trees and plants like these right here the first five options listed are the easiest in my opinion so I recommend those if you're new to fruit trees I tried to fit as many of these into my garden incorporate them into my front yard landscaping where I can't grow veggies because I'm in an HOA Community I grow them in large containers I mean get creative you would be surprised how many of these you can fit in your garden especially if you choose the dwarf cultivars of fruit trees right now in may mulberries peaches nectar beans raspberries and blueberries are ready for Harvest I see fruit forming on my trees for avocados mangoes pineapples lyes and guava which I will be harvesting in the upcoming summer months it's amazing and so much fun to pick your own fruit and in general fruit trees require a lot less maintenance and care than annual veggie crops so don't forget to add a few to your garden I sell some of these on my website or go visit your local nurseries to find fruit trees that will grow well in your area another fruit that can be planted this month for cold climate gardeners only is strawberries strawberries are a spring and summer crop for you so plant strawberry crowns as soon as your last spring frost date has passed and the ground is workable I recommend the June bearing or everbearing cultivars for cold climates because they produce the best in the summer months all right everyone hopefully that gave you a lot of ideas for things you need to start growing right now lastly let's discuss important Garden task tips and reminders for the month of May my first tip is to install drip irrigation if you have not done so already the heat is coming and plants get stressed out if they don't have have enough water which attracts pests diseases and reduces production keeping water consistent helps drastically and helps you save time watering plants here in Florida I have to water my plants like twice a day sometimes so yeah drip irrigation has saved me a ton of time I have a whole tutorial on how I installed my system which I will link below the next tip has to do with managing the pest because Summer is the Pinnacle of pest pressure you need to identify what kind of pest it is in order to pick the right kind of treatment if it's a chewing insect like worms or caterpillars that eat leaves use BT which is an organic spray some worms are a little tougher than most like the corn earworm so use spin aad for those instead if you're dealing with a sucking insect like aphid spidermites and soft bodied insects like white flies then use spin aad neem or organic insecticidal soap if you're dealing with a sucking insect that has a hard shell like stink bugs squash bugs or the leaf footed bug you're going to have to manually remove them off your plants sprays don't work on them because they have a hard shell so wear some gloves pick them off put them in a bucket of soapy water or vacuum them up with a hand vacuum spinosad will kill their nymphs which are red and black in color because they don't have their hard shells yet I also recommend for everyone to install a few bird feeders in your garden birds eat a lot of garden pests I had a really bad Leaf footed bug infestation and then all of a sudden they were gone I honestly think all the birds ate them with the summer heat and rains comes a lot of diseases so here are some tips to manage them organically clean out any old dead and decaying leaves and and debris they are host for the pathogens that cause disease and they attract pests vertical garden as much as possible this helps to pick plants off the ground making it harder for pests to get on them and opens the plants up to better air flow so leaves dry faster and makes it harder for pathogens like the mold that causes powdery mildew to take hold and spread if the situation gets bad like I see a lot of powdery mildew on my squash plants or my tomatoes are getting blight I spray with one cup of hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water I repeat this spray like every 5 to 7 days until I see that the disease starts to go away if it rains a lot like it does here in Florida then you know the diseases are about to get out of control so monitor extra closely and spray if needed the next suggestion is to start installing shade cloth so it's in place by the time summer arrives this will help keep plants a few degrees cooler which can make a big difference when they are struggling or strategically place plants in a spot that gets afternoon shade for example I plant herbs and peppers in a container or grow bag so I move them into a shady spot I also have a lot of things growing in greenstock Garden Towers in a spot that gets afternoon shade or I open my patio umbrella to create some shade well I hope you enjoyed this list I put together for the month of May I want to know what you're most excited about growing this month so please comment below you can find my monthly Garden guides in my monthly Garden guides playlist or join my email group and I will send you the guide automatically at the beginning of each month I will link all of these things in the description below thanks for watching and happy gardening for

Channel: Jerra's Garden

Views: 11,945

Keywords: gardening, garden, urban gardening, gardening tips, vegetable garden, gardening for beginners, garden tips, sowing seeds, urban farming, indoor seed sowing, spring garden sowing, sowing seeds outdoors, garden guide, vegetables to plant in April, summer garden planning, may, May Florida garden, seeds to sow in May, seed sowing May, seeds to plant in May, gardening tips for May, summer garden planting, May garden, jerras garden, florida gardening, Florida garden

Id: 7MdNDbyky24

Length: 16min 45sec (1005 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 26 2024