Newkirk Community Garden newsletter, May 2026
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May is a month for growth! The garden is starting to look more alive every day. The growing season is here, and we are starting to grow many different vegetables in the raised beds.
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It’s wonderful to see the community coming together to cultivate not only fresh vegetables and flowers but also building lasting connections with different people in the community. Gardening isn't just about the harvest; it’s about the peace it brings to the community.
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Our open hours
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April marked the start of our open hours for the year! On Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, anyone can come by and enjoy the garden. Whether you’re here to volunteer or just to relax, we’re happy to have you! The garden is a place where you can grow vegetables, meet people, relax and renew yourself.
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Open mic nights, starting soon!
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Starting on May 3rd, every Sunday in May is open mic night at the garden! From 3-6PM, come enjoy a spring afternoon at the garden listening to beautiful music made by your neighbors. If you’re interested in performing, get in touch for more details.
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Thanks for a wonderful volunteer day!
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We kicked off the gardening season with our volunteer day on April 4th, and we want to thank all our volunteers for helping to make it a huge success! We had lots of new volunteers from the community, including 9 from our local Target store. We organized our toolshed, rebuilt one of our sidewalk planters, and much, much more! Volunteers left with a sense of satisfaction, plus a jar of local honey (produced by one of our members) and some homemade granola.
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Taking care of your garden in May
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May is the best time to start planting flowers and vegetables! May is a good time to start planting slower-growing crops, while June is excellent for succession planting to ensure a continuous harvest. By May, the danger of frost has passed and the soil is soft. It’s also a great time to transplant plants that you’ve started indoors.
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Many seeds can now be sown directly into your beds. You can plant beans, corn, okra, squash, watermelon, cucumbers, beets, carrots, and much more! It is also the best time to plant sweet potato slips. You can transplant tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, basil, thyme, and lemongrass. For flowers, it’s a good time to direct sow sunflowers, cosmos, nasturtiums, and marigolds. You can transplant shasta daisies, coneflowers, and black-eyed susans.
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Once June arrives, you can apply a thick layer of mulch to retain soil moisture and keep roots cool as temperatures rise. Water your plants often! Make sure to pick leafy greens as soon as they are ready, otherwise the heat can cause them to bolt, turning them bitter.
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Happening at the garden this month
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For our gardeners, we’ll have a selection of plants available on May 23rd donated by NYC GreenThumb. Come by during open hours to find the perfect plant for your garden box!
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We’re also excited to host a group of young gardeners from Snapdragon Preschool this April! Our garden is a place of discovery for everyone, and we love welcoming school and community groups to use our space.
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That’s all for now! Hopefully, we will see you at the garden - come and get your hands dirty! To stay connected, follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Tell us what you love about the garden, or what you want to grow this year. We always welcome tax-deductible donations to the garden, which help cover tools, materials, and expenses. Let’s have a successful growing season!
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Warmly,
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The Newkirk Community Garden Steering Committee
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