You asked what to plant in April, May? Well, seeding or planting veggies earlier in the year will bring its fruits later on. We did some seeding indoors and plant outdoors. It is very exciting to see the tiny heads showing up, but also to grow your own produce, knowing you can eat organic veggies that you seeded and planted.
Here in the U.K., we are in luck as the sun has been out almost every day. I’m happy with that when I am out in the garden – I hope you are too? But we do need rain to grow our produce. The UK is well known for being a rainy place, but where we live, just 45 minutes from London, we haven’t had rain for weeks – that’s not good for growers.
So, want to know what to grow this April/May?
If you are unsure where to start or what to plant this spring, I can assure you are not alone. This is why we are writing this post.
Don’t worry, we’ll point you in the right direction, concentrating mainly on veggies. What type of veggie do you like most? Not much point in planting, caring for and then harvesting something that you don’t even enjoy eating, is there?
So, are you ready to seed and plant?
What to plant in May?
Knowing what to plant and when is important. It also depends on where you are and your countries’ climate. With March pretty much over, you will need to focus on what to plant in the next two months.
But, don’t worry, it’s easy to find which fruit and vegetables are in season in your own country. But also find out what time to plant in April and May.
Related: How to save seeds for next year
To find out which greens are in season in your country you can now access A.I technology. Whether you are based in Europe or living in the U.S. you are in luck as there are mapping tools for you to explore the best times to cultivate more sustainable produce. We’ve added two links below.
What can I do?
You can check the two maps provided below – there, you will see one interactive tool link for Europe and one for the US regions. If you live in Europe, you get to explore the six climatic regions in just three clicks.
Each climatic region displayed represents the average weather conditions in the particular area over a long period of time. As different types of fruits and vegetables grow better in different climates, you will see which are in season in your country.
You just pick your country; select spring and the current month.
Check and explore climate regions in Europe: for seasonal fruits and veggies
To check the climate in all US region: plant hardiness website
From here, it’s easy to select the seeds you need to grow your fruits and vegetables.
What seeds to plan in May?
Your main task for the end of April going into the beginning of May is:
- To sow the seeds indoors and get hundreds of plants ready to plant.
- Buy fresh soil for your raised beds, patio containers.
- To sow directly into the soil if you have an allotment space with beds.
Patio Garden or allotment this April/May?
Recently, I walked through the local garden center to buy some seeds and stopped at the nursery, just to see if they had some rosemary ready to plant outdoors. I then noticed some tiny lavender burgeons nodding their little heads in the wind. I see bees busily buzzing around.
It really feels like spring!
Anyway, bought few pots and planted outside in our planter. It does make a difference, looks beautiful and already have some compliments from people who walked past it.
It doesn’t matter if you have a small patio, balcony, allotment or tiny garden.
With some imagination, you just need to pick the seeds you bought, whether these are beans, peppers, beets, spinach or tomatoes that are easy to grow and start seeding indoors first. All these are easy to grow.
You will be enjoying more of the outdoors if you have a greenhouse to work on seedlings this April-May and plant to get some organic vegetables from your own ground.
Related: How to start a vegetable garden
Other delicious veggies you could start with:
- Beetroot (Sow seeds outdoors from mid-April to late June.)
- Carrots
- Lettuce
- Peas
- Parsnips
- Radish
- Swiss chard
- Spring onions
- Rocket
- Turnips
Later on, you can plant some herbs, cabbage and whatever you fancy.
If you have a spare area to place a greenhouse or space to sow seeds on your small containers, is even better, as it is now the perfect time to start seeding tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, squash seeds indoors.
Why start sowing seeds indoors?
Starting sowing your seeds indoors has multiple benefits, and here are the most important ones:
- Right temperature: first reason is essentially because of the optimal temperature/warm weather,
- Good Light: place herbs /lettuce seedling containers in your windowsill,
- Water: Do not over water it – check it once a day or twice if boiling hot,
- Humidity: place inside propagator, or cover with plastic until they germinate (retain moisture).
You may already have sown some tomatoes, chilies and/or pepper seeds, be aware that these seedlings will need potting on into bigger pots very quickly.
Fertilizers
Fertilizer(fertiliser) only as needed (roughly 4 to 6 weeks after sowing) – if you are planting in your raised bed then use 42-45% peat free compost.
I started gardening about five years ago and always snubbed fertilizer brands that advertised how to get veggies to grow twice as big.
That is why we use Q4 – it is a marvelous feeding product that is so different compared to most brands that I have used in the past. The difference it has the right nutrients and allows a fast growth, of course, do not forget to over feed the plants and veggies.
It works very well in cool weather and most of the spring and summer time.
Remember, do first start planning your seeding indoors and begin of June plant them outside before summer arrives.
Happy seeding!