VT Times, May 2012

Gardener’s calendar
It’s time to start planting out, which is always very exciting (if you
can see a patch of garden for weeds at this point, unlike the editor!) SuzyJ
gives us her month by month guide … helping us each month with what to
do, what to grow and when.
May
Get ready to work folks, as May is the month that
you’ll be spending more time in the garden!
In the ground you may already have onions,
potatoes, garlic, peas, lettuce and radishes. Keep an
eye out for colorado beetles and aphids. Potatoes
need earthing up and weeds need to be kept down.
You should be starting to harvest lettuce and radish:
lovely Bulgarian salatka! Keep an eye on onions; warm
weather and rainfall can make them bolt and start
producing fl owers. Onions will be smaller as the plant
puts more eff ort into producing fl ower heads. Cut off
any that you see unless you are planning to collect
onion seeds. Th is should help your onions grow better.
You can sow cucumber, squash (all varieties),
pumpkin, melon and courgettes in pots inside or
under glass, plus cabbage, lettuce and radish direct in
the garden. Water in well and leave to do their own
thing. Choose carefully where you will be planting
them as most squash/pumpkin varieties and also
peppers/chillies can cross pollinate, therefore any seeds
you save may not be true. You may end up with many
more chillies as they seem to be more dominant. Many
herbs can be directly sown in the garden now, although
some germinate at a faster rate than others. If you plan
to grow mint it’s best to sow it in a pot or corner of
the garden you have spare as it can be very invasive.
Strawberry runners and other soft fruits such as
raspberry canes and gooseberries can be planted now.
From 6th May all risk of frost has passed, so it’s time
to get those seedlings you’ve been growing indoors
into the ground. Prepare the land if you haven’t already,
make sure you handle seedlings delicately and plant.
Aft ernoon is the best time, once the hottest part of
the day is over and the soil is warmed. Don’t forget to
water seedlings in.
When planting seedlings, you can
use crushed eggshells or used coff ee
grounds to keep away snails and slugs.
A length of copper wire around your
beds will also deter some of the things that will enjoy
munching on your produce. For aphids and black fl y, a
simple washing up liquid and water solution can help
but if you have ladybirds they are defi nitely a bug to
encourage - as they’ll happily eat lots of aphids.
Whether you grow in blocks or rows is up to you,
although some plants need support. Beans and peas
need a trellis-like structure to climb on. Tomatoes
benefi t from a stake and lines to hold them up as
they tend to get very heavy once fruit is growing well.
Cucumbers, squash and pumpkins can be grown on a
trellis too, but heavy vegetables may need extra support.
A trellis can be made very easily using long straight
branches pushed into the ground across from each
other, tied at the top to make a triangle shape. Place
these along your vegetables and you can add string/
twine as the plants grow and wind themselves upwards.
Keeping everything watered and weeded is the key
to a good harvest. Also make sure your plants have
enough space and light to grow and mature. Mulching
around your plants with lawn clippings helps the soil
conserve water and they will break down over time to
replenish lost nutrients and keep your garden healthy.
If you have already sown radish, lettuce, peas, garlic
and onions outside you should be seeing them grow
by now and it won’t be long before you can start to put
food from the garden onto your plates. Some fruit
trees will be producing from about mid May: just think
of all the jams, jellies and desserts that can be made.
Th at’s what it’s all about and shows that your hard work
is worth it.
by SuzyJ More about my life and garden can be found here: http://blog4bulgaria.blogspot.com/
Why not look me up on Twitter too: @blog4bulgaria
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