May – Food Gardening in Subtropics and Warm Regions of Australia
by Ewa Bekiesch, Permaculture designer, educator, sustainable living consultant, and healthy food advocate.
Autumn is in full swing, yet my garden feels like spring! The first “cool-weather” greens and veggies are ready to harvest, while others jostle for space alongside self-seeded volunteers. (I love this happy chaos—food everywhere! When you let plants go to seed, they surprise you by popping up in the most unexpected places. All that’s left to do is harvest or gently relocate them to give the food forest community room to breathe.)
Let’s dive into this month’s key gardening tasks.
General jobs in May
- Thinning Overcrowded Seedlings: I’ll admit—I’m overly generous when sowing seeds! Thinning young greens (like bok choy or radish) is essential. I harvest the extras as tender sprouts, making space for the rest to thrive.
- Watering Young Fruit Trees/Bushes: Help them establish strong roots before winter. Check soil moisture weekly.
- Weeding: Keep beds tidy to reduce competition for nutrients.
- Nutrient Boost: Apply compost tea diluted with water (1:4 ratio) every 2–3 weeks. Winter crops (brassicas, garlic, beetroot, carrots) are heavy feeders—watch my compost tea tutorial (linked below) for tips!
- Frost Protection for New Trees: Research cold tolerance for recently planted trees. Frost cloth or strategic planting near windbreaks (like established evergreens) can save tender young plants.
What NOT to do in May
- Avoid Heavy Pruning: Established evergreen shrubs act as natural windbreaks for vulnerable plants. Delay major cuts until spring, except for deciduous trees (mulberry, peach, nectarine, apple, nashi pear), which benefit from dormant-season pruning.
- Don’t Remove Banana Tree Leaves: Leave old foliage to insulate trunks against winter chill.
- Skip Planting Tropicals: It’s too late for mango, avocado, or star apple trees—they won’t establish roots before cold weather arrives. Wait for spring!
Our Online Store
We sell many of the fruits and veggies mentioned here in the form of seeds, cuttings, and plants through our online store at www.foodforestseeds.au All are naturally grown, non-GMO, heirloom, and open-pollinated plants, and most come directly from my food forest. Simply use the search function or browse through the available categories. Your orders are always greatly appreciated, as they help us continue doing what we love. Thank you so much for your support.
Our Rewards Program!
Earn points with every purchase and use them for discounts on future orders. It’s our way of saying thank you for supporting our mission to help people grow their own food.
Sowing, planting, harvesting
Most of the plants listed below are available in our online store as seeds, cuttings, and/or plants.
Sowing
Many of them are self-seeding in our food forest. If you don’t know some of the plants in the list below, check my Food Forest Guide or visit my online store for more info about the plants, how to grow them, and how to use them, along with some other tips and tricks. (FREE with any order in my online shop) for more info.
- Asparagus
- Indian Lettuce, Chinese Sword Lettuce – Lactuca indica
- Ethiopian Cabbage – Brassica carinata
- Borage
- bok choy, pak choy
- Cape Gooseberry
- rocket lettuce
- radish
- beetroot
- broad beans
- carrots, the All Season Carrot is best
- cauliflower
- celeriac
- celery
- coriander
- chives
- dill
- kale
- mizuna
- mustard greens
- leeks
- peas
- Sage
- silverbeet
- garlic
- potatoes
- edible flowers
- Pigeon Pea
- Poor Man’s Bean
- Sage
- Tomatoes
- Carraway
- Lettuce
- Marjoram – start seeds in trays
- Onion – start seeds in trays
- Parsley
- Radish
- Rocket Lettuce
- Red cabbage – start seeds in trays
- Silverbeet
- Sunflower
- white cabbage – start seeds in trays
- Wombok Cabbage – start seeds in trays
Planting
This list focuses on smaller plants, as there are too many fruit tree varieties suited to warm climates to include here. For inspiration, explore our Food Forest Guide and follow our Instagram and YouTube channels (links below) to see the trees we’re growing!
- Brazilian spinach
- bush basil – Ocimum oxcitriodorum
- cabbage
- lettuce
- silverbeet
- wombok
- mustard greens
- Galangal – Thai Ginger –Greater Galangal, Alpinia galangal
- Goldenrod – Solidago
- Gotu Kola – Centella asiatica
- Longevity Spinach – Gynura procumbens
- Okinawa Spinach – Hawaiian lettuce – Gynura bicolour
- Pepino
- St John’s Wort – Hypericum perforatum
- Goldenrod – Solidago canadensis
- Tarragon, Estragon – Artemisia dracunculus
- Brahmi-Memory Plant – Waterhyssop – Bacopa monnieri
- Bana Grass – Pennisetum purpureum x amaricanum
- Sugarcane Red – Saccharum officinarum
- horseradish
- tomatoes
- oregano
- shallots
- onions
- garlic chives
- pineapples
- Rose Geranium
- sweet potatoes
- Strawberry plants
- mint
Harvesting
We harvest each day according to what we plan to eat and what’s ready for picking. The May harvest list includes and is based on what grows in our food forest and what is possible, including the fruit we grow.
Perennials we harvest in May:
- bush basil – Ocimum oxcitriodorum
- Cranberry Hibiscus – Hibiscus acetosella – leaves
- Galangal – Thai Ginger –Greater Galangal, Alpinia galangal – leaves and roots
- Gotu Kola – Centella asiatica – leaves
- Lemongrass – Cymbopogan citratus – leaves and stalks
- Longevity Spinach – Gynura procumbens – leaves and stalks
- Okinawa Spinach – Hawaiian lettuce – Gynura bicolour – leaves and stalks
- Peruvian Parsnip – Arracacia xanthorrhiza – leaves and roots
- Rosella – Roselle – leaves and calyx
- Tarragon, Estragon – Artemisia dracunculus – leaves and flowers
- Cassava – Manihot esculenta – leaves and roots
- Brahmi-Memory Plant – Waterhyssop – Bacopa monnieri – leaves
- Bana Grass – Pennisetum purpureum x amaricanum – leaves for mulch
- West Indian Arrowroot – Maranta arundinacea – root
- Sugarcane Red – Saccharum officinarum – cane, mostly to dry and store for meat smoking later on
- Sweet Leaf – Sauropus androgynous – leaves
- Elderberry – Sambucus Nigra – berries and flowers
- Alpine strawberries – Wild Strawberries – berries
- Aloe Vera
- Dragon fruit
- shallots
- garlic chives
- pineapples
- Sweet potatoes – leaves and roots
- bananas
- passion fruit
- pawpaw – leaves and fruits
- Horseradish leaves – leaves and roots
- limes
- grapefruit
- oranges
- Blackberry – leaves
- Dandelion – leaves
Short-lived perennials and annuals we harvest in May:
- squash, tromboncino, zucchini, pumpkin
- Winged bean
- chilly, capsicum
- eggplant
- tomatoes
- all sorts of herbs
- Asian Pigeonwings, Butterfly Pea – Clitoria Ternatea
- Okra – Abelmoschus esculentus
- West Indian Gherkins, Maroon Cucumber – Cucumis anguria
- Bottle Gourd, Calabash – Lagenaria siceraria, and other gourds
- Luffa – Luffa aegyptiaca
- QLD Arrowrot – leaves for chickens and bulbs for us
- mustard greens
- bok choi, pak choi
- kale
- radishes – leaves and roots
- Mexican cucumber, cucumelons
- Tomatoes
I hope this article helps you plan and organize your garden, bringing you one step closer to growing abundant food and achieving self-reliance sooner rather than later!
Are you ready to transform your garden into a lush, productive paradise? Whether you’re starting a small veggie patch, a vibrant flower bed, or a thriving food forest, we’ve got you covered! Check out our online shop at www.foodforestseeds.au All seeds and plants in our online shop are heirloom, non-GMO, and grown naturally with love and passion.
If you would like to support our work, you can do so in many ways:
*Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you get notified about new videos. It’s free!
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*Follow us on Facebook and Instagram
*Buy a plant, cuttings, seeds, or my Food Forest Guide at https://www.foodforestseeds.au
*Buy us a coffee. Our PayPal email is permaculturehaven@gmail.com
How is your garden doing in April? I would love to hear from you! Comment below.
The next article comes in the first week of June.
Happy Gardening!
Enjoy your garden!
Ewa
