This Month in Your Garden – May

In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours. Mark Twain

No, we’re not going to have a rant about the weather. You all know what it’s doing in your area and many gardeners will have put on their hardy hats and are already out there forking over planting areas.

If you like your summer bedding for great splashes of colour in your gardening canvas, be prepared for a busy week or two at the end of the month.

The Lawn Care Guide – May

Sitting quietly, doing nothing, Spring comes, and the grass grows by itself. - Zen

All it needed was some rain and a warm spell and away it goes, full of energy and growing like crazy.

Weed might be a problem and a selective weedkiller may be required, following the directions on the label or pack. To stand up to the hard time we give it, the lawn may need a spring feed if not already done, followed by another in late summer.

Lawn Care: Questions and Answers

Q. How do I know how much weed and feed or fertiliser to spread without scorching the lawn?

The Vegetable Plot – May

There’s nothing I like more than picking fresh vegetables then putting them in the dinner you make that night. Patrick Duffy

Should you have a greenhouse without any extra heat it’s safe now to plant tomatoes and other tendercrops directly into the soil, or use a grow bag. If you haven’t started your own tomatoes from seed indoors you can still buy plants from the garden centre.

Give the plants the support they need – a string or line from ceiling to floor will enable you to get the plant growing around it. Remove side shoots and after the first truss appears, feed every second watering. Don’t over water, you’ll get a watery tomato, use as little as you can to ensure you get the full flavour.

The Big Glut Recipe – May

Super spring salad

It had to be something asparagus for this month’s Big Glut recipe and a healthy one it is with bags of flavour. John Torode’s recipe from Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the spring salad

• 12 Jersey Royal potatoes
• 10 green asparagus spears, sliced on an angle
• 150g/5½oz young broad beans, podded 
• 150g/5½oz peas, podded
• 150g/5½oz fresh or frozen soy beans
• 3 spring onions, sliced on an angle
• drizzle of olive oil