What to plant in May in United Kingdom
13 vegetables, fruits and herbs to sow or plant in May in United Kingdom, for the climate around Cambridge area, eastern England (52°N, 0°).
Climate: Cool temperate climate with frosts from roughly October to April, a mild wet winter, a dry spring and early summer, and warm but rarely hot summers, so crops need sowing after the last frost and benefit from protection in early spring.
Vegetables
Lettuce Lactuca sativa
Quick cool-season leaves that sow in succession from spring to early autumn and tolerate the mild British summers.
Harvest: 45–60 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
French bean Phaseolus vulgaris
Warm soil after mid-May gives a reliable crop before the autumn frosts arrive.
Harvest: 50–65 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Carrot Daucus carota
Light, free-draining soil and cool summers produce sweet roots, and short varieties suit containers.
Harvest: 70–90 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Potato Solanum tuberosum
Chitted tubers planted after the last frost yield well in English soils and grow happily in bags.
Harvest: 90–120 daysEasyIn pots
Courgette Cucurbita pepo
Once the soil warms in late spring it produces heavily through the summer.
Harvest: 50–60 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Beetroot Beta vulgaris
Tolerates cool weather and light frosts, so it can be sown over a long season.
Harvest: 55–70 daysEasyIn pots
Pea Pisum sativum
Cool spring weather suits it, and dwarf varieties fit a sunny balcony.
Harvest: 60–80 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Radish Raphanus sativus
The fastest crop in the garden, sown repeatedly through the growing season.
Harvest: 25–35 daysEasyIn pots
Herbs
Chives Allium schoenoprasum
Fully hardy perennial that comes back every spring and grows happily in pots on a balcony.
Harvest: 60–90 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Parsley Petroselinum crispum
Tolerates cool weather and light frost and keeps producing leaves through the season.
Harvest: 70–90 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Mint Mentha spicata
Very hardy perennial that spreads vigorously in the damp, cool English climate.
Harvest: 60–90 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Thyme Thymus vulgaris
Hardy enough for winter cold, and the dry spring and early summer suit its Mediterranean needs in a sunny, well-drained spot.
Harvest: 90–120 daysModerateIn potsCare guide →
Sage Salvia officinalis
A hardy, drought-tolerant perennial that handles the dry late spring and summers well.
Harvest: 75–90 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →