The Seeds You Need to Plant in May for a Summer Garden (2024)

April 25, 2021 by Tiffany Davis 9 Comments

What to plan in May in your home garden. Here are my recommendations of the seeds and transplants to plant in May for summer crops in Zones 3 – 10. This is a great place to start your spring and summer garden.

If you’ve been following my series on What to Plant then you saw the March and April Guides. So you should have some beautiful veggies, fruits and herbs in your spring garden. Here in Phoenix, zone 10, I have summer and winter squash, watermelon, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes (probably too many tomatoes) all springing up in the garden.

I have an entire year’s worth of planting guides, see my Month to Month Planting Guide.

The Seeds You Need to Plant in May

Remember for planning your garden you should know the planting zone that your area is in. You can do that via your zip code here.

I’ve divided the seeds to plant in May by zones for 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 – so just scroll down to find your zone. I’ve also included links for seeds that do well in your particular zone, when I can.

I grow plants for many reasons: to please my eye or to please my soul, to challenge the elements or to challenge my patience, for novelty or for nostalgia, but mostly for the joy in seeing them grow. ~David Hobson

Where to Buy May Seeds for Your Garden

Check out my article onWhere to Buy Organic Heirloom Seedsfor your vegetable garden.

What to Plant in May Zones 3 & 4

My friends up north are finally starting to warm up and are ready for planting their garden! Bur remember to sow after the last frost.

Check out Seeds Now for Zone 3and Zone 4 Organic, Non-Gmo Seeds,

• Beans (lima)
• Beans (snap)
• Beets
  Growing Beets in Your Backyard
• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cantaloupe
  Growing Cantaloupe Everything You Need to Know
• Carrots
  How to Preserve Carrots from Your Garden
• Cauliflower
• Celery (after the 15th is better)
  How to Make Celery Powder
• Chard (early in the month)
• Cucumbers
• Kale
• Lettuce, head
• Lettuce, leaf (early in the month is best)
  How to Grow Lettuce in Your Backyard
• Parsnips
• Peas
• Potatoes, white
  How to Grow Potatoes Anywhere
  How To Prepare Garden Potatoes for Long Term Storage
• Pumpkins (mid to late in the month)
• Radish
• Squash, both summer & winter
  Growing Summer Squash Everything You Need to Know
• Tomatoes
  Growing Tomatoes At Home
  Making Tomato Powder
• Watermelon
  Harvesting Watermelon

A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust. ~Gertrude Jekyll

What to Plant in May Zones 5 & 6

Check out Seeds Now for Zone 5and Zone 6Organic, Non-Gmo Seeds

• Beans (lima)
• Beans (snap)
• Cantaloupes
  Growing Cantaloupe Everything You Need to Know
• Corn, sweet
  Everything You Need to Know About Growing Corn in Your Backyard
• Cucumbers
• Eggplants
• Lettuce, head and leaf
  How to Grow Lettuce in Your Backyard
• Okra
  How to Grow Okra in Your Backyard
• Peppers
• Potatoes, sweet
  Grow Sweet Potatoes How to Have Your Best Harvest Ever
  How To Prepare Garden Potatoes for Long Term Storage
• Pumpkins
• Squash, summer and winter
  Growing Summer Squash Everything You Need to Know
• Tomatoes
  Growing Tomatoes At Home
  Making Tomato Powder
• Watermelons
  Harvesting Watermelon

What to Plant in May Zones – 7 & 8

Check out Seeds Now for Zone 7and Zone 8Organic, Non-Gmo Seeds

• Beans (lima)
• Beans (snap) – very early in May
• Corn, sweet
  Growing Corn in Your Backyard
• Cucumbers
• Eggplants
• Okra
  How to Grow Okra
• Peppers
• Potatoes, sweet
  Grow Sweet Potatoes How to Have Your Best Harvest Ever
  How To Prepare Garden Potatoes for Long Term Storage
• Pumpkins
• Squash, summer and winter
  Growing Summer Squash Everything You Need to Know
• Watermelons, but early in the month if you’re doing seeds
  Harvesting Watermelon

Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace. ~May Sarton

What to Plant in May Zones – 9 & 10

Check out Seeds Now for Zone9and Zone 10Organic, Non-Gmo Seeds

Because of the early heat of zones 9 and 10, there are not a lot of seeds that can be planted in May. You may want to consider starting with transplants.

• Beans, lima
• Cantaloupe
  Growing Cantaloupe Everything You Need to Know
• Cucumber – consider the Armenian variety that does very well in heat.
• Eggplant
• Jicama
• Okra
  How to Grow Okra in Your Backyard
• Peppers
• Potatoes, sweet
  Grow Sweet Potatoes How to Have Your Best Harvest Ever
  How To Prepare Garden Potatoes for Long Term Storage
• Pumpkin
• Squash, winter and summer
  Growing Summer Squash Everything You Need to Know
• Tomatillo
• Watermelon
  Harvesting Watermelon

Help for Your May Garden

• Companion Planting (succession sowing)
• Crop Rotation
• Vegetables that Grow in Containers
• Soil Amendments
• Marigolds in the Vegetable Garden
• Easy to Grow Vegetables
• Vegetables that Do Great in Pots
• Advice for the New Gardener

The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world. ~Michael Pollan