Gardening in May: Zones 7 & 8.
There are still a lot of crops that you can plant in May to get a great harvest if you live in zones 7 or 8. This May planting list will cover some crops that are great options to get started in your garden this month!
What is my Garden Zone? Don’t forget that this article is specific to zones 7 & 8. If you aren’t in one of these zones you can check out our posts on zones 3 & 4, zones 5 & 6, or zones 9 & 10 to learn what you can start planting this month. If you don’t know what your garden zone is you can follow this link to find out!
May Planting List. May is a busy gardening month for me. We get a lot of the crops planted this month that we will harvest all summer long. It is also my favorite month because there is a huge variety of crops you can start planting outdoors because the weather is warmer!
Sweet Potatoes First on the list is sweet potatoes! Originally, I wasn’t the biggest fan of sweet potatoes, but I’ve really come to love using them in soups!
Melons May is the perfect time to get your melons started in the garden! Some of our favorite melons to grow are watermelon, cantaloupe, and Crenshaw melons.
Corn. SweetCorn is probably my favorite crop on this May planting list. We have had a lot of success using the hill method when we plant our corn!
Beans Make sure you save a sunny spot in your garden for beans! Beans need at least 8 hours of sun to thrive, but they do even better if they get 10-12 hours of sun.
Night Shade Family
Tomatoes. Tomatoes really are everyone’s favorite crop to grow in their garden! I recommend that when you plant your tomatoes this month, you also consider investing in some high-quality tomato cages. If you want a more flavorful crop of tomatoes this year consider using a tablespoon of Epsom salt in the hole when you plant your tomatoes!
Peppers. I love growing peppers. They’re beautiful plants (we actually use them in our flowerbeds!) and they taste amazing! I know many of you are probably worried about the summer heat ruining your peppers. It’s definitely a concern because temperatures above 90 degrees can cause all kinds of problems for peppers. I’ve started using shade cloth to protect my peppers every summer once the temperature gets above 90 degrees and I’ve had great success!
Potatoes. Potatoes take longer to germinate, so May is a great time to get your potatoes started! You should consider planting some of your potatoes at the beginning of the month and then some towards the end of May, so that your harvest is spaced throughout late summer and fall!
Squash
Winter Squash & Summer Squash. May is the time to get summer and winter squash started in your garden! There are a ton of varieties that you can choose from, so consider trying a new variety this year!
Summer Squash. Zucchini, Crookneck Squash, Pattypan (also known as Scallop)
Winter Squash. Pumpkins. Butternut squash. Spaghetti squash. Banana squash.
Cucumbers Since most cucumber varieties vine we use a cucumber trellis every year..
Summer Crisp Lettuces. We love salad around here, so it’s important that we have some type of lettuce growing in our garden year-round. If you’re in zones 7 or 8 May is the time to plant summer crisp lettuce varieties. These varieties can handle the heat and sunshine of the summer so that you can have delicious salads all summer long!