Please read what to do in the garden in this coming April.
Enjoy
Willie
Vegetable & Fruit April Growing Guide
By April spring should be well and truly underway,
the soil warming up nicely and everything growing away. Don't be complacent
though, it's been known for a cold snap with snow to strike even in the sunny
south of England. Keep an eye on the weather forecasts and a hand on the
horticultural fleece and insulation materials.
Sowing & Planting in April on the Vegetable Plot
If March has been difficult and you've not managed to get
much done, you're going to have a busy April. With onions you're really pushing
it so if they're not planted make it one of the first jobs of the month
The weeds won't be slow and it's time to sharpen your hoe. A
sharp hoe is the best friend a gardener can have. Just slide it back and forth
slightly below the surface of the soil and you'll stop the weed seedlings in
their tracks. There's an old saying "Hoe when you can't see a weed and
you'll never see a weed" which is very true. Hoeing keeps the top soil
broken up so in times of drought water cannot get to the surface by capillary
action and evaporate. When it does rain a hoed surface will prevent the
precious water running off and ensure it goes down to where it's wanted.
Things to Sow
Beetroot,
Peas, Broad Beans, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale,
Chard, Kohl Rabi, Leeks, Spinach
Beet
spinach, Rocket, Lettuce, Radish
Covering your carrots with a fleece and ensuring the
edges are buried will stop the carrot root fly from gaining entry to lay eggs
by your carrots. The eggs hatch in larvae that burrow into the carrot root,
killing the plant or at least ruining the crop.
Plant Outdoors
Onion
& Shallot Sets, Globe and Jerusalem Artichokes, Asparagus.
Easter,
a variable feast that usually falls in early April is the traditional potato
planting time. If you have a comfrey bed and it has sprung back, the first cut
laid in the trench under the potatoes will provide nutrition to get them off to
a good start.
On the
subject of comfrey, if you make a comfrey tea it will help you to a great crop
to use it on your potatoes. Many novice growers wonder why they have small
crops of potatoes and most often this is just down to lack of food for this
hungry crop.
Under Cover in Greenhouse, Coldframe and Polytunnel
Aubergine,
Celery, Outdoor Cucumbers, Tomatoes (if you've not already done so)
A good
tip in a windowsill is to stick some silver cooking foil onto cardboard and
place on the inside to reflect light back onto the seedlings. This will help
prevent the seedlings being drawn.
Sow Outdoors under Cloche
French
beans, Lettuce, Sweetcorn
I like
to pre-chit my sweetcorn, I lay the seeds on a layer of damp kitchen paper and
then place a layer of paper over in an airtight box. An old ice-cream carton or
a Tupperware type box is ideal. Check carefully each day and as soon as the
small white sprout appears, plant the seed about half to an inch deep in a
3" pot of general purpose compost in the greenhouse.
When the
shoots appear about an inch high, plant out under cloche being careful not to
disturb the root (sweetcorn hates root disturbance) under a cloche. Sweetcorn
needs a lot of nitrogen and a teaspoon of dried blood per plant or water Many
of the crops you can sow directly will also benefit from cloching, especially
as you move northwards or started off in modules in a cool greenhouse or
coldframe and then planted out later.
Fruit
Strawberries can be planted out now, it's best to remove
flowers in the first year as you conserve strength for growth and gain larger
crops in subsequent years. An easy way to gain strawberry plants is to plant
the runners into pots and when rooted cut the runner. The plants don't last
forever so you need to rotate them every three to five years.
Hand
pollinate peaches and nectarines. Tickle the flowers with a small paint brush
to spread the pollen. Cover if a cold spell threatens.
A good
layer of compost around the base of fruit trees will ensure they have the
nutrition to provide another good crop for you.
Gardener's Pests
I've
mentioned the carrot root fly but the gardener's worst enemy is awakening. The
evil slugs and snails are coming out to eat entire rows of succulent young
seedlings overnight so take action now.
Harvest
We're in
the 'Hungry Gap' between the last of the winter crops and start of the early
crops but there are still a few things available, late sprouting and chards for
example plus you may have some early salad crops from the greenhouse border.Do
re-check your stored crops. On a fine day, empty out the potato sacks and check
for any rotten potatoes. If you've strung onions, watch out for the odd rotten
one and remove it before it spreads.
