Future prospects Our new kitchen garden series continues with Great Dixter’s gardener cook Aaron Bertelsen busy sowing, planting – and weeding

An air of expectation hangs over the May kitchen garden as the days lengthen, the soil warms, and planting and sowing gather pace (along with the weeds and the wildlife)

May is a time of great optimism in the garden. Seedlings and young plants revel in the sunshine and the promise of longer days and warmer nights, nature is bursting forth all around and nothing much – as yet – has had time to go wrong. A little bit of planning and diligent maintenance now will help ensure that all this early promise is fulfilled in the shape of bountiful harvests later on. By now, any containers moved under cover for protection over the winter should be out and about and enjoying the weather. I am a great believer in regular doses of fresh air for both plants and people – blame my upbringing in New Zealand, where we spent most of our time outside – and everything from citrus trees to scented-leaf pelargoniums will grow all the stronger and better for it.

The soil should also be warm enough for direct-sown seed to germinate. Parsnips, carrots and beetroot will all do very well sown in this way, provided your soil is well prepared with a good, fine tilth. I find it difficult not to sow too thickly, but recently have found a way to turn this to my advantage. When I thin my rows, I simply replant the thinnings alongside the original row, creating two for the price of one. While root vegetables generally hate this kind of disturbance, it seems to work provided you catch them while they are still small and water them in well.

Unfortunately, it is not just the f lora that is stirring at this time of the year; the fauna is also well and truly awake by now, and eager to feast on all that succulent young greenery. My armoury includes f leece to throw over carrot seedlings – a simple but effective way to defeat carrot f ly – a plant spray filled with soapy water for greenf ly and blackf ly, and a regular sprinkling of organic slug pellets. You will need to keep an eye on weeds, too. They can easily smother young plants, and deprive them of the nutrients, water and light they need to thrive.

I rely on my trusty Dutch hoe to weed – carefully – between the rows. Little and often is best.