Spring is drawing to a close, but May is still a busy time of year, with plenty of veg ready to be planted both inside and out. As such, we've worked out what the best variety of each veggie is to plant at this time of year.

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What to plant in May

What to sow outdoors in May

  1. Beetroot

    Boltardy

    As the name suggest, this classic beetroot is bread for its resistance to bolting even if you sow it nice and early. Grows nice and round deep red roots.

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  2. Broccoli

    Belstar

    This popular variety of broccoli is great for regular sowings so you can harvest from summer to autumn. It also produces edible sideshoots in addition to the main head.

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  3. Brussel Sprouts

    Maximus

    Maximus is a tasty and popular variety with a smooth bitter-free taste. Plant them now and they should be ready just in time for your Christmas dinner!

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  4. Cabbage (Spring)

    April

    This bolt-resistant cabbage can be sown in early spring for medium sized cabbages and spring greens or later in the season for larger cabbages ready in the summer.

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  5. Cabbage (Summer)

    Greyhound

    This reliable summer cabbage is an old favourite amongst gardeners. The fast-growing plant gives an early crop of quite dense pointed hearts.

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  6. Cabbage (Winter)

    Tarvoy

    This winter hardy savoy variant produces dark green, dense, round heads which - once mature - will remain harvest-ready for months.

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  7. Carrots

    Autumn King

    This award-winning favourite can be grown both as a maincrop or as a late variety. Autumn King gives a reliable crop of large carrots which store well.

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  8. Cauliflower

    All Year Round

    'All Year Round' is one of the easiest varieties of cauliflower to grow and produces great big heads. Can also be grown over winter in a coldframe.

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  9. Endive

    Mixed

    This mixed selection of authentic Italian endive seeds give a variety of tastes, colours and shapes and are ideal for both summer and autumn cultivation.

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  10. Fennel

    Victoria

    A popular variety of fennel, due to the sheer size and quality of the huge white bulbs which have compact foliage and a good resistance to bolting.

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  11. French Bean

    Cobra

    This popular bean produces huge yields of round, stringless pods bursting with flavour. It can be planted early under cover to get the longest cropping season.

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  12. Kale

    Dwarf Green Curled

    Dwarf Green Curled is a popular variety because it produces excellent quality dark, tightly curled leaves and it is also easy to grow and cold hardy.

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  13. Kohl Rabi

    Kolibri

    Kohl Rabi is easy to grow and is ready within 8 weeks of sowing. They're best eaten when they are golf ball-sized but this variety stays succulent and bitter-free as it grows further.

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  14. Lettuce

    All Year Round

    This very hardy lettuce can be sown all the way from early spring to autumn. It gives medium sized heads of lettuce with dense, crisp hearts.

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  15. Pak Choi

    Green

    This fast-growing oriental green is ready to harvest as baby leaves in just 30 days or wait 45-70 days for full size heads.

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  16. Parsnip

    Gladiator

    Gladiator is a popular and fast-maturing parsnip with reliably high-quality flesh and excellent sweet flavour. They also keep in the ground very well.

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  17. Peas

    Canoe

    A very popular pea which is aptly named given their extra long, lightly curved pods. It is well known for having the most peas per pod - up to 12!

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  18. Purple Sprouting Broccoli

    Summer Purple

    This variety can be sown at regular intervals from March to June in order to have a steady supply of tasty purple spears from July to November.

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  19. Rocket

    Mediterranean Rocket

    At this time of the year, rocket will happily grow outside and will keep on cropping into the winter if the plants are protected with cloches.

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  20. Runner Beans

    White Lady

    White Lady is a very popular runner bean thanks to the heavy crops of delicious, long, stringless beans it produces.

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  21. Salad Leaves

    Speedy Mix

    This great mixture of quick-growing salad seeds give you a great variety of texture, colours and flavours that will be ready just 25 days after sowing.

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  22. Salsify

    Scorzobianca

    Salsify is a delicious vegetable rapidly growing in popularity thanks to its uniquely delicate flavour which some liken to oysters or asparagus.

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  23. Spinach

    Fiorano

    An ideal variety for spring sowing due to its high resistance to mildew, this spinach will reliably produce a heavy crop of dark green, curvy leaves.

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  24. Spring Onion

    White Lisbon

    Always a favourite, this quick-growing salad onion can be sown regularly for continuous cropping all the way through spring, summer and autumn.

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  25. Swede

    Brora

    Plant this variety now to harvest your swede from late autumn through to new year. It's a popular variety thanks to its good flavour and lack of bitterness.

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  26. Swiss Chard

    Five Colour Silverbeet

    A plant as decorative as it is versatile with bright coloured edible stems in yellow, orange, red, green and pink with spinach-like dark green leaves.

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  27. Turnip

    Atlantic

    This popular variety is perfect for harvesting as succulent, sweet baby turnips. The leaves can then also steamed as fresh greens.

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What to plant outdoors in May

  1. Asparagus

    Pacific 2000

    Pacific 2000 is an award-winning variety renowned for its excellent flavour and heavy yields with up to 25 spears per plant every year.

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  2. Mushrooms

    White Cap Button

    Mushrooms are grown from spawns rather than seed, but it is available all year round and is surprisingly simple to grow.

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  3. Onions

    Sturon

    This award-winning variety reliably produces decent sized bulbs that store well. It is a spring planting variety that can be planted now.

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  4. Potato (First Early)

    Elizabeth

    Elizabeth is a high yielding potato with yellow skin and flesh. It is great served as either a new potato either hot or cold.

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  5. Potato (Second Early)

    Kestrel

    A tasty gardeners' favourite that grows competition-standard spuds of a consistent size and shape. It also has good resistance to slugs and eelworm.

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  6. Radish

    Rainbow Mixed

    These tasty and attractive ball-shaped radishes grow in a variety of colours - red, white, purple, gold or white and red. They can be eaten in just 28 days.

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  7. Shallot

    Zebrune

    This torpedo-shaped heritage variety is becoming increasingly popular in gourmet circles due to its superb flavour and generous proportions.

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What to plant indoors in May

  1. Aubergine

    Listada de Gandia

    Early to sow and early to ripen, Listada de Gandia produces a heavy crop of beautiful purple and white streaked aubergines up to 6 inches long.

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  2. Butternut Squash

    Waltham

    Waltham is the most popular variety of butternut as it fruits earlier and has the most flesh per squash due to its smaller seed cavity and thicker neck.

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  3. Courgette

    Defender

    This is a great courgette to sow for a good early crop as it produces twice as much as other varieties do in the early weeks.

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  4. Pumpkin

    Jack of All Trades

    The perfect variety for halloween carving, these pumpkins grow up to 4kgs and have round body with a flat base. Plant them now to be ready for October.

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  5. Summer Squash

    Pattys Pan Scallop

    This summer squash produces flattened squashes in a variety of colours which can be eaten raw as baby squashes or left to grow to 6-8inchs at full maturity.

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  6. Sweetcorn

    Rising Sun

    An early-to-crop variety you can sow in a propagator now before moving outdoors when the soil has warmed up, Rising Sun is a reliable performer with good sized cobs.

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  7. Tomato

    The Amateur

    Once the risk of frost has passed you can gradually move these plants outside where they perform very well. Grow under a cloche to encourage early ripening.

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