May 2025

The view above is 28th April. The one below is 1st May.

Today was 29°C, 84°F here, making it feel like summer. April's day temperatures averaged 17.9°C/64°F.

However, it is still spring! And I'm needing to remind myself of that when tempted to transplant cucumbers, courgettes, and squash outside.

It's still very early in the growing season of tender plants! April's night, temperature average was only 4.3°C, 40°F.

In fact we are forecast a slight ground frost on the mornings of the 5th and 6th May. I have transplanted a few courgettes and shall need to cover them on Sunday evening, 4th May.

You may not need to do that if you are in a city or on a hill. My garden is in a frost hollow, which is most of the Somerset levels!

Small Garden above

A video about this will soon be on YouTube.

Meanwhile, do check out this recent tour video

Events

And also a mini tour filmed 30th April.

The latter has details about fantastic courses here and many upcoming events elsewhere, around the world and in the UK, where I am teaching no dig.

More sowings, plantings

It's a top time to sow kalettes and Brussels sprouts, because they need the whole summer to grow decent sized plants to give you a worthwhile harvest.

Likewise autumn cabbages, cauliflower and broccoli. Whereas kale is good to sow at any time until July.

If not already in the ground, plant potatoes, soon.

And sow carrots, parsnips, lettuce, salad onions, radish, leeks, broad beans and peas. For the last three in the list, asap. While parsnips can be sown in June, perhaps it will be moister then.

Rain, lack of

In March we had 5mm rain, In April just 17mm.

That's a total for the two months of 22 mm, less than an inch, compared to the average around 140 mm, just under 6 inches.

We are watering! Mainly new plantings until they are visibly growing, leeks, and salads twice weekly. Now also a few broad beans which are podding.

Intriguing harvest difference

From the trial beds above, we harvested lettuce and spinach three days after the photo.

No dig is closest to camera and gave 0.82 kg lettuce, 0.80 kg spinach.

Dig bed gave 0.70 kg lettuce, and 0.45 kg spinach.

The buckets of lettuce and spinach leaves looked similar. Yet, as I've noticed before, the leaves from disturbed soil are less heavy.

Harvests 1st May

Bed by Shed

Mixed plantings are great with no dig!

This bed is 2.1 x 1.2m and the varied plantings look so happy together, 4 - 6 weeks in the ground. Fleece removed one week ago.

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