What to do on the allotment in May

May on the Allotment

From April until June are probably the busiest months of the year on the allotment. These months are the times when you must juggle sowings indoors and outdoors, transplanting, watering, digging, weeding, taking care of all those pests – which seem to multiply every year. Yesterday, as I was transplanting the first of my brassica plants, two pairs of pigeons perched nearby watching and waiting for me to move far enough away for them to have a feast of young tender leaves [doubtless, the slugs and snails were doing the same but, they were not so obvious]. I have noticed lately that spreading nets over the new plantings is not quite enough, unless the new is secured tightly, well away from the plants, the pigeons will push the net inwards to get to the plants. They will also sit on top of the netting and its supports to gain access to the plants from above. I do love birds but, sometimes I think – PIGEON PIE!

·         Maintenance around the plot and in green house or poly-tunnel

– keep established plants healthy and pest free – protect from slugs, snails and birds, especially on newly planted brassicas – cabbages, cauliflowers, Brussels sprouts, broccoli. As asparagus is now growing well, watch out for asparagus beetle and remove any beetles or larvae as soon as they are seen. Aphids, whitefly [on brassicas], caterpillars can all weaken or eat you precious young plants. Watch out, also, for ants – while they don’t, in themselves, damage the plants, they encourage aphids and will build their nests under plants undermining them.

Watch for red-spider mite on indoor plants – spray the young plants with water regularly – [red-spider mites like dry conditions]. Regular spraying with SB Plant Invigorator [it is organic] will strengthen the plants and discourage pests.

- Keep the plot tidy - cut grass on paths regularly to prevent weeds and grass from encroaching on your plot and to reduce slugs and snails.

- Weeding – keep seed beds, particularly, free from weeds. Hoeing is useful but take care to not damage young plants [hoeing is not very effective in wet weather as the hoed weeds will often re-root].

- Earth-up potatoes as they start to appear, to protect from late frosts.

- Set up support for early sowings of peas.

- Pinch out the tender top growth of broad beans as soon as the first few rows of pods set at the bottom of the plants to deter black-fly [aphids] – particularly in spring sown beans, autumn sown beans, if they survive the winter, are less likely to be attacked.

- Protect strawberries from resting on the naked earth or mud – place straw under the plants or plant matting. Blackbirds do love the early ripening strawberries so netting might be necessary.

- Remove the flower heads of rhubarb as soon as they start to appear as they will stop the production of new leaves [also some people prize the rhubarb flowers for flower arrangements – the flowers can attract aphids].

- As soon as they are big enough to handle, thin carrots and parsnips – dispose of carrot thinning carefully to avoid attracting carrot fly.

- Keep fruit cages tidy and weeded – for particularly vulnerable bushes like redcurrants and gooseberries, ensure the cages are secure although do allow an escape hole for those intrepid birds which find a way in, in case of predators – cats and foxes will force a way in to catch trapped birds.

- Compost old plants or those which have finished producing.

·         Preparation and planning

- re-dig beds to create a good workable tilth - ready for planting out. As far possible, maintain the plan for good crop rotation you created over the winter – sometimes this does not work out as planned – weather, timing and condition of the soil can prevent implementation of excellent plans. Avoid planting root crops where you have added manure or lime.

When transplanting brassicas, it is a good idea to add a sprinkling of lime around each plant if you know your soil is too acid. Don’t add manure at the same time as lime but try to dig in good, well-rotted manure earlier in the season when digging the beds.

For outdoor seed beds, ensure the soil has been broken down to a fine tilth. If your soil is particularly heavy or wet and is not breaking down easily - this can difficult on heavy clay soil or after a particularly wet season, it can be useful [especially with small seeds] to dig the bed over then create a shallow trench, fill with good quality compost [ bought-in is fine] and sow the seeds into this medium. Water well.

·         Sowing and planting

-  under cover [in green house or poly-tunnel] - winter cauliflower, celery, pumpkin and squash, runner beans. Herbs – basil.

– outdoors – [do wait a couple of weeks for the ground to be less cold] – beetroot, brassicas [broccoli/calabrese, spring, summer and winter cabbage, summer and winter cauliflower, kale, Swedes], Beans – runner and French, carrots, courgettes, outdoor cucumbers, Florence fennel, lettuce,  parsnips, potatoes [up to early May – the later the crop, the greater the risk of blight] 2^nd early and maincrop peas, pumpkins and squashes, radish, rocket, spinach and Swiss chard, spring onions, sweetcorn, turnips.

o   You can now transplant – into a poly-tunnel or greenhouse, young plants which have been raised in a propagator or heated greenhouse/conservatory – tomatoes, chillies and peppers, aubergines, indoor cucumbers.

o   You can now transplant outdoors – aubergines [only in warmer, sheltered areas], broad beans, French and runner beans, Brassicas – broccoli and calabrese, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, cauliflowers, kale], celery, celeriac, outdoor cucumbers, leeks, peas [if raised under cover], peppers and chillies[only in warmer, sheltered areas], pumpkins and squashes, outdoor tomatoes.

In all cases, harden the plants off well before planting out and do consider the weather. The young plants should be well watered into their final growing spot and continue to water until the plants have established – if necessary.

o   If you are planning to set up an asparagus bed in the spring, May is the last month for buying crowns. Of course you can also buy in the autumn which will give you time to create a suitable permanent bed.

·         Harvesting – May is well into the lean time of the year. With luck and good planning spring cabbages should be available. If you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse or poly-tunnel, a crop of over-wintered spring cabbages should be available from late April onwards and should be available until the outdoor crop is ready – Try Frostie, F1.

Overwintered cauliflower should start to head up now – as soon as the small heads start to show, make sure the plants are well watered.

For salads - over-wintered lettuce should also be ready for harvesting. Spring onion - White Lisbon can overwinter successfully although it will have a strong flavour. Of course, radishes sown under cover or outdoors will provide a crop very quickly. Sow successionally for a constant harvest.

Spinach and Swiss chard should provide a good harvest now – fresh young leaves are excellent in soups, salads, stir-fries, etc.

Early sowings of peas – if sown under a cloche should start to provide an early crop in late May.

Young turnips, sown under cover in early spring should now be available for harvesting.

Of course, the queen of the vegetables now is definitely ASPARAGUS. Depending on the variety you have, in a clement year, asparagus will start to produce harvestable spears from late April.

Early varieties of rhubarb should now be ready for picking [don’t forget that the leaves are poisonous].