It's May - a month when greenhouse life, with all that it entails, gets underway in earnest. We plant marigolds, start composting and enjoy the tender vegetation in various ways.

When we turn the calendar to May, winter is over for good. Sure, there may be setbacks until next month, but this beautiful time brings so much enjoyment in the way of cultivation, which makes it easier to keep your spirits up. We welcome this month from the bottom of our hearts and continue with our projects. This is what we are doing in our greenhouse in May.

We usually use marigolds as undergrowth for the vegetables we plant in the greenhouse. It is a beautiful, yellow, orange or fiery red flower that adds a lot of color and fragrance. In addition, both the leaves and flowers are edible, so it is also nice to decorate food with. This small-flowered marigold grows about 30 cm tall and is quite bushy. It goes great with other things, such as flower cress, parsley, coriander and basil. But we will have to wait a bit with both coriander and basil, they need slightly warmer nights to thrive in the greenhouse. On the other hand, marigolds, together with leafy greens such as parsley, arugula, pac choi and other Asian cabbage varieties, are hardy enough to withstand the cool nights of corn.

We like to grow both flowers and leafy greens from seed, but if you want to buy seedlings, there are plenty of plug plants in the nurseries this May.

If you want to compost, spring is a good time to start a garden compost pile. Having compost available as a nutrient supplement and soil improvement in the greenhouse is a luxury. In addition, during the season we get so much plant waste that we have to put it somewhere. A well-organized compost pile is the best place for it.

It's a good idea to organize your compost with a couple of different bins: one where you collect all sorts of plant material during the season, piles and piles, and a bin where you put organized compost in late summer to rest and decompose. You might want a special bin for branches and twigs, as it can be messy to mix with everything else.

Distinguish between open garden compost and closed food compost. Food should never be put in garden compost, as it will attract rats. You can instead have food compost as a worm compost with a lid or a bokashi bucket that you empty into a greenhouse or your own "soil factory".

Place the garden compost in partial shade so that it does not dry out too quickly. For the sake of all the little bugs - put it directly on the ground, with soil contact. When you are going to put an organized compost, put twigs on the bottom to get some airiness. Then alternate green material (leaves, flowers, grass) with brown material (twigs, bark, leaves, straw) and sprinkle some old compost soil between the different layers. Press down occasionally to pack it all together a little. Water everything through if it is very dry. When the compost pile is finished, it should be fluffy and springy. Cover with leaves or straw and let it rest for at least a year before sifting.

The compost corner may look a little messy, but out of the mess comes the gold that enriches our crops.

In recent years we have had to get used to a dry May, with no rain in sight. The humidity level in the greenhouse is raised relatively easily with the help of a watering can. It can be a large pot, a barrel or some other vessel that is beautiful and that can be filled with water. A large watering can in the greenhouse is also great for scooping water out of for hand watering, tempered and clear. If you have the opportunity to collect rainwater outside the greenhouse - when the rain does come - then it is an environmental win.

Lettuce is in season this time of year. Extend the lettuce season by always having new small plants in the works. Keep a small seed box in the works with new seeds all the time, 8-10 plants is enough. As soon as you get a hole in the growing bed after something you have harvested, you can fill it in with lettuce. If you don't want to sow yourself, buy potted lettuce and plant it out, there are usually different kinds of lettuce in those pots, so you have a long time to pinch off.