We are enjoying the bounty of our spring garden. The lettuce, radishes, and green onions sure do brighten up our meals.
We’ve planted more lettuce and radishes to enjoy in the weeks to come. I also saved some onion buttons back so we can plant more as needed.
The cabbage has really grown since we’ve gotten some rain. The beets are coming up spotty so I planted a few more. Carrots look good and the kale is finally coming up.
A few things, mostly flowers, that sprouted completely disappeared. I’m positive snails or rolly-pollies ate the seedlings.
One of the little girls on the church van told me she had a pet snail. She was wondering what she could feed it. I believe it had just become her pet right before she got on the van. I didn’t tell her but was thinking if you have a garden it will be very happy eating it 🙂
A bit of cold weather is moving into the southern Appalachian mountains. I’m guessing and hoping this will be our last cold weather before summer.
Here’s the best planting days for May 2026.
Taurus: good for all root crops and above ground crops 14, 15
Cancer: best for planting above ground and root crops 18, 19
Scorpio: best for flowers and above ground crops 1, 2, 27, 28, 29
Pisces: good for planting and transplanting above ground crops, trees and shrubbery 10, 11
Last night’s video: Amazing April in Appalachia.
Tipper
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Thanks for keeping reminders for best planting dates! My mom says her elementary school held May Day celebrations and students danced around a Maypole in NW NC.
Happy May Day and HAPPY birthday to Matt! It’s a beautiful spring morning here. We are busy creating May Day baskets this morning to hang on our friends and neighbors doors. My mom always did this tradition with us as kids and it’s fun to carry on the tradition with my daughters.
Allie, that is such a sweet gesture. Do you fill little baskets with flowers? What a wonderful tradition to hand down to your girls.
Aww, thank you for your kind words, Brenda! Yes, we make little homemade baskets (this year we used brown paper grocery bags that we made into cone shaped baskets and hung them with pipe cleaners). We put a bag of homemade cookies in the bottom (Some years we do a variety of small wrapped candies and chocolates) and then put a bouquet of violets and tulips peeking out the top. We wrapped the flowers in damp paper towels with plastic wrap securely over them to hold them together and to try to keep them from wilting as fast. My daughter makes a “Happy May Day” note she tapes to the front of the basket. 🙂 We have a lot of fun distributing these little baskets every May 1st!
I always enjoy end of the month videos and seeing all your pretty flowers. This blackberry winter is not my favorite after enjoying the warmer temps but it’s to be expected. Have a great May Day!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!!!!!
Thanks for those dates Tipper. I am mulling over planting all the rest of my Peaches & Cream corn seed because it is getting old. Do you keep any seed in the refrigerator and/or freezer to keep the germination rate from falling? I never have but I’m thinking I need to start. I have had a complete failure before planting lettuce and carrots. I am thinking the germination rate falls steeply and is at or near zero at 3 year old seed for some things. My problem is seed comes in too much quantity for me to use it all in one season. I expect other “acorns” have the same problem. I would give away the excess but I do not know anybody else who consistently plants a garden. (And yes, I think that is sad from several angles one of which is I may be living in the wrong place and/or I don’t have enough friends. ) I’ve also been meaning to search for a seed viability table online of which I’m sure there are many. You are much more systematic than I am and I expect it costs me in yields. I plant at higher rates as my seed ages and also replant the “skips” but neither is the best answer. I’d be interested in your efforts to address these kinds of issues, if you have had them. And, as always, I expect other Acorns can throw some light on the subject. Hope everyone here has a blessed day.
Ron, I don’t keep mine in the freezer but I’m sure it would help. I just have too many 🙂 Granny always kept hers in the freezer and I know other folks do too.
Ron, I buy my seed from a place that still sells seed the oldtime way, they buy their seed in bulk and weigh out whatever amount you want. His price is a lot cheaper than the overpriced seed packets from the seed companies. Art, the owner, preaches putting any leftover seed you want to save in a freezer and take it out a few days before you intend to plant.
Thanks Randy. That’s good advice from you & Tipper. I know there are some seeds that will not reliably germinate without a cold stratification.
