Zone 5 · May · 2 weeks after last frost
What to plant in May in Zone 5
Typical last frost in zone 5 is around Apr 30, and first frost around Oct 5. The main planting month across most of the northern hemisphere. Cold zones finally pass their last frost; warm zones are already moving into maintenance.
Start indoors this month
Seed trays indoors, under a light or in the brightest window you have. These are slow crops that need a head start on the season.
Nothing in our dataset needs an indoor start this month in this zone.
Set out into the final container
Transplants go into the pot they will finish in. Hardening them off for four to five days first prevents most transplant shock.
- Cherry Tomato — window May 7 – May 17 (5 gal, 12" deep)
- Loose-leaf Lettuce — window Apr 30 – May 10 (2 gal, 6" deep)
- Basil — window May 14 – May 24 (2 gal, 8" deep)
- Bush Cucumber — window May 7 – May 17 (5 gal, 12" deep)
- Zucchini — window May 7 – May 17 (7 gal, 14" deep)
- Hot Pepper — window May 14 – May 24 (3 gal, 12" deep)
Direct sow
Sow straight into the final pot. These crops resent root disturbance, and transplanting them usually costs more time than it saves.
- Bush Bean — window May 7 – May 28 (3 gal, 9" deep)
- Kale — window Apr 16 – May 7 (3 gal, 10" deep)
- Bush Cucumber — window May 7 – May 28 (5 gal, 12" deep)
- Zucchini — window May 7 – May 28 (7 gal, 14" deep)
- Carrot — window Apr 16 – May 7 (3 gal, 12" deep)
Sow for autumn
A second sowing timed backwards from first frost. Fewer pests, less watering, and better flavour in most cool crops.
No autumn sowing window opens this month in this zone.
Harvesting this month
Not this month
Everything in the dataset is either in an active window or already finished for the year. Nothing is badly timed this month.
Zone 5 at a glance
Zone 5 gets about 140 frost-free days, which fits two full seasons: cool crops in spring, warm crops in summer, greens again in autumn.
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April in zone 5 · —