Sow Your Edible Plants in May
In the bustling world of May gardens, there's a flurry of activity as gardeners prepare for the bountiful season ahead. Here's a rundown of some key tasks to focus on during this period, as shared by gardening enthusiast, Rosie Yeomans.
Growing Better Tomatoes
When planting tomatoes, a crucial step is to lay them down and pinch off the lower leaves before covering with soil. This encourages additional rooting along the buried stem, resulting in stronger plants. For cordon tomatoes, it's essential to remove side shoots (suckers) to focus energy on the main stem and improve fruit production.
To keep soil moist and protect plants from excessive heat, consider using mulch. Shade cloth can also be used to protect plants from heat that slows growth. Regular watering, approximately three times a week, is necessary to maintain soil moisture for tomato plants. Spraying leaves with hydrogen peroxide can help clean and protect plants from disease.
Making Comfrey Feed
Rosie Yeomans grows a patch of the non-invasive 'Bocking 14' strain of comfrey behind the greenhouse, which she uses to make her own liquid feed. To make a comfrey concentrate, she cuts the bottom off a 3-liter drinks bottle, stuffs it with chopped comfrey leaves, and leaves it balanced on top of a jar for a week or two. The dark liquid that drips from the bottom of the comfrey concentrate bottle can be added at a rate of 10ml per liter to the watering can to feed plants.
Straw and Netting for Strawberries
To protect strawberry crops from birds in summer, straw mulch helps suppress weeds and retain moisture around strawberries, while netting protects the fruit. Specific details about using straw and netting were not found, but they are essential tools for maintaining a thriving strawberry patch.
Succession Sowing of Salad Leaves
Succession sowing involves planting quick-growing crops like lettuce at intervals to ensure a continuous harvest over a longer period rather than all at once. Ideal crops for succession sowing have a short cropping window and grow quickly. Rosie Yeomans succession sows salad leaves every couple of weeks to mature right through the summer.
Additional Tasks
Rosie Yeomans is sharing tasks she will prioritize in May for the garden, with planting tomatoes outside being one of them. Loose leaf lettuce, greek cress, and annual spinach can be harvested in as little as six weeks from summer sowings.
For detailed compost or feed preparation like comfrey feed and protective measures for strawberries, consider supplemental growing guides specific to these topics. To protect fruit crops from birds, tidy through the bed, stuff straw under the plants, mulch the whole bed, and cover it with netting.
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By following these guidelines, gardeners can maximize productivity and plant health during the May allotment period and enjoy a bountiful harvest. Happy gardening!
In the realm of Rosie Yeomans' home-and-garden lifestyle, she focuses on strategies like succession sowing of salad leaves to ensure a continuous harvest throughout the summer. Moreover, her gardening practices involve making a comfrey concentrate, which can be used as a natural liquid feed for plants in her home garden.