While the whole world is out doing whatever Derby activities that make them happy, I will be planting my garden today and tomorrow. I’ve heard you say Pap planted when he had time and the weather was good, that describes me as well. May is the busiest month of the year for me with three birthdays in the family, trips out of town, and making eight floral arrangements for three cemeteries, so I plant when I can. Luckily, the 1st and 2nd are on your list of good planting dates. Thanks for sharing the information, as that will be one less worry for a busy country gal.
Today would have been my little brother’s 65th birthday but sadly cancer took him at only 43 years of age. He always enjoyed his status as a May Day baby. When he was a little boy(before school age) he took flowers around to our grandparent’s neighbors. He thought this was great fun since we lived on the farm, with no close neighbors. Happy heavenly birthday, Rex♡ You are missed and dearly loved!
Hi Tipper and Acorns. Happy Birthday Matt. I hope it is a blessed day as well. I have never seen so many bloggers say they have lots of rolly pollies. I put out beer in tuna cans in the garden and they drown, snails too. I just set some on top of the ground and some I dig a shallow hole for them where the can top edge is just below or even with the ground. Just check it every day and toss it out if fill. Refill as needed. I do hope everyone has an abundant harvest this year. I keep everyone here and up Wilson Hiller in my in my prayers. TY all for your prayers for my son, Ed and me. We are doing much better. GOD is so good. I love y’all.
Happy first day of May, have a great day everybody God bless you very much in Jesus mighty name
We did this in the gym during PE when I was little.
Back in March, on the 26th, it was 90° here in west central IL and I planted around 40 onion buttons and some lettuce and spring greens. The onions were successful and I enjoyed 6 of them alongside a burger last night. They were delicious and tasted like spring! My lettuce didn’t take. The seeds were old. Right now I’m moving 2 flats around on my back porch, keeping watered and plenty of sun on them before scooting them back at night due to the still below 40s temps. I have tomatoes, peppers and dill. Yes, I have 4 Cherokee purples in my stash. Can’t wait to try them! Thank you for the planting dates, Tipper. I usually plant my tomatoes and peppers on Mother’s Day weekend ♡ Yesterday I planted 2 five foot rows of silver queen sweet corn just over the fence at the edge of the neighboring corn field. I hope my “piggyback” corn yields some tasty ears!!! I figured it was worth a try.
Kim, if you planted your silver queen that close to another corn field with a different variety of corn, your silver queen might cross pollinate with the other. You probably don’t have enough silver queen to have a noticeable effect on the larger field of corn.
Happy May Day to everyone. I never danced around a maypole, but thought it looked like fun. Did anyone have this tradition in the area when you were growing up?
The Folk School has a May Day celebration. We used to attend and dance around the maypole 🙂
Hi Kim. Let us know what you think of the Cherokee Purples. We love them. I hope your corn does well. Usually the corn on the edges and ends of rows and fields do more poorly than the center rows. University of Tennesse has huge fields here that study growth patterns in field corn. Most of the bugs, and disease tend to be on the outer edges of the fields. Hopefully your Sliver Queen will do well. Small garden patches are best grown in squares instead of rows. Plant some Cosmos along the corn to deter corn worm.
After writing to Kim about cross pollination, I read an email from Gregg at the Hoss Company about planting corn. He said to wait until the ground temperature was at least 60 degrees, plant in blocks of at least 5 rows , plan on 90-100 days to produce and to plant different varieties 300 ft from one another. Corn is pollinated by wind not bees. 300 feet, 100 yards apart would be hard to do for many that only have a small place to lantern, but these people most likely are only planting one variety. Planting in blocks is the same as your squares. 5 short rows is better than 1 long row.
It should be plant, not lanterns. I had been thinking of trying to make something for a lantern and must have been thinking of that.
We would have a May Day dance every year all through junior and high school. Everyone would get all dressed up, but I don’t remember anyone dancing around a may pole. It was a good fundraiser for student council. Each grade would nominate a king and queen candidate. Money was collected all through April and the candidates with the most money raised were pronounced the May Day king and queen. That couple had a special dance, their picture in the yearbook, and maybe a crown. I don’t remember as I never won that honor. lol.
Happy Birthday Matt! I hope you enjoy every second of it. Thank y’all for all you do. Sharing your lives and showing folks we do have a little sense, giggle.