Mid Autumn is definitely the best time in our subtropical garden. This year it has been unseasonably wet, which has been good as it has meant things have been very hands off. But we still have our issues, the main one being rats and mice.
What we’re up to in May in the Subtropics
Succession planting
This time of year it's all about succession planting our peas, broccoli and cauliflower. We want a steady supply of these until we can't grow them anymore. Our season is super short for these things so it's making sure we get the most out of the season by doing loads of succession planting. We'll plant new seeds every month right up until July.
Harvesting
It's also the time we start harvesting our turmeric and ginger as it dies back. We often keep it in the ground if we have no great need for it, it stores quite well left alone and usually produces 3 times more the following year.
Towards the end of May we'll see the start of our Tomato harvests, and the production of rosellas are in full swing. Towards the end of May we will also start harvesting our coffee beans! It's never enough for our daily habit but it's a beautiful plant and it's a fun novelty one to grow (plus the cherries do taste good!).
Topping up
It is also time to really feed up the Garlic to make sure it gets super big and healthy to produce amazing bulbs for harvest in September.
Problems
Even autumn comes with issues in our subtropical garden, we have a problem with rodents right now and we lost a lot of plants from curl grubs and also cutworms taking out entire seedlings. It does happen every year at this time of year.
Subtropical Vegetable Garden Tour in May
You can check out a video tour of our garden in May to see what we're growing, harvesting and the issues we have.
If you’d like some inspiration of plant layouts or need help getting your garden mojo back – come join us in Dirt Lovers.
