May is here! Bring on the sunshine and the warm Texas breeze. Time to pour yourself a cool, glass of lemonade and enjoy more time outdoors! This is the month of celebrations, playing baseball with the family, taking your pets on relaxing long walks, and planting more vegetables!
Gardening 101: Vegetables to Plant in May
UNDERSTAND YOUR PLANTING AREA
Before you get started, think about where you are planting your vegetables.
There are a few key factors to keep in mind:
- How much sunlight does the area receive?
- Is there access to water or a watering device?
- Are you planting a container garden or in your flowerbeds?
Once you have a good grasp on these factors, this will help you determine what you want to plant and aid in the success of a fruitful harvest!
There are 2 important things to do to your new plants before planting:
- Prep your soil with organic compost.
- Spacing is crucial. Make sure your plants have room to grow.
WHAT TO PLANT NOW
There are so many great options that we have in store right now. Let’s talk about a few of our favorites to plant this month!
CUCUMBERS
Cucumbers need lots of sunlight to grow. Space your plants 36-60 inches apart or if you are using a trellis, space your plants about 12 inches apart.
Start your garden on the right note by adding Calloway’s Organic Compost and amend with Expanded Shale to break up the clay in your soil. It is best to keep the soil consistently moist by applying about 1 inch of water per week.
Apply one of our Calloway’s Premium Mulches to help reduce water evaporation because inadequate moisture can cause oddly shaped or poor tasting fruit.
Feed your plants with Calloway’s Natural Garden Food as directed and be sure to pick your cucumbers whenever they are big enough to use. Remember, the more you harvest, the more fruit the vines will produce!
Burpless Cucumber
Yes, you read that correctly, these are BURPLESS cucumbers. They contain very little of the compound called cucurbitacin which can cause bitterness and increase ones need to burp after eating. Burpless Cucumbers are sweeter in taste with minimal seeds. They have a thinner skin making it easier to digest.
Burpless Cucumbers take about 60 days to mature. They are a disease resistant, vining plant that can grow to approximately 36-48 inches wide.
Straight Eight Cucumber
The Straight Eight Cucumber is an heirloom cucumber that is perfect for slicing. It is named after its perfectly straight, 8 inch long fruit and is praised for its high quality, delicious flavor, and deep green color. This plant grows vigorously with productive vines that benefit from trellising.
Straight Eight Cucumbers take about 55 days to mature with a spread of about 48 inches. It grows to be a large vine that bears large fruit.
SQUASH
Fresh squash and zucchini from your garden is always a pleasant treat. They need lots of sunlight and when planting, space each plant about 24-72 inches apart, depending on variety.
Start your garden on the right by adding Calloway’s Organic Compost and amend with Expanded Shale to break up the clay in your soil. It is best to keep the soil consistently moist by watering at the base of the plant to prevent mold development on the moist foliage.
Apply on of our Calloway’s Premium Mulches to help reduce water evaporation and protect your plant’s roots. Then, feed your plants with Calloway’s Natural Garden Food as directed.
For the best flavor, pick when the fruit is small for varieties like the yellow crookneck and zucchini. For selections like the spaghetti squash, allow the fruit to mature and for the skin to change to a lovely pale yellow before picking.
Yellow Crookneck Squash
The Yellow Crookneck Squash earned its name “Crookneck” because of its slightly bent neck. This is a very prolific, fast to mature, and easy to grow variety of Squash. Harvest when the skins are soft.
Yellow Crookneck Squash takes about 50-55 days to mature. It bears 6 inch yellow fruit and can grow to about 24 inches in height.
Aristocrat Zucchini
Zucchini are known for their abundant yields in the summer. The Aristocrat Zucchini was an ‘All-American Selections winner in 1973 and have truly stood the test of time in home gardens through the years. Great to serve raw with dips or in salads, and delicious when steamed or stir-fried, Aristocrat Zucchini will never disappoint your taste buds.
This Zucchini takes about 50-55 days to mature and bears 6-7 inch slender, green fruit. Plant will grow to be about 24-30 inches in height.
Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti Squash is a popular choice these days and make for a healthy meal. They are the perfect substitute for pasta. Why? Because this squash looks like spaghetti inside! When growing your spaghetti squash, allow the fruit to ripen as much as possible on the vine. The skin will turn a pale yellow when it is ready for picking.
The Spaghetti Squash takes 80-88 days to mature. It bears yellow fruit about 7-8 inches in size and can weigh up to 3 pounds. This is a large plant that can grow to be about 48-60 inches in width and about 28 inches in height.
WATERMELON
Did you know that watermelons are a fruit AND a vegetable? Thanks to their sweet taste and seeds; Watermelons are most commonly considered a fruit, but they are also classified as a vegetable in the gourd family like cucumber, squash, and pumpkins. Watermelons need full sunlight. They should be planted with a spacing of 36-60 inches.
Start your garden on the right note by adding Calloway’s Organic Compost and amend with Expanded Shale to break up the clay in your soil. It is best to keep the soil moist until fruits are about the size of a tennis ball and then, water only when the soil is dry.
Feed your plants with Calloway’s Natural Garden Food as directed and begin to harvest when the rind changes from a bright green to a dull green.
Crimson Sweet Watermelon
Crimson Sweet Watermelons are famous for its high sugar content and delicious flavor. This watermelon is a pretty, light green melon with dark stripes. It contains seeds that are small in size and dark in color. Give the vines plenty of room to run as they are resistant to disease and wilt.
The Crimson Sweet Watermelon takes about 80 days to mature. This large plant can bear fruit up to 25 pounds in weight. YUM!
Check out our video to learn more about your May veggies and stop by our store nearest you to pick up your vegetable plants, compost, food, and more. Happy planting!
