5 Vegetables to Plant in May {Zone 10}

Whether you’re growing watermelon, cantaloupe (also called muskmelon), honeydew, or other melons, you’ll be thrilled with their delicious flavor fresh from the garden. We grow several varieties of melon each year, and harvested a 21-pound watermelon a few years back!

Varieties: Ahhh, where to begin? We love cantaloupe, and Hale’s Best Jumbo cantaloupe is our favorite. The fruit is sweet and thick, with a small seed cavity. Cantaloupe grows on a vine, so you may want to support it with a trellis to save space. 

Sweet Delight honeydew is delightfully true to its name. It produces large, sweet, and juicy melons. 

Watermelon is a summertime favorite of ours. The kids love growing them and eating them, too. We like Sugar Baby watermelon because it’s small and fits in the fridge. For fun, plant Mountain Sweet Yellow watermelon because it has yellow flesh instead of pink. 

Planting: Melons of all types like to be planted outdoors in warm soil. They’re heavy feeders, and appreciate soil that’s mixed with your homemade compost. Here are some tips on when to harvest your watermelon for the best, sweetest fruit.

Recipes: Try this crisp, refreshing watermelon limeade recipe on a hot, summer day. So good!

Peppers love hot summers, and there are so many fun varieties of both sweet peppers and hot peppers that you can try many different types every year.

Varieties: Oh my goodness...there are so many types of peppers to plant! I’ve started growing some in the front yard because we ran out of room in the backyard. 

California Wonder is my favorite type of sweet pepper. They grow into a large, uniform shape that’s great for making stuffed peppers. When unripe, they’re green and when fully ripe, they turn red. 

There are about a million types of hot pepper, and we like to try them all. The best way to do this is to get the Chile Pepper Collection from my friends at Botanical Interests. You’ll get an assortment that goes from really hot to scorching!

Planting: Whether you’re growing sweet peppers or hot peppers, now is the time to get those seedlings in the ground.

Recipes: We usually grow both hot and sweet types--if you end up with too many, you can freeze the bell peppers and dry the hot peppers for use later in the year.

Acorn squash, spaghetti squash, and butternut squash are just a few of the delicious winter squash you can plant this month.

Varieties: I've had good harvests during the last several years with Spaghetti Squash and Waltham Butternut Squash.

Planting: Most winter squash have long vines and don't like to be transplanted. Start the seeds directly in the garden, giving them plenty of space to spread out. Not sure when to harvest? Here's how to tell when your spaghetti squash are ready to pick.

Recipe: Spaghetti squash is easy to cook in the Instant Pot. Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and put in the IP with 1 cup of water. Cook on High Pressure for 7 minutes and do quick release. Done!

Pumpkins are easy to grow from seed, and there are many different types--teeny decorative pumpkins, white pumpkins, carving pumpkins, pumpkins for making pies, novelty pumpkins covered in warts...it’s hard to decide.

Varieties: I like to grow Howden pumpkins for making jack-o-lanterns, and Lumina, which are white pumpkins, to surprise the kids.

Planting: Pumpkins are easy to grow and need lots of space. Here are my tips on growing and planting pumpkins.

Recipe: Once you harvest your pumpkins, save the seeds and make Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.

Okra, like eggplant, is a vegetable that likes hot weather. It’s tough to start them from seed (they only have a 50% germination rate), so get seedlings from the garden center if you can.

Varieties: Clemson Spineless 80 is a reliable variety. It’s called “spineless” because okra plants have tiny hairs (spines) all over them that can cause an allergic reaction. You may want to wear gloves when harvesting them.

Planting: Okra plants can get big and bushy, so give them about 2 feet of space to spread out.

Recipe: There's more to okra than breading and frying. Sheet Pan Bhindi Masala is easy and delicious.