May

Late autumn is the time to harvest the last of the summer crops. Store or freeze the crops and remove all foliage for your compost bin. May is preparation time for the upcoming dormant cold season and planning for spring.

Special attention
Cut down the tops of asparagus before the seeds fall on the beds. Rake off the top soil and give the ground a good dressing of manure.

If onions are going to be planted, prepare the ground by digging in compost and sheep pellets, or animal manure.
Thin out seedlings of carrots and turnips.

With moist weather, seedling weeds will be troublesome, and if so skim the soil with a fork or hoe and turn them out.
Turn over all the vacant land in your edible garden to expose as much as possible to the action of air. Tui Lime should be applied where the land requires it.

Old rhubarb roots can be lifted and allowed to lie on the ground for a month before replanting.

Sow
Plant spring-maturing cabbages and cauliflower. In warmer districts plant lettuces and other salad greens. In cold districts sow lettuces in glass boxes or polytunnels. Salad leaves can be grown in pots to be moved around as cold weather lingers.

Broad beans can be planted in well-drained soil. Sow hardy vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, garlic, onions, parsley, radish and spinach.

Propagate
Cuttings can be taken now from hardwood varieties.

Grow winter herbs for flavourings – take cuttings or propagate mint, lemon verbena, rosemary and thyme.

Protect
If planting anything outside now, make sure they can tolerate the cold and potential frosts. Cloches or shelters made from plastic bottles, shade cloth or plastic sheets can be used to protect young seedlings.

Fertilise
Feed any growing salad greens with Tui Eco-Fert every 2–3 weeks to encourage growth over winter.

Harvest
Broccolis, cabbages, cauliflowers, capsicums, carrots, lettuces, late main-crop potatoes, pumpkins, squashes and silver beet.