May Planting Guide

In the first of a new monthly series, expert horticulturalist Sascha Andrusiak talks us through what to plant in Melbourne this May.

May, or the season of Waring/Wombat (April- July)

The month of May is named with great respect by the Romans, for the shy and gorgeous Greek goddess Maia who oversaw the growth of plants and protected nursing mothers. The first of May, or May Day marks one of the Celtic cross quarter days between all solstices and equinox’ of the year. The ancient Celts would celebrate by dancing around a tree (May pole) and crowning a ‘May Queen’. Boughs of flowering trees such as lilac would be brought inside to adorn the home and celebrate the warming weather.

Here in the Southern Hemisphere, the original people of the Kulin Nation named this season Waring (Wombat season). We can expect long nights and short days, high rainfall, low temperatures and misty mornings. When the constellation of Saggitarius rises in the southeast after the sunset we are close to the shortest night. Rain moths emerge, the Lyrebird dances its courtship dance and the wombat grazes in the sunshine. The tender fiddle heads of the tree fern are a tasty food source along with abundant fungi.

The indigenous calendar is now more than ever a changing story, as natural variability and climate change shifts the patterns of living things. Our Melbourne gardens are no different and each season things change a little.

A bunch of leafy greens from Sascha's garden.

What to plant this month

In our veggie gardens here in Melbourne, the month of May asks us to enjoy the very last throws of our long desired tomato, eggplant, capsicum and chilli crops. Now is the time for fried green tomatoes and to save seed from your favorite summer crops. Unless you can provide them protection from the winter, it’s time to grit your teeth and rip old summer crops out, then get a move on planting and sowing your essential winter staples.

Stagger your plantings of lettuce and Asian greens to ensure a constant supply. Plant silverbeet seedlings closely together and harvest the young tender leaves frequently for steaming or stirfrys - they are much sweeter this way. Liquid feed your vegetables fortnightly with an organic liquid fertilizer and soil conditioner. Be your veggie patches best friend and visit it daily, squashing foes such as cabbage white butterfly eggs and caterpillars and chucking snails over the fence (just kidding)! Remove dead/diseased or dying tissue and harvest tender young leaves of your greens regularly for your meals. Staying closely connected makes your relationship with your garden delightfully symbiotic. You take gentle care of each other!

Plant directly into prepared soil, seeds of:

Asian greens, Broad Beans, Carrot, Chives, Coriander, Fennel, Garlic (bulbs/bulbils), Lettuce, Mizuna, Mustard Greens, Pak Choy, Parsley, Peas, Snow peas, Potato (tubers), Radish, Rocket, Siler beet, Spinach, Dill.

Plant into seed trays or plant as seedlings:

Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale, Lettuce, Rosemary, Oregano, Rocket.

A picture of Sascha's veggie patch.

Planty fact of the month:

Swedish botanist Carl Linneaus, the father of binomial nomenclature, was born on 23 May, 1707.


Sascha Andrusiak is a former Burnley student who has worked in technical, research and teaching roles over her 21 years at Burnley Campus. Her current role is Horticultural Services Officer. Look out for regular contributions from Sascha on the Science Alumni Newsroom.
  • Planting Guide