May Gardening Guide & Seasonal Eating for Zone 9

Here in Central California Zone 9 we are so fortunate because you can garden and harvest every month of the year! I’m a life-long gardener sharing tips I’ve learned myself as well as generational knowledge passed down to help get you ready to grow!

What To Plant This Month:

Haven’t even started gardening this year? Don’t worry! Zone 9’s extra long warm season is very forgiving of procrastination! For your major crops like tomatoes, peppers, squash and melons, I recommend purchasing starter plants from your local Garden Center, some of which will already be placing those plants on sale!

• The warmth makes for east direct sow seed-starting! Finish putting in the big warm season crops like corn, beans and squash, these can all still by direct sown by seed.  Drop in nasturtium, cosmos, zinnia, rudbeckia and more!

• Continue succession planting short season crops like leafy greens and radishes, be seed.

• Plant flowers and herbs throughout the garden to attract beneficial insects!

Gardening Tasks:

              There's always plenty to do in the garden! This list is designed to help put focus on tasks that are best completed in a timely manner to set you up for success in the coming growing season.

• Get your trellising, staking and other climbing plant supports put in now, so they’re ready when your plants really need them in the coming months.

• If putting in tomato and pepper plants, prep your planting beds with compost or well-aged manure.

• The heat is on its way! Finish harvesting any remaining cool season crops like cabbage and broccoli if you haven’t already!

• Start harvesting any early fruits like strawberries, this will encourage the plants to stay productive longer!

• Start pinching back your herbs like basil and epazote to encourage more branching and deter them from bolting in the heat!

• We just got some April showers, meaning weeds will be soon to follow! Mulch down areas that may need a thicker layer, replace areas of old tattered weed cloth if needed  

  •   Tip: Use distilled vinegar in a spray bottle or pump sprayer as your natural weed killer, once dry this is a completely safe herbicide to use around people and pets, just prepare yourself for the strong scent when applying! Some folks like to add a tablespoon of dish soap to help the vinegar ‘stick’ where you spray. Weeds will turn brown within just a day or two, just note this is not nearly as strong as commercial chemical herbicides and so weeds will still return. I use this when I need weeds to stop growing for a week or two, giving me time to weed eat or hoe the area down and mulch it.

• This time of year, it’s important to get your garden systems and routines in place. If you’ll be setting up automatic irrigation like drip or soaker hose, get them in and set your timer now. If you’ll be hand watering a small garden all season, start getting in the habit of walking through your garden every couple of days, even when you know it doesn’t need water, this will help your brain start to recognize the routine of setting aside time to tend to your plants.

  •   I have a lounge chair next to my garden beds so that most days I can drink my coffee or munch breakfast next to them, it gets me fresh air and sunshine first thing in the morning and puts my mind on my goals for that space! It’s important to enjoy being in your garden when you’re not laboring in it, it helps your brain associate that space with peace and growth instead of as a pile of never ending work!

• Thin your seedlings and fruit trees! Though it is sometimes painful it must be done, go through rows of carrot and lettuce seedlings, pulling up and runt seedlings to make space for the bigger ones, you may have to go through them again next month. I like using the thinning’s in the same way you use sprouts in sandwiches or salads, but sometimes the bunny gets a treat too! Stone-fruit trees like apricots, peaches, nectarines and pluots should be thinned, pull away at least 1/3 of the young fruits, making sure there’s several inches of space between the ones left behind, this will result in bigger healthier fruits at harvest time.

• Prune back any large shrub perennials such as lavender (remove top 12” of spent blooms) and rosemary to encourage bloom and maintain desired shape.

• Keep an eye out for the first sign of pests like aphids and snails. Use neem oil or insecticidal soap spray on your plants and set snail traps around your tender leafy greens and strawberries.

  • Some folks like to line strawberry patches with straw because slugs and snails have a harder time navigating that tricky terrain! Just make sure the straw you use has no viable seeds in it! Otherwise you’ll create a weed-city!

What’s In Season?:

What produce you can expect to harvest from your garden or find at the farmers market this month. Seasonal eating means focusing on sourcing produce that’s being freshly harvested in your area, rather than imported from tropical areas overseas or that’s been sitting in cold storage for months on end. An easy way to get an understanding of these fresh items is to visit your local farmers market, even just 1-2 times a month and purchase your produce there rather than at the grocery store, this not only provides you and your family with greater nutritional benefit due to the freshness of the items but it also supports local agriculture and small businesses.

• Berries such as strawberry and the first harvests of blueberry, raspberry and blackberry

• Sweet or Snap peas

• ‘New Potatoes’ which are the first fresh tender young potatoes.

• Tender leafy greens like spinach, lettuce, green sprouts, and radishes

• Herbs such as chives, basil, epazote, oregano, rosemary, mint and more.

• If you planted them early enough you may have some edible flowers ready such as borage or nasturtium.

• Early season fruits like Cherry and Apricot will be ready soon!

• Carrots, if planted late last year to overwinter or early this year