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Vegetable Garden: Tips for May

What You Should Plant ... and When: Starting Your Vegetable Garden: Fruits And Veggies More Matters.org

Hosted by our expert gardener, these timely suggestions will guide you through harvesting particular fruits and veggies during certain times [See Regional Info]. Topics will include harvesting, planting, fertilizing, thinning and watering.
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Regions: Northeast (NE), Southeast (SE), East Central (EC), Upper Central (UC), Southwest (SW) [See States]

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Vegetable Garden: what you should be doing in May: Fruits and Veggies More Matters.org 

Harvest
Lettuce, Strawberries, Onions, Radishes (NE, SE, EC, SW)
Onions, Radishes (UC)

Plant
Seedlings: Strawberries, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts (UC)
Seedlings: Pepper, Cabbage, Tomato (All Regions except SE, SW)
Seeds: Cucumbers, Squash, Corn, Herbs, Carrots, Onions, Lettuce, Beans, Peas, Other (All Regions)

About Berries
Purchase fruit netting from your home and garden store to place over your strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. The netting has a very small checkerboard pattern allowing sunlight to reach the plants, but the pattern is small enough to prevent birds and small animals from eating the berries.

Thin
Time to thin the seedlings (early May), if you planted seeds in April – beans, peas, cucumbers, squash, carrots, corn.

Monitor Plants & Soil
Monitor height of peas and beans. Stake or cage them when the seedlings reach 3-4 inches. With the warm temperatures and sunshine, the seedlings typically grow quickly during the month of May, particularly from the middle of the month to the end of the month. Note: If the seedlings get too tall (beyond 4”), it’ll be difficult to ‘train’ them to grow on the stake or cage.

Trespassing Animals
Monitor plant leaves and the soil for signs of trespassing animals – they may be eating the leaves and have left footprints in the soil. If you identify an animal problem, there are a variety of organic and non-organic remedies available at your home and garden center. You can also try planting certain types of flowers around the border and between the rows of your garden. One flower that works is the Marigold. Animals dislike the smell of the flower and the taste of the leaves. Marigolds come in a variety of colors and heights, and typically bloom until mid autumn. To encourage new blooms, regularly remove the dead flowers from the plant.

What’s Next?

Vegetable Garden: what you should be doing in June: Fruits and Veggies More Matters.org
Harvest: Peas, Beans (most forms), Lettuce, Strawberries, Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower
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