May monthly gardening activities

Explore our monthly activities to do in the garden with your children and young people in May.

1. Earth up your potatoes with new compost once you start to see green shoots above the soil.
2. Deadhead your spring bulbs by cutting the flower stems off at their base once they have gone over. This will direct energy into the leaves and help them to store more food in the bulb ahead of next year.
3. Watch out for late frosts and protect tender plants with fleece or cloches.
4. Support tall plants such as peas and sweet peas with canes and ties where needed. Keep your young gardeners safe by adding cane toppers to your supports.
5. As temperatures start to increase, water early and late to get the most out of your water and recycle water when possible.
6. Pot up your tomatoes and start removing side shoots that develop from the leaves of the main stem. This will help them direct growth to the fruit rather than extra green growth. You can also add basil plants to your tomato pots, as both love the same conditions, and the herb will help deter whitefly.
7. Make plants for free by taking softwood cuttings of your tender perennials and shrubby herbs such as sage, fuchsia, geraniums, mint and lemon verbena.
8. Sow French beans, runner beans, squash, cucumbers, pumpkin, sweet corn, and cauliflower directly into the ground in your prepared beds or pots.
9. If you have already sown vegetables such as beetroot, carrots, radish and spinach, now is the time to thin them out. This will help the crops produce healthier vegetables and have the space they need to grow.
10. Harvest your spring lettuce, spring cabbages and asparagus. If you are growing asparagus, keep an eye out for asparagus beetles and pick them off by hand if you spot any.

Upcoming monthly gardening activities

June	July	Full calendar
Pinch out side shoots on tomatoes and turn compost bins. Read more	Water plants more frequently and sow winter cabbages. Read more	Take a look at all of our monthly gardening activities. Explore now