It’s mid-May in South Georgia. The grass is green, the gnats and mosquitoes are rampant, the humidity is thick, and my small vegetable garden is only half-planted. Luckily, we South Georgians have quite the growing season and although I, and many others, feel behind, there is still plenty that can be planted in May, whether direct sown or transplanted.

May-planted crops need a little extra care because the heat is already here, especially as the month goes on. Young plants need consistent water, mulch to hold moisture, and possibly even a little afternoon shade while they settle in.

The bigger idea is simple: choose crops and varieties that actually like heat and humidity. For example, some tomato varieties, like Celebrity, tend to handle hot, humid climates better than others.

Days to maturity also matters when planting later in the season. In South Georgia, that is not a huge concern yet because our growing season is so long, but it is still worth checking before planting anything that needs a long runway.

Direct sow now:

Beans, corn, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, okra, watermelon, cantaloupe, basil, zinnias, sunflowers, and marigolds.

Transplant now:

Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant.

Since I am transplanting tomatoes, not sowing directly, I am somewhat limited on the varieties I can choose to my local suppliers in Thomasville. Most of the local seedlings should be varieties that do well here, however, just as a general rule of thumb.

In choosing seedlings, I must consider if the varieties available are determinate or indeterminate and decide how I will support either kind. With my setup, and previous failures, I am leaning towards determinate varieties this year to reduce the burden of supporting them.

Finally, I already have two Little Napolis and two Celebrity Plus plants in the ground, so I will likely just plant a couple more of each and use cages to support them for convenience.

I had great success growing Jalapenos last year, the Early variety to be exact, but had way more than I could ever eat. I started them from seed last year, but I will be transplanting them this year.

At the nursery I will be looking for short and stocky plants, deep green color, as few flowers as possible, non-rootbound plants, and as few discolorations as possible. None of these are “requirements,” but good considerations.

Admittedly, I have never grown squash before. I do enjoy spaghetti squash though. So, I am going to grow it this year.

After some light research, squash prefer being directly sown, but can be transplanted if care is given. I am going to sow mine directly; our season is plenty long for it to mature and I am in no rush.

My biggest obstacle is trellising, I hope to buy/build an A frame for it to climb.

If you already have crops in the ground from this spring, there is still plenty to do.

Endure the gnats and make sure your crops are mulched. Keep an eye out for pests. Make sure heavy-fruiting crops like tomatoes and squash have support before they need it.

Just this morning, I had to save one of my tomato plants because the fruit got too heavy and almost snapped the plant in half.

This is also a good time to keep a simple record of what you’re doing and whether it is working. That will make it much easier to repeat your successes next year.

Sweet potatoes are not actually potatoes.

Regular potatoes are tubers from the nightshade family, related to tomatoes and peppers. Sweet potatoes are enlarged roots from the morning glory family.

That’s why sweet potato vines look so different, and why they love heat so much.

What’s giving you the most trouble in the garden right now?

Reply with one word: Bugs, Heat, Tomatoes, Squash, Weeds, or Starting.

I’ll use the answers to decide what to write about next.