- Continue harvesting asparagus, cut spears 2.5cm below the soil when they are no more than 18cm high. Well established beds can be harvested for 8 weeks.
- Prune early spring shrubs such as Forsythia and Ribes after flowering. Remove one in three stems at the base and cut back flowered stems to strong buds lower down the stem.
- Keep the lawnmower in the shed for no mow May.
- Check Gooseberries for sawfly larvae.
- Remove growth frosted in Spring.
- Divide spring bulbs.
- Look out for box moth. Look out for webbing and defoliation. Remove any caterpillars that you spot by hand or use a biological control.
- Sow winter veg such as purple sprouting broccoli and cauliflower.
- Sow French and runner beans direct after the risk of frost has passed in mid-May depending on geographical area.
- Continue to make successional sowing od beetroot, carrots, radish, lettuce etc.
- Regularly hoe off weeds choosing a dry day so the seedlings will die on the soil surface.
- Prune wall trained Pyracantha
- Protect strawberries from birds with netting.
- Care for new plantings. Water newly planted trees and shrubs, ideally with rain water.
- Leave hedges to ensure that nesting birds are not disturbed.
- Switch off garden lights in the evening to prevent change in animal behaviour, lights angled towards the ground are better.
- Harden off tender plants by placing plants in a cold frame or outside in a sheltered spot on a mild day, bringing them in at night.
- Weed paths and patios.
