Make your bank holiday fruitful
SPRING bank holiday can be one of the most exciting weekends outdoors.
May is when we’ll see the garden at its freshest and most lush, making it the perfect time to tackle those tasks that make the early summer extra special.
Growing your own fruit and veg can be fulfilling, and a great focus for late May is tomatoes.
There are two ways you can grow tomatoes – if you have an upright variety, tie the main stem to a tall cane for support while it grows and then pinch out any side shoots as they appear.
For bush varieties, tie tomatoes to a shorter cane and allow all the shoots to grow.
While planting tomatoes is fairly easy to do, they do need some specific care.
They need as much light, warmth and shelter as you can provide.
Regular watering is also a must, and be sure to feed them regularly once they start to flower.
May can also be a great time of year to sow a selection of different vegetables such as swede, beetroot, main-crop carrots, autumn cabbage, autumn or winter caulis, broccoli, peas, radish, lettuce and spring onions.
I’d suggest using the bank holiday to sow all your mainstream veg – those that only go in once and take the rest of the season to reach maturity, such as swede, main-crop beetroot and carrots.
Then, make regular sowing of things you need little and often, such as lettuce, so you’ll have a steady supply for summer salads and vegetable dishes.
If you’re looking for flowers to plant, summer bedding plants are a fantastic choice right now.
They are really versatile – they work in beds, borders, containers or hanging baskets – and so are great whatever your space.
Geraniums, busy lizzies, petunias and cosmos are among our favourite summer bedding plants and are perfect for injecting instant colour into your garden.
You can find more ideas for this month and beyond at diy.com.