May Job List

• After hardening off tender plants thoroughly – plant out (weather permitting)
• Put supports in place early before plants flop
• Sow outdoors: Swiss chard, Sweetcorn, Runner & French Beans (so long as not too cold or wet)
• Continue successive sowings of Carrots, Peas, Radishes, Beetroot
• Sow under cover: Squashes and Pumpkins
• Plant out tender crops: Tomatoes, Courgettes, and Beans (once frost risk has gone)
• Earth up Potatoes as shoots grow
• Thin seedlings and keep beds weed-free
• Plant out half-hardy annuals
• Sow annuals directly outdoors for summer colour
• Lift and divide spring flowering perennials after flowering
• Deadhead tulips and spring bulbs (leave foliage)
• Prune early flowering shrubs after flowering eg Forsythia
• Thin heavy fruit sets on apples and pears
• Mulch strawberries
• Feed fruit tree and bushes
• Mow and feed lawns where necessary
• Edge borders and tidy pathways, if desired
• Watch for pests such as aphid
• Plant out Dahlias at the end of the month
• Plant up summer hanging baskets and place outside from mid-end May (watch late frosts)