Jobs for May
It’s time to start some of your favourite summer crops, and keep up the supplies for winter and early spring.
Sow broad beans, kale, onions, peas, radishes, silverbeet, spinach, swedes and turnips directly in the ground. If not sown where they are to grow, transplant them to their permanent position as soon as they are large enough to handle.
There are two types of lime available: ground limestone (or plain lime) and Dolomite lime. Ground limestone contains calcium in the form of calcium carbonate, while dolomite lime contains calcium (calcium carbonate) and magnesium (magnesium carbonate). If your soil is already high in magnesium (again, a test will determine this), use plain lime.
Make successive sowings of winter lettuces and rocket for continuous harvesting.
Autumn through to early winter, when rain is usually frequent, is the best time to apply lime since water is required for the lime to react with the soil.
Cauliflower seedlings CAN BE LANTED TOO, BUT ROTECT THEM FROM FROST WHILE STILL YOUN ONCE ESTABLISHED, CAULIFLOWERS WILL HA ILY ROW IN COLD CONDITIONS, HOWE ER, HEAD FORMATION IS AFFECTED BY EXTREME TEM ERATURES BOTH HOT AND COLD , SO A TUNNEL HOUSE MI HT BE BEST IN COOL LACES
The earlier your garlic goes in, the bigger the yield. Before planting, work a general fertiliser with a high level of potash into the soil. Garlic will rot in wet soil, so plant in raised beds or large containers if your soil is frequently soggy. Sandy loam is ideal, although a free-draining clay soil is fine. Plant cloves in a compostenriched soil about 5cm deep and 10-15cm apart.
If your soil is acidic (a simple soil test will determine this), add lime to raise the soil ph. Certain veges (beans, brassicas, celery, onions and peas) grow better in soil that has been limed, although it’s not the lime itself they like but an alkaline soil.