May Vegetable and Herb Gardening Calendar for Tropical Climate Australia

May is the last month of autumn, and the weather is sunny and dry in the tropics. In Darwin, the weather is hot and humid, with temperatures over 30°C, and it’s also the first month of the dry season, with an average rainfall of only two days for the month.

This is a time for pruning, taking cuttings for propagation, dividing perennials, planting new trees, shrubs and vines, as well as moving and relocating plants around the garden.

It’s also the time to clean up the garden, to remove all the dead and dried leaves, branches and plants, which is a great source of organic matter for mulching and composting!

Things to Do This Month:

• Continue planting new trees, shrubs, climbers, annuals and perennials.
• Continue gathering and composting autumn leaves.
• Continue planting cool season green manure crops (such as rapeseed, broad beans, fenugreek, linseed, lupins, mustard, oats, subclover, and vetch), which will be cut down and dug into the soil in spring.
• Continue collecting and sowing seeds from berry producing trees and shrubs.
• Continue lifting and dividing overgrown perennial plants.
• Continue planting garlic, strawberry runners and shallot bulbs.
• Winter pruning of deciduous trees and shrubs can be done in autumn or winter, and can begin now.
• Check citrus for galls caused by gall wasp and slice one side of galls or prune to remove.
• Cut back bamboo, and use the canes next season as plants supports or stakes in the garden.
• Repair trellises now that leaves have fallen from deciduous plants, allowing better access.
• Check tree ties, stakes and supports. Install windbreaks and tree guards around vulnerable plants.
• Relocate evergreen shrubs (can be done either in autumn and early spring).
• Lift rooted hardwood cuttings produced last autumn (the year before) and plant them out to a permanent location.
• Some perennials plants with long fleshy roots such as horseradish can be propagated by root cuttings, take root cuttings from this time in late autumn until late winter.
• Propagate rhubarb by lifting root, divide it so each piece has one or more buds and replant.
• Ponds should be cleaned of old plants, and overgrown marginal plants around the pond can be divided.
  

Vegetables and Herbs to Grow in May (Tropical Climate)

May Seeds to Sow and Seedlings to Plant (Tropical Climate Australia)	Sow/Plant	Harvest (weeks)
Amaranth	dst	7-8
Angelica	dst	18 months
Asparagus	plant crowns	2-3 years
Asparagus Pea	d	8-11
Basil	st	10-12
Beans (Climbing)	dst	9-11
Beans (Dwarf, Bush)	dst	7-10
Beetroot	dst	7-10
Borage	dst	8-10
Broccoli	st	10-16
Burdock	d	17-18
Cabbage	st	8-15
Cape Gooseberry	dst	14-16
Capsicum	st	10-12
Carrot	d	12-18
Cauliflower	st	15-22
Celery	t	17-18
Chicory	st	16-24
Chilli	st	9-11
Chinese Cabbage	st	8-10
Chives	dst	7-11
Choko	plant tubers	17
Collard Greens	d	8-11
Coriander (Cilantro)	dst	30-45
Cucumber	dst	8-10
Daikon	d	8-10
Dill	s	8-12
Eggplant	dst	12-15
Endive	dst	10-11
Fennel (Bronze)	dst	14-15
Fennel (Florence)	dst	14-20
French Tarragon	t	30-40 days
Garlic	plant cloves	17-25
Ginger	plant root	25
Globe Artichokes	dst	42-57
Horseradish	plant crowns	16-24
Kale	s	#N/A
Kohlrabi	dst	7-10
Leeks	dt	15-18
Lemon Balm	s	8-10
Lettuce	dst	8-12
Luffa	dst	11-12
Marrow	dst	12-17
Mint	dst	8-12
Mizuna	dst	5-7
Mustard Greens	dst	5-8
NZ Spinach (Warrigal Greens)	dst	8-10
Okra	dst	11-14
Oregano	dst	6-8
Pak Choy	dst	6-11
Parsley	dst	9-19
Peas	dt	9-11
Potato	plant seed potato tubers	15-20
Pumpkin	dst	15-20
Radish	d	5-7
Rocket	d	21-35 days
Rockmelon (Cantaloupe)	dst	10-16
Rosemary	d	12 months
Sage	dst	18 months
Salsify	d	14-21
Shallots	d	12-15
Silverbeet (Swiss Chard)	dst	7-12
Spring Onions (Bunching Onions)	dst	6-10
Squash	dst	7-8
Strawberry (seed)	s	12 months
Strawberry (plants)	t	11
Summer Savory	d	6-10
Sunflower	dst	10-11
Swedes (Rutabaga)	t	10-14
Sweet Corn	dst	11-14
Sweet Marjoram	d	8-10
Sweet Potato (Kumara)	plant crowns	15-17
Tomatillo	dst	10-14
Tomato	s	8-17
Turnip	d	6-9
Watermelon	dst	9-14
Winter Savory	s	6-10
Yacon	plant tubers	25
Zucchini (Courgette, Marrow)	dst	6-9

Key:
d = sow seeds directly into ground
s = sow seeds into seed tray
ds = sow seeds directly into ground or seed tray
t = transplant seedlings (small plants) into larger pots or plant into ground
*= frost tender
**= sow after frost

Download printable PDF version of Gardening Calendar (Australian Tropical Climate) – May

To help improve these garden calendars, feedback and additional information from readers is greatly appreciated! Australia’s climate varies considerably, and local knowledge of when particular things need to be done in the garden are most helpful to others living in those area, so please feel free to share.