What does that mean for the garden? It could snow in southern Wisconsin or be hot and humid. Mother's Day is traditionally the turning point for no more snow and safe to plant!
This past weekend my young son and I went to Home Depot (his favorite place on earth); all the plants were arriving, lots of trucks were unloading, and we couldn't help ourselves! We came home with herbs, tomatoes, bell peppers, and pansies. We showed restraint. I planted them in one of our raised beds (with a little help) and made a couple of herb container gardens as gifts. I added in some worm castings and blood meal to help boost the soil. (I did dig the kid out before planting, he's not part of our compost program.)
My husband has also been helping expand our current garden; he's been moving and prepping the soil, adding poles for a door, and making our Shou Sugi Ban (Yakisugi) raised beds. It's a wood-burning technique used for centuries in Japan to help preserve the wood and increase durability and longevity. This is our third raised bed using this method, and we love it because the end product is beautiful and durable. More on this coming!
What to plant in May?
Peas from seed, I soak in water to hasten germination.
Roots: radishes, beets, turnips, carrots, and parsnips. Always planted from seed.
Greens: spinach, arugula, kale, cold-hardy lettuce, but since the weather has been mild-ish, I've been tossing in leafy greens, which seem to grow well. Greens are always best planted by seed.
Herbs: Cilantro, thyme, rosemary, lavender, and oregano. It might be early for basil because a frost could make it wither, so I'll be sure to cover if there is a threat. Plus, I like living on the edge in the name of basil. I plant most of my herbs from plants except cilantro; it's such a fragile herb it likes to be planted from seed.
Flowers: Calendula, poppy, sweet peas, and I planted borage around the base of the newly planted maple trees.
It would be best to wait longer to plant squash, cucumbers, and melons.
Also rhubarb is coming in fierce and terrifyingly! I am new to eat it, it's not something we consumed on California but I had heard of it. I'm looking forward to baking with it.
We've also had some wild asparagus growing on the farm, and it is delicious. The flavor is substantially better than grocery store grown.
More planting to come soon! If you have any questions about what to plant or where message me. I'm happy to help! hello@heirloomkitchengardens.com
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