Jobs for April:
- Plant out broad beans that you have grown in modules. Space 20cm apart. Canes may be required to support them as they grow if they are tall varieties. You can also direct sow in April and May if you have not already done so.
- Keep mint, comfrey, lemon balm etc in check by dividing clumps as they can become invasive.
- Plant onion and shallot sets.
- Plant main crop potatoes, asparagus crowns and Jerusalem artichokes.
- Check early potatoes that you have planted and earth up when they when they start shooting.
- Cover some of your strawberries with cloches to encourage early flowering.
- Keep an eye out for greenfly on new shoots.
- Protect seedlings from slugs and snails.
- Tie in new stems developing on cane fruit.
- Sow herbs under cover ready for planting out next month.
- Start pulling any rhubarb that you have forced.
- When you have a few minutes to spare get out your hoe and cut down any emerging weeds. A little and often will prevent weeds growing too large.
- Sharpen your Hoe with a whetstone to really slice through the weeds.
- The following crops can be sown outside during April if the ground has warmed up; beetroot, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chicory for forcing, leeks, lettuce, onions, mange tout and sugar snap peas, parsnips, rocket, spinach, spring onions, kohl rabi and turnips.
- Start thinking about protecting carrots from carrot fly. Either a complete covering with fleece, leaving room for the carrot leaