Quick tip-What to start in the May garden

New seeds in pot

Thursday, May 18, 2017

There are many heat lovers you can plant in the mid-May garden.

The heat lovers to start in the garden now:  Beans-bush, vine and lima, Beets, Cantaloupe, Carrots, Corn, Cowpeas, Cucumbers, Eggplant, spring Kale, Lettuce (heat tolerant varieties), Okra, Peas, Peppers, Potatoes, Pumpkins and other types of Winter Squash (Acorn, Butternut, Turban, Hubbard, etc), Radishes, Summer Squash (Zucchini, Pattypan, Yellow Crookneck, etc), Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Turnips and Watermelon.

Just be sure to keep the soil moist until sprouted and not to dry out until the seedlings are a nice size with a couple of sets of "true" leaves.  These are the leaves that develop after the initial set of leaves.

Just follow the seed packet instructions for how deep to plant and spacing.   I like to put the large seeds like squash, cucumber, beans and peas directly into the garden.  For the smaller seeds, I will start in a pot and then when they are a sturdy size, transplant them into the garden bed.

Chard and lettuce ready to be transplanted to the garden