Amber Starling
news@greenepublishing.com
May is a poor time for planting, but a great time for farm chores! While winter can be a great time for spring soil preparation, summer is an excellent time for fall soil preparation. Before you start picking out seeds, you must prepare your soil. The Florida Extension Service recommends that you site, plan and prepare before you begin.
This is all well and good if you have nothing planted. But what if your garden is already full? You should be leaving a portion of your garden fallow each season. This allows the soil to rest between crops. Some gardeners will plant a cover crop like clover and then plow it under a little before planting again. Clover puts nitrogen and minerals back into the soil when used in this way.
If you have not yet created a fallow plot, make one this month. This will be a whole new plot, a clean slate for you to lovingly manage, so let's get started with the site, plan, prepare method:
Site. First, pick your plot. You want your gardening area to be well-drained and well-lit. According to the Extension Service, you want a spot that gets about six hours of sun a day. Pick a spot that is close to a water source—watering becomes difficult when you don't have a spigot close by.
Plan. Plan out what you will plant and when. Be specific, down to the day, and stick to these plans. A well-planned garden is a handsome garden and can easily be incorporated into your landscaping. Raised beds and large pots are particularly useful for this form of practical landscaping. Get supplies early and keep some on hand.
Prepare. Now it is time to prepare your soil. Often, gardeners use whatever soil is available. However, soil preparation is the key to good yield. Organic matter adds nutrients to the soil. A month before planting, add grass clippings to the soil and plow it. Or add commercial compost at planting time.
Preparation also includes practices that discourage pests from taking up residence in your garden. These practices include turning the soil a month before planting. When you do, take out weeds, grass and woody materials. Adding organic matter and fertilizer makes plants more sturdy, so they can withstand pests.
Other practices include harvesting vegetables promptly when they are ripe, removing unproductive plants, removing large insects and attracting good bugs. Good bugs include all wasps, ladybugs, praying mantises, spiders and other predatory insects. If it eats other insects, it's probably a "good bug." You can also plant flowers around your garden to attract pollinators, which will help make your vegetables stronger. Controlling weeds also controls pests, minimizing their environment and available food sources. Weed by hand or put down mulch to prevent weeds. Use straw or fallen leaves— do not use wood mulch or sawdust.
Now you're ready to plant. If you start today, soil preparation will take until the end of May: do not plant anything this month and focus on soil preparation. Then you will have great groundwork for a great garden, especially when fall crops start becoming available to plant.
Additionally, any April crops that you missed out on planting last month can be planted this month. However, since soil, irrigation and weather conditions are not ideal for April crops, it would be perfectly reasonable to baby the plants with a little extra fertilizer or manure and not to expect a perfect yield.
As for May crops, only three are recommended: eggplant, lima beans and okra.
Eggplant is an incredible producer, yielding 200 pounds of produce per 100 feet of space. (Peppers, by comparison, only yield 40 pounds per 100 feet.) It takes 90-110 days until harvest, though the time can be shortened to 75 days if using mature transplants. Eggplant can be fried, stewed, boiled, eaten raw or consumd through various other preparations. It is rich in fiber and is often used in vegetarian dishes.
Lima beans are nutritious and tasty. Southern cooks do not often add more than salt, pepper and a little bacon fat to season these vegetables, which have a natural flavor that is fresh, sweet and umami. Lima beans require plenty of warm soil, so they can be planted through the summer. They require 60-90 days of heat (soil temperatures above 65 degrees) to mature, so do not plant them too close to fall. Sow seeds three to four inches apart and one to two inches deep.
Okra is another staple of southern cuisine. Some love it, some hate it, but everyone can agree that the best okra is fresh. Okra takes 50-75 days to harvest, so plant soon for an early summer harvest. Plant the seeds one to two inches deep and 6-12 inches apart. Okra is good fried or stewed. When stewing, add tomatoes and onions: the tomatoes provide an acid to cut the slimy texture of the okra and the onions provide flavor.