May is known as the hungry gap among those who grow fruit and vegetables, because the spring veg are all spent and the summer ones are yet to come. Well, it may be true that there’s precious little to eat at this time of year, but I absolutely love May in the garden and on the allotment. And now more than ever I am incredibly grateful to have these places to connect with some kind of normality – this is what keeps me sane in normal times; I think I would be in big trouble mental health-wise without them at the moment.
May is the month when plants and seedlings go from making very slow, almost reluctant progress week by week to suddenly bursting into life and growing visibly day by day. I love this moment of the year – the days and nights turning warmer and the light lasting well into the evening (it’s only just going dark now, at 21:10). And we’re not even at midsummer yet.
The potatoes and broad beans in particular are really going for it now, with visible new growth every day. The lettuce seedlings that sat sulking for weeks after I planted them out have finally started putting on some growth. The cornflowers (‘black ball’) are in bud. The first Limanthes Douglasii flowers from a spring sowing of seeds opened today.
In May, it doesn’t matter if something goes wrong because with a lot of plants you can simply start again and they will catch up. The runner beans I sowed about 4 weeks ago didn’t come up – I don’t know if it was slugs or the seeds not working as they should (they were old ones, so it’s possible). Today I sowed another lot from a fresh packet. You can keep sowing them until June so even if this lot doesn’t work there is still time for one more sowing in another couple of weeks.
And in May, you still have the whole summer ahead of you so it feels like there is plenty of time to enjoy the warmth, the light and the abundance of the summer plot.
I’m finding that there isn’t a huge amount to be done at the allotment other than watering and a bit of weeding here and there, sowing a few seeds and planting things out occasionally when they’re ready. Half an hour to an hour a day is plenty. We’ve been going up for a break at about 7 each day, which is an incredibly welcome change from looking at the computer screen all day. You really do reap the rewards if you put the work in over winter and in early spring.
The plot is starting to fill out now and there are a few things we can eat: we’ve had our first radish and our first salad leaves, and the broad beans and peas are almost there.
The garden is chock full of seedlings – flowers, herbs and veggies all waiting to be planted out. This year, because we’re stuck at home in lockdown, I’ve been able to sow and tend a lot more seeds than I would normally have time to do, and I’ve been able to keep on top of the watering every day (which is a blessing because it’s hardly rained at all all month long).
I haven’t been able to read a book since lockdown began, because I find I can’t focus for long enough. Slowing down to focus on sowing seeds is a great way to calm down my agitated brain. In sowing seeds, there is an optimism and connection to the natural world that means it’s hard not to be calmed and cheered. I also never stop finding it absolutely wonderful that huge sprawling plants like squashes, climbing beans and annual flowers can grow so much so quickly. I never really believe it’s going to happen, and then it does and I am bowled over, again.
Keeping the Plot 
Bet many of the other plot holders are envious of your outstanding work. It’s gorgeous! I haven’t read a book since this virus stuff started in Feb, and I normally ready one or two books a week. Just can’t stay focused. I am blessed with a lovely garden, but now we are approaching winter, and we have real winter here, when nothing grows outdoors. Truly enjoy your posts.
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