Things I want to achieve in May 2025
May is autumn’s last chance, and the mornings feel a lot closer to winter than they did at the start of Autumn. But technically it is still autumn so if a task is listed as an autumn task in the gardening books then I won’t feel guilty getting it done now… well maybe a little bit of ‘I should have done it sooner’ remorse, but if I do it quickly in the early days of May then it should be alright.
The last few weeks seems to have been filled with constant weeding as the lingering warmth and the incessant rain have allowed them flourish creating a ‘whack a mole’ situation and increasing the frequency of my little and often technique. For a while there I was hoeing almost daily to keep the carpet of green at bay. The cold snap we’re having right now should slow things down and allow time for other things as there is more to gardening to weeding but right now it doesn’t seem like it.
The weeds and the weather did take the goals aspect of my garden journey off the table a little as I put out little green weedy fires across the garden. I’m looking forward to picking up the controlled, organised and systematic approach to managing the garden this month. The good thing about self set goals is there is no actual failure, you just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again. Maybe come Christmas I will have nailed my new routine and 2026 will be a dream season.
As nothing much has changed since last month, neither has the following words: “…this month’s ‘to do’ list items will continue to have some familiar tasks as my expectations are often bigger than what is actually possible! There are a few new chores as the season demands alongside the regular tasks that need to be done, no matter what and the cut and come again jobs that reappear with a comfortable sense of familiarity. And finally, there are the things I really want to do but am realistic enough to realise they won’t actually all be done this month, but they certainly won’t be forgotten … and you never know, I might cross one or two of them off the list.”
I am more optimistic that what I hope to achieve in the month of May will be a lot more productivity as the result of a steady and considered approach, my eyes are always bigger than my stomach and I constantly over estimate what is possible.
GARDEN GARDENING
- Weekly weeding of all sectors.
- Harvest when necessary.
- Continue with bricks in paths.
- Clear sand along fence line.
- Trap possums.
- Remove crops as they finish.
- Plant out cool season seedlings.
- Deadhead flowers.
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN
Sector 1
- Pull out beans.
- Start another row of peas.
- Add fence flowers.
- Start onion seeds.
Sector 2
- Keep harvesting peppers and brassica.
- Clear odds and sods bed once finished.
Sector 3
- Move fennel to permanent spot in sector 4.
- Dig up potatoes.
- Tidy up beside the shed.
Sector 4
- Greenhouse maintenance.
- Set up irrigation through this area.
- Repair rhubarb windbreak.
- Weed behind shed.
- Sort out container plants.
Sector 5
- Spray stonefruit.
- Finish irrigation system.
- Protect from possums.
- Build a blueberry cage.
- There is a garden bed on my garden plan that is listed as “weeds.” This needs to change.
THE PALACE:
Room 1
- Renovate bench.
- Add brackets to stairs.
- Clean up behind garden.
Room 2
- Install edging.
- Get plaque for time capsule.
- Refresh the bark mulch.
- Fill gaps with plants.
- Fix and repaint gates.
Room 3
- Finish project.
BEYOND THE GARDEN
- Weedeat swingseat path.
- Weedeat backdoor area.
- Weedeat along fence line.
- Paint swingseat.
- WeednFeed the lawn
- Tidy office.
OTHER PROJECTS – for when I have time.
- Landscape around the swing seat.
- Weed around trees on windbreak hill.
- Plant more trees on windbreak hill.
- Office building maintenance.
- Weed Waterfall.
- Clothesline project.
- Investigate ‘hill art’ project.
- Frames around irrigation hubs.
- Build plants in pots station.
- Paint sheds.
- Makeover chicken coup
KITCHEN GARDENING
- Make the most of every harvest.
- Store or process crops for the long term.
- Something from the garden in every meal.
“Room 3 – Finish project” Well, that says it all. “Build plants in pots station” Well, it is easier to grow them. If I add half a year to your schedule, it seems too late for peas. Ours grow in spring and summer. Summer is too warm and arid for them. Winter is not necessarily too cold for them to survive, but it is too cold for them to grow much.
The good news is I’ve been working on Room 3 over the last few months and then end is in sight – probably within days, all going well so will do a reveal.
But the items towards the bottom of the list are more of a reminder and once I get close to doing them, there will be a more detailed breakdown of the steps involved.
As we don’t get frosts here we are considered subtropical and I can grow peas in all but the hottest parts of summer – as a comparison I’ve had self seeded sunflowers blooming in mid winter before. : o)