What to sow and plant in May

What to start indoors, sow and plant out in May, with dates from 30 years of weather records.

Based on: average for Germany, last frost 19 April, safe from 6 MayFor your area

In May

Sow outdoors · 20

Plant out · 24

Dates from frost records 1991–2020, not a weather forecast. Under glass or fleece, a lot can start earlier.

Data: Deutscher Wetterdienst, daily minimum temperatures 1991–2020, our own calculation. Licence CC BY 4.0. Postcode coordinates: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).

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Questions and answers

What can I sow outdoors in May?

In May you can sow zucchini, cucumbers, bush beans, basil, rocket, borage, coriander, dill and 12 more outdoors. The exact dates are above, worked out for the average in Germany.

What can I plant out in May?

In May you can plant out tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, basil, chervil, globe artichokes, lavender, lemon balm and 16 more. The exact dates are above, worked out for the average in Germany.

Do the dates work for my area?

They use the average across all German postcodes: last frost on 19 April, safe from 6 May. Enter a German postcode or your own frost date in the planting calendar to get dates for your garden. Under glass, a lot can start earlier.