Organic Gardening Magazine

May in the fruit garden

Mulch fruit trees and bushes to keep them
weed-free and provide nutrients. Keep fruit trees clear of vegetation around their trunks, allowing a plant-free area of about 1m (3ft) in diameter. A good mulch for trees and bushes is a thick layer of damp newspaper covered with compost or well-rotted manure.

Watch out for gooseberry sawfly, which may attack gooseberries, redcurrants and whitecurrants (blackcurrants are not affected). The early symptoms to look for are tiny pinpricks in the leaves made by the newly hatched caterpillar-like larvae. These usually appear in the centre of the bushes, low down, as the larvae emerge from the soil

around the base of the plants. Squash any eggs or larvae that you see. In cases of heavy infestation, remove affected leaves entirely.

Codling moth is a common pest of apples, although pears and quinces can also be affected. Its caterpillars tunnel into the fruit, sometimes causing affected fruit to ripen and drop early. Put up codling moth traps from the middle of the month; these are available from garden centres. The traps contain a pheromone to lure the adult male moths, thus reducing the number available for females to mate with and therefore their potential to lay eggs.

Strawberry plants will now be producing runners. If you want to increase or replace your stock, peg down two or three from each plant into small pots sunk into the soil. Leave them there for the rest of the summer to form good roots, then sever them from the parent plant. Remove any excess runners. Mulch mature strawberry plants with straw to conserve moisture and keep the fruit clean. This will also help reduce damage from rots and mildew.
• MUCH more in the magazine

In the greenhouse

Limewash is a quick and easy shading option. Picture: Dave Bevan

Daytime temperatures can get very high in a greenhouse from May onwards, so shading and ventilation become very important from now on. Shading options include installing blinds, hanging up netting, and painting the glass with limewash, which is available from garden centres. Any of these measures will reduce the intensity of the sunlight. Young seedlings may need additional shading from direct sunlight – move them underneath the greenhouse staging on very sunny days. They will also need careful watering to prevent them drying out.

Always open up a greenhouse in the morning, and close it at night. Investing in an automatic venting system will help if you are forgetful or out all day.

Keep a couple of buckets or watering cans full of water in the greenhouse. This will mean that you always have a supply of water at an ideal temperature for watering plants without giving them too much of a shock. Only use tap water for watering young seedlings, to reduce the risk of spreading the water-borne fungal disease known as ‘damping off’, which causes them to wilt and die.

Under-cover sowings this month:
• Courgettes
• Squash and pumpkins
• French and runner beans
• Sweetcorn
In the south of the country, these crops can be sown outdoors towards the end of the month.

• MUCH more in the magazine

on sale now

May Veg

There’s very little to harvest yet in the vegetable garden, unless you are lucky enough to have some early crops in a greenhouse or polytunnel. What you will find, however, are plenty of wild plants – also known as common garden weeds! – that you can collect from the hedgerows or vegetable plot. Most edible weeds taste best when young and tender. Make absolutely sure you have identified them correctly before eating them.

Good edible weeds include:
• Cleavers
• Garlic mustard
• Chickweed
• Hairy bittercress
• Ground elder
• Dandelion leaves
• Nettles

Outdoor sowings this month:
• Beetroot
• Carrots
• Leeks
• Lettuces
• Radishes
• Salad leaves
• Spring onions
• Calabrese
• Sprouting broccoli
• Autumn and winter cabbages
• Autumn and winter cauliflowers
• Kale
Earth up potatoes to prevent the tubers becoming green as they develop. Either draw soil up around the base of the plants, or use a heavy, light-excluding mulch. Damp newspaper covered with a thick layer of grass clippings or straw works well.

Prepare the site for your climbing beans. Make a trench and add a good dose of compost, then build a strong support structure. When the beans are fully grown they will be quite heavy, so the supports need to be strong. You can construct ‘wigwams’ out of canes or sticks, or go for the traditional ‘A-frame’ structure, with pairs of canes leaning against each other and connected by another cane running along
the top.

• More sowing and planting tips in the magazine

Want to know more?

This is just a tiny sample from Organic Gardening magazine - which is on sale every month in UK newsagents and also available online post-free.

You can subscribe and save on the cover price and even get free postage! Why not try a single issue?

• BUY A SINGLE COPY (CURRENT OR NEXT ISSUE)
• SUBSCRIBE
• BACK ISSUES! - SEARCH CONTENTS ONLINE