Seasonal Planting
April is a tricky month – it’s tempting to plant seeds to get them off to an early start, but it is still risky as temperatures may not be high enough for seeds to germinate ad they will just rot or be eaten by mice. Try not to be in too much of a hurry to plant and sow seeds if the conditions are not right – for example heavy rain or frost. Unless you have lots of indoor space or a heated greenhouse it’s wiser just to sow a few seeds in pots and gradually harden them off to plant out at the end of May or in early June when all risks of frost have passed.
Don’t be tempted to buy the tomato plants that some unscrupulous retailers have on sale now unless you can keep them safely inside for a couple more months. Plant them outside now and if the frosts don’t get them, hungry slugs and snails certainly will. Garden focused is a really useful website that gives dates for different tasks in specific area and useful information such as last predicted frosts – the second week in April in London this year. www.gardenfocused.co.uk/calendar-veg-personalised.php
Beetroot, parsnips, carrots, turnips, broad beans, chard, spinach, leeks, parsley, peas, radish and salad onions can all be planted outside.
Indoors, in pots, you can sow tomatoes, courgettes, chillies, pumpkins and squash, cucumbers, basil, courgettes, pumpkins and squash, cucumbers, herbs, brassicas, corn, beans and basil.
Outside you can sow directly on the plot: beetroot, parsnips, carrots, turnips, broad beans, chard, spinach, coriander, leeks, lettuce, mizuna, parsley, peas, radish and salad onions – and there is still time to sow onion sets, shallots and garlic.
Later in April, you can sow beans, corn, squashes and brassicas directly on the plot.
Now is the time to plant potatoes, but keep an eye on the weather forecast, we can still get frosts, but you can cover the emerging shoots with fleece.
You can sow indoors: courgettes, tomatoes, chillies and peppers, pumpkins and squash, cucumbers, herbs, brassicas, corn, beans, basil.
Try not to be in too much of a hurry to plant and sow seeds if the conditions are not right for example heavy rain or frost. Nature always has a way of catching up.