For a gardener, May can be a busy month.

There are seeds to be planted, indoors or in the garden. There’s raking up of old leaves (and often, blown-in litter). On a first warm day, patio furniture needs to be brought out and renewed. The lawn mower must be readied for use.

House plants are asking to be cleaned up and readied for a summer out-of-doors. Some need re-potting and even separating into two, three or four plants. After that, are there too many to fit on windowsills?

Some may be given away or taken to local plant sales. A few house plants could go into a flower or herb bed. Or you might create a garden in containers – even in 5-gallon buckets.

House plants, and seedlings started indoors need to be shown how to live in Maine’s chancy spring weather. The transition from inside to the great outdoors is called “hardening off.” A house is a real shelter, but the plants must grow used to life outside.

Take the plants (toughest first) onto a porch or steps, to introduce them to Weather. If you’re at home all day, start by giving them an hour’s exposure before bring them back in. Through the days, increase the time those plants spend outside.

Rain is OK if it’s gentle. Sunshine should be rationed to prevent early sunburn. Move plants if the days are too hot and bright.

Some house plants do well behind shrubs near the deck or porch, where they may be mostly neglected for the summer. Cyclamen would be among these.

Grown to be sheltered all their lives are plants such as African violets, streptocarpus (or Cape Primrose) and gloxinias. Many tropical green types like philodendron, rubber plants and their cousins and the Dracaena clan may be placed in a dark corner of a porch or left inside.   

Others may be planted to enhance your flower garden. Will you feed the soil in which you plant your flowers and vegetables?

Remember the compost pile or bin. Is the compost ready for turning? Or is one pile ready for use?

To apply finished compost on the garden, spread it lightly on the surface;“like pepper on scrambled eggs,” perhaps. Leave it on the ground and the tiny critters that live in the earth will find ways to drag it into holes: here’s free labor!

May is indeed a busy month, and this is only a part of it. Cold and rainy? Oh, well. The ground will sop up the moisture, expecting summer drought.

Plant for fall

At least one food pantry has made this request:

When planting your Harvest for Hunger patch, look ahead and sow vegetables for fall. These include carrots, winter squash, potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, cabbage and beets. Or choose among such crops. Summer vegetables are expected, but not everyone remembers that autumn produce is also needed.