- Although it’s early May, late frosts can still occur in colder parts of the country until the end of the month, so keep some horticultural fleece handy to protect young seedlings and the tender young growth of emerging plants such as dahlias or potatoes.
- Get the upper hand as regards weeds, before they start smothering young seedlings and favourite plants and – just as importantly – before they start to set seed. In the vegetable garden, my favourite weeding tool is Fiskars’ stainless steel swoe, while for more finicky work in the flower borders, I use a daisy grubber (both are available from handyhardware.ie). Other gardeners swear by the oscillating hoe (available from dunmorecountryschool.ie).
- Now is the time to order cold-stored bare-root strawberry runners, which can be planted right up until mid-July and will produce a modest crop of berries in 6-8 weeks. Specialist mail-order suppliers include the Irish-based English’s nursery (englishsfruitnursery.ie) and Ken Muir (kenmuir.co.uk).
- This month I’m sowing seed of cucamelons, miniature watermelon lookalikes that taste of cucumber and lime (apparently they’re delicious in a martini) and can either be grown in the glasshouse/polytunnel or outdoors in a warm sheltered garden. I bought the seed from Howbert & Mays (howbertandmays.ie) but it’s also available online from suttons.co.uk.
- Many gardeners will be moving young tomato plants out into the glasshouse or polytunnels in the coming days. Don’t forget to ‘harden off’ first by gradually exposing them to cooler temperatures. Delay planting if a late frost is forecast and (as mentioned above) always keep some fleece handy just in case.
