There are still a lot of crops that you can plant in May to get a great harvest if you live in zones 7 or 8. This May planting list will cover some crops that are great options to get started in your garden this month!
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What is my Garden Zone?
Don’t forget that this post is specific to zones 7 & 8. If you aren’t in one of these zones you can check out our posts on zones 3 & 4, zones 5 & 6, or zones 9 & 10 to learn what you can start planting this month.
If you don’t know what your garden zone is you can follow this link to find out!
May Planting List
May is a busy gardening month for me. We get a lot of the crops planted this month that we will harvest all summer long. It is also my favorite month because there is a huge variety of crops you can start planting outdoors because the weather is warmer!
Sweet Potatoes
First on the list is sweet potatoes! Originally, I wasn’t the biggest fan of sweet potatoes, but I’ve really come to love using them in soups!
I hope that you were able to get some good ideas from this May planting list to help you get started in your garden this month! Enjoy the warm weather and happy gardening!
Melons
May is the perfect time to get your melons started in the garden! Some of our favorite melons to grow are watermelon, cantaloupe, and Crenshaw melons.
Corn
SweetCorn is probably my favorite crop on this May planting list. We have had a lot of success using the hill method when we plant our corn! You can learn more about this method here: Growing Corn Using the Hill Method
Beans
Make sure you save a sunny spot in your garden for beans! Beans need at least 8 hours of sun to thrive, but they do even better if they get 10-12 hours of sun. Here’s my guide for growing beans: Growing Beans in Your Garden
Night Shade Family
Tomatoes
Tomatoes really are everyone’s favorite crop to grow in their garden! I recommend that when you plant your tomatoes this month, you also consider investing in some high-quality tomato cages. If you want a more flavorful crop of tomatoes this year consider using a tablespoon of Epsom salt in the hole when you plant your tomatoes! You can find the rest of my tips for growing delicious tomatoes here: 10 Tips for Growing Tomatoes
Peppers
I love growing peppers. They’re beautiful plants (we actually use them in our flowerbeds!) and they taste amazing! I know many of you are probably worried about the summer heat ruining your peppers. It’s definitely a concern because temperatures above 90 degrees can cause all kinds of problems for peppers. I’ve started using shade cloth to protect my peppers every summer once the temperature gets above 90 degrees and I’ve had great success! You can read more here: Growing Peppers Under Shade Cloth
Potatoes
Potatoes take longer to germinate, so May is a great time to get your potatoes started! You should consider planting some of your potatoes at the beginning of the month and then some towards the end of May, so that your harvest is spaced throughout late summer and fall!
Squash
Winter Squash & Summer Squash
May is the time to get summer and winter squash started in your garden! There are a ton of varieties that you can choose from, so consider trying a new variety this year!
Summer Squash
You can find my summer squash planting guide here: Growing Summer Squash
- Zucchini
- Crookneck Squash
- Pattypan (also known as Scallop)
Winter Squash
- Pumpkins
- Butternut squash
- Spaghetti squash
- Banana squash
Cucumbers
Since most cucumber varieties vine we use a cucumber trellis every year. You can build your own cucumber trellis with this DIY Guide and you can find my tips for growing cucumbers here.
Summer Crisp Lettuces
We love salad around here, so it’s important that we have some type of lettuce growing in our garden year-round. If you’re in zones 7 or 8 May is the time to plant summer crisp lettuce varieties. These varieties can handle the heat and sunshine of the summer so that you can have delicious salads all summer long! You can learn more about growing summer crisp lettuces in this article: Growing Summer Crisp Lettuce
New Zealand Spinach
If you love spinach, I recommend that you give New Zealand Spinach a try this year! It thrives in warmer weather, so you can grow it in the summer!
Remember that now is also the time to purchase the garden supplies that you will use for the rest of the summer! Here are some ideas for some handy garden tools and supplies you could invest in this month:
What to Plant in May: Zones 9 & 10
The only problem right now is aphids attacking my arugula and my dwarf citrus trees. Using Neem and occasionally DE..still not stopping them.
In the future try covering the plants as soon as you plant them with a light fabric row cover. If you get it on right away it usually helps keep them away. It won’t help now though. Sorry.
Well, can’t really do that with a dwarf tree, but for arugula sure! Funny, aphids ignore the lettuce!
Hi Rick,
I was going to start a, pretty last minute garden, and plant some veggies this week. I love the list you have above and hope to plant most of them. My question, should I plant seeds or seedlings at this point in the season? Thanks!!
It depends on what plants we are talking about. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and tomatillos should all go in using seedlings. Everything else should still be okay by seed.
Well, i have a dwarf tomato plant..get this: LEFT IN ITS CONTAINER FROM LAST YEAR! ….that is flowering and producing fruit now…in MAY! I don’t know how it survived but it did and using Trifecta fertilizer then later ammonium sulfate(20-0-0) got it a jump start! Talk about deep green leaves and abundant flowers! And now producing fruit. We will see if these plants exceed last year’s production…. They love water, food, and prune like crazy.