Whether or not this old English proverb refers to the ‘may’ blossom of the hawthorn tree or the actual month of May is neither here nor there. The warning for gardeners is simple: removing your woolly vest early in the growing season is risky.
Most gardeners learn the hard way. Spring usually has a sting in the tail, no matter how perky the garden appears or how fast you think the sap is rising. I lost a row of French beans last year because on just one evening, I was too lazy to put run down the garden and cover them up. It felt like I had been ‘fleecing up’ for weeks. I felt sure the danger period had passed and in any case there was something good on the telly. Of course, the danger of frost had not passed and Doc had that ‘I told you so’ look on his face the next day. Thankfully, I always grow spare vegetable plants and replacements are also good insurance against slug damage too.
We have had some glorious spring sunshine over the last week and we have been busy on the plot, trying to get ahead. We felt hot during the afternoons, even in short sleeved tee shirts and the greenhouse reached dizzy temperatures in the daytime, so much so I had to protect the younger plants from the heat and get the watering cans out. However, the night time temperatures have been a very different story with ground frosts and mornings cold enough for both plants and gardeners to wear thick fleeces.
Here in the Midlands, it’s possible to have frosts until the end of May so I should have the proverb tattooed on my forehead. But the growing season is shorter here so every year I have to push the boundaries, to give the slower growing veggies enough time to mature before autumn sets in. I start a lot of tender plants off in late February and right the way through March so this means that plants such as sweetcorn, courgettes, squashes and pumpkin are bursting out of their pots by the end of April, pleading for me to let them out of the cold frame into the garden. Even if I put them under cloches, they can sit still for a few weeks until the ground gets really warm.
The sun is shining and I am tempted to plant out the peas and mange tout . They have done well in the root trainers and since I pinched them out they are starting to bush out nicely. The sooner the hungry gap is bridged, the better. But then again, rain is forecast and if they get waterlogged and cold, they will suffer a check in growth.......... I could try a few and see how it goes..... Decisions, decisions.
It’s such a fussy time of year. I get there in the end but there is many a fraught mercy dash, armed with a roll of fleece, along the way.
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