May is an exciting time , as Robert Lee Frost slicing into a distant memory , tender weather ( but not too hot ) finally arrives and everything want to grow . With the right quantity of rain and foresightful days , plant are at their happiest . In central Virginia , the average last rime day of the month is expected to be around May 10 - May 15 , which means that May is the month we begin to transplant summer vegetable plants into the vegetable garden — tomatoes , peppers and eggplant along with plant warm season crops such as squash , edible corn , bean plant , cucumbers and okra . May is often the busiest calendar month of the twelvemonth for the vegetable nurseryman : the setting out of transplantation , on top of maintaining the early spring - planted crops such as potatoes , Brassica oleracea italica , boodle , cauliflower , Allium porrum and onions just to name a few .
May is the metre that the vegetable garden fill up up with plants in a haste . And the gardener is always looking for just a little more space , to add that recently discovered heirloom tomato plant , or that young lolly that is heat resistant and slow to go off or that raw burnt orangish - colored pepper . So many choices , so little space .
The following May planting chart was developed using theVirginia Cooperative Extension Publication 426 - 331“Vegetable Planting Guide and Recommended Planting Dates . ”
Not sureof what variety of vegetables to implant ? inquire a nearby horticulture friend what work on in their garden and visitVirginia Cooperative Extension Publication 426 - 480for a listing of vegetable varieties recommended for Virginia .
Extend your harvest seasonby planting sweet corn and beans every two weeks through the end of June .
miss Indian corn kernelson your corn ears ? This may be the result of miserable pollination . Sweet corn is wind pollinate . Block planting in short rows ( 3 - 4 quarrel or more ) will pollinate more successfully than 1 or 2 foresighted row . When doing succession planting , embarrass the area into the sections . For example , if you have space for 4 rows of corn whisky , rather than planting two ( 2 ) longsighted rows of corn and waiting 2 calendar week to imbed the remaining two ( 2 ) rows , divide the area into two ( 2 ) city block and flora 4 short rows . Then two week later , plant the remain 4 brusk dustup . This procedure will insure large pollination . For more entropy on grow sweet corn , take a look atVirginia Cooperative Extension Publication 426 - 405 .
Keep your potatoes covered . The hide of potatoes bring out to the sunshine will release green . This green color derive from the pigmentchlorophyllproduced as a response to sunlight . “ Green Potatoes ” will often modernise a bitter gustatory perception and may become toxic . This can be prevented by covering the let on tater — by hilling - up grime over the potatoes , or covering them with chaff mulch . For extra information on uprise white potato vine , seeVirginia Cooperative Extension Publication 426 - 413 .
To control weedsin the garden , destroy weedsbefore they develop seeds . chorus from school and hoeing deeply ; this can cause damage to the shallow root of your vegetables . Also , avoid using mulch or compost contaminate with seed . For additional information on controlling dope in the home garden , seeVirginia Cooperative Extension Publication 456 - 018 .
When Citrullus vulgaris , muskmelons , squash and cucumbersare planted in a James Jerome Hill , invest a spliff upright in the center of the hill and provide it there . subsequently in the summer when the James Jerome Hill becomes hidden by the vine , you will know where to irrigate . You ’ll not only write time looking for the main ascendant , but you ’ll be saving water as well .
Successfuleggplantdevelopment is dependent on a bridge of temperatures of ( 80 - 90 degrees F ) and plenty of water . urine well when plants are young . pee at least two times a week when temperatures are high and there is no rain . For additional information on raise eggplant in the domicile garden , seeVirginia Cooperative Extension Publication 426 - 413 .
The best meter to transplanttomato , capsicum and eggplants , is on a cool cloudy day or of late in the afternoon to deflect the raging sun . This direction the plant have metre to acclimatise themselves to their new environs . If the following day is hot and sunny , a row cover may be used to reduce tension on the works .
When transplanting seedlings in peat pots , gently deplume off the top inch of the kitty ; the upper edges of the toilet should be track with soil to avoid wicking water aside from the grime airfoil . Wicking may reduce the amount of wet available to the roots of the plant .
ruin the rulewhen setting - out tomato plant plants . The ecumenical ruler for transplanting most plants is that the planting profundity should be no deeper than the soil level they were originally grown in . This rule does NOT apply to love apple plants . The general principle for tomato is that 2/3 of the tomato plant should bebelow soil grade . First , mildly remove the leaves on the bottom 2/3 of the works before planting . institute deep allowsroots to sproutalong the buried stem ( adventitious tooth root ) . This result in a better and stronger root system and the end resultant role is better tomatoes . In big land or if you just do n’t want to dig deeply , you may lay the industrial plant on its side , provide that 5 - 6 inch of soil is invest over the roots and stem . For additional selective information on growing tomatoes , seeVCE Publication 426 - 418titled “ Tomatoes . ”
