Gardening Tips for May: Returning Colour to Your Garden
There’s nothing quite like kicking back with an ice-cold drink and admiring your garden in full swing. That drink tastes even better when you’ve truly earned it with a day (or even just a couple of hours) working in the garden. As we head into the heart of spring, there’s plenty to do to keep your garden healthy, vibrant, and productive. Here are some key gardening jobs in May, with and without biochar, to help you make the most of your time outdoors.
What Can Be Done in the Garden with Biochar
Maintain Moisture and Support Root Health
As the weather warms up, it’s important to establish a regular watering routine, ideally in the early morning or late evening to reduce evaporation and avoid leaf scorch. Newly planted vegetables, flowers, and shrubs need consistent moisture. Biochar’s water retention capabilities help keep moisture in the soil longer, reducing the frequency of watering and supporting strong root systems. This is particularly beneficial in areas where water conservation is key.
Improve Soil for Sowing Fast-Growing Crops
Direct sow fast-growing crops like beans, corn, and pumpkins this month. Using our inoculated biochar compost for seeds helps create a balanced environment for these plants by improving nutrient retention, drainage, and aeration.
Feed Container Plants and Hanging Baskets
For potted plants and hanging baskets, blend incoulated biochar into the potting mix or apply as a top-dressing with compost. Biochar helps container soils retain nutrients and moisture, reducing the frequency of watering and feeding.
Plant Out Tender Annuals and Summer Bedding
Whether you’re planting marigolds, cosmos, or petunias, amend the planting areas with our biochar compost. This supports nutrient availability and helps bedding plants establish quickly.
Plant Summer-Flowering Bulbs
Now is the perfect time to plant summer bulbs like dahlias and gladiolus. Mix biochar into the soil when planting to enhance drainage and prevent rot, especially in heavier soils, like clay.
Other Jobs to do in the Garden in May
Keep weeds under control
With warmer temperatures, weeds can take hold fast. A quick weekly session makes a big difference and saves time later.
Keep mowing
Regular mowing keeps your lawn looking neat but avoid cutting it too short, especially in dry spells.
Thin out seedlings
If your earlier seedlings are now overcrowded, thinning them gives each plant room to grow strong and healthy.
Harden off tender plants
If you’ve raised vegetables or flowers indoors, it’s time to start acclimatising them to outdoor life before planting them out. Take them outside during the day, bringing them back inside for the first few days, especially if the nights are cold.
Pinch out young plants
Plants like sweet peas and fuchsias benefit from having their growing tips pinched out to encourage bushier growth and more blooms.
Prune spring-flowering shrubs
Once the blooms have faded on plants like forsythia, give them a tidy up to keep their shape for next year.
May is a brilliant month to give your garden a real boost. A bit of time spent now, whether it’s sowing seeds, tidying up the lawn or refreshing containers, will pay off as everything starts to hit its stride. If you’re only going to do one thing, work a little biochar into your beds or pots before planting. It locks in moisture and nutrients just when your plants need them most, and it’s a simple step that can make a big difference as the weather warms up. As temperatures rise and watering becomes more frequent, biochar gives your garden an edge by holding onto water and nutrients, helping roots access everything they need for healthy growth.
