IN THE VEGGIE PATCH - May
Northern Hemisphere

May is a month of moderate activity with most jobs focusing on maintaining a healthy garden. Prevention is always better than cure, especially in the garden. When you choose to go organic, you become more conscious of growing rather than killing. That is, you make sure you encourage healthy and vigorous plant growth that will outperform any attacks from insects or diseases. If your focus is on feeding, watering and hygiene then you will very rarely have to use any pest controls at all.

Run-off problems are rectified by increasing the level of organic material in your soil. This means adding plenty of compost (home-made or purchased), manures and decaying leafmulch. All these materials will hold the water much better than basic soil alone. To prevent evaporation and runoff use a really thick layer of mulch. Organic sugarcane mulch, straw, grass clippings, composted sawdust and pea straw are excellent for covering gardens - and make it a layer of at least 10 cm if you can, to do the best job. That's a lot of mulch if you have large gardens, but it will dramatically reduce the need for watering. It provides a layer of insulation for the ground so the soil stays much cooler and plants will love it during the warmer months.

Try to avoid inorganic mulches like rocks, pebbles or stones that don't breakdown over time. No, you don't have to replace these mulches as often, but you don't add any nutrients to your soil, nor do you help with its water holding capacity. Worms are said to increase infiltration rates by as much as 10 times, but you need to give them plenty of food to attract them. Compost and organic mulches give plenty of food source for attracting worms to your garden.

Maintenance Checks
Think about installing a drip irrigation system now so that your plants are regularly and consistently watered. Make sure you invest in a good filter to prevent clogging the line. Also, regularly check dripper points for clogging. It's important that you have the right number of drippers for your plants. They are spaced at closer intervals in a grid position for best results in the veggie patch. This gives even distribution and promotes even growth. Too few drippers will restrict root growth on taller shrubs and trees, making them unstable in high winds.

Keep staking tomatoes now. Vigorous, tall growers like Grosse Lisse, Amish Paste, Oxheart or Black Russian need to be tied to some wooden stakes to do best. Tie with a piece of string just under the truss. Other "bush" varieties like Rouge de Marmande, Prosperity or Tiny Tim will only grow to around a metre so they don't need staking. If they flop over and scramble along the ground just make sure to protect the fruit from coming into contact with soil and rotting. Watch out for caterpillars from now on and use Dipel (available from nurseries) to control them. This is safer than pyrethrum; despite it being an organic remedy, pyrethrum will also kill beneficial insects too.

Pile up extra soil, or compost and straw around potatoes as they grow, just make sure that the growing tip is always above the soil. Potatoes are heavy feeders so they'll need something to keep them going. A bit of compost every month keeps them going well.

You may need to start planting leafy vegetables in the shade from now on. Veggies like rocket, mignonette, cos and butter lettuces have a high water content and do better with shade. Once lettuce starts to bolt to seed in hot weather it becomes bitter and horrible - even the rabbit will object! Make sure your leafy crops aren't too wet either, bacterial problems are common if drainage is poor, or mulch is too heavy. You'll recognise this if leaves start going brown and soggy.

Plant some long term crops now like carrots, beetroot, leek, parsley, celery, turnips and silverbeet. These will all mature over winter.

Melons need a long hot season to mature, so plant now for a harvest next fall. Eggplants and capsicum still prefer indoor temperatures for consistency so don't be in a hurry to plant them out yet. They come into flower quicker if slightly rootbound in smaller individual pots. Just slide them straight out of the pots and into the soil when summer hits.

Encourage your climbing beans on a trellis and help them attach if they need it. Broad beans are in full swing now but become a bit top-heavy. Keep them supported together in a block with garden twine attached to posts on the corners. Replace all peas (common, snap or snow) with beans from now on especially if they show signs of powdery mildew.

The Flower Garden
In tropical areas fertilise heavily now before the wet season arrives. Pants will have a chance to take up valuable nutrients before they get leached away with the rains. Keep trees and tall shrubs low and compact if you live in high wind areas or cyclone regions. Shallow rooted plants can be easily uprooted if not established well, so protect young plants with a wind break.

In cold regions it's time to tidy up the spring display and prepare for some summer annuals. Plant some sunflowers for seed for the budgie, rabbit, or guinea pig. Some plants that do well in the shade are dianthus (pinks), impatiens, pansies and violets, all can go in now for summer.

Romance is in the air with the heady fragrance of gardenias, star jasmine, lavendar and roses. Plant these where you can appreciate their strong scent around patios, pools or garden retreat. Roses in the garden have their main flush now and then again in fall. To make the most of your next display, cut blooms on long stems thereby reducing the overall size of your bush - consider it a semi pruning. Give them another feed now and water well at the base of the plants, making sure you avoid overhead sprinkling that leads to fungal problems. You'll have another fabulous display around September or October.

Pest alert!
Green ants in the tropics are nesting in trees. Destroy nests when you see them to keep number down.

Red spider mite is hard to control. Try hosing off or pyrethrum if they're bad. Natural preditors will arrive in time.

Yellow spots on bean leaves or generally limp non-thriving bean plants indicate bean fly. Remove affected leaves and hill up soil around stems to give extra support. Do not compost.

Use milk sprays for fungal problems like powdery mildew by diluting some milk with water - about one part milk to 8 parts water. Keep it up every couple of days until it is controlled. Half strength bordeaux is also said to control downy mildew on grapes. Cold diluted chamomile tea is a favourite of mine for rose black spot and strawberry problems. Use it as a preventative spray once a week. Use seaweed solution to strengthen soft new growth, it won't be as easily affected by either pests or diseases.

Keep a check on fruit fly and use splash baits if necessary. Make a boundary of sawdust, coffee grounds or eggshells to deep snails and slugs off garden beds.

Fruit trees
Hygiene around stone fruit is critical now. Remove any leaves with signs of leaf curl as well as any soft shrivelled fruit showing signs of brown rot. Throw a splash of wood ash over cherries if leaves are skeletonised by pear and cherry slug.

Check hessian traps for larvae of codling moth on apples, pears and larvea of oriental fruits fly on stonefruit. Replace with fresh traps as necessary.