Seasonal jobs for the month: May

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April

1.

Earth up potatoes in open ground and containers as the foliage reaches 23cm (9in) to prevent green tubers

 
2.

Plant up containers with summer-flowering bedding, adding controlled-release fertiliser into the compost

 
3.

Remove red lily beetle adults and larvae from lilies and fritillaries. As a last resort, Provado Ultimate Bug killer is available to control them

 
4.

Do not get caught out by early summer dryness – recently planted trees and shrubs, including fruit, need regular watering for the first two growing seasons to establish well

 
5.

Deadhead rhododendrons – pinch off each spent flower carefully, avoiding damage to developing buds just below

 
6.

Sow carrots, radishes, beetroot, lettuce and spring onions successionally for continuous cropping

 

Pests, disease and disorders

  • Apply slug and snail controls to dahlias as they put on new growth
  • Use insect mesh to prevent damage to carrots by carrot fly

Greenhouse

  • Put up shading to limit temperatures inside to 25-27 °c (77-81°F)
  • Detach baby rosettes from succulents such as Echeveria and pot into small containers of gritty compost

Kitchen garden

  • Net culinary cherries against birds
  • Harvest up to half the stems of established rhubarb over the season
  • Remove raspberry suckers encroaching onto paths or between rows

Ornamental Gardens

  • Prune overgrown camellias as they start putting on fresh growth. Cut to young sideshoots which will flower next year
  • Coppice or pollard juvenile foliage from eucalyptus for floral arrangements
  • Prune spring-flowering shrubs such as Forsythia and Philadelphus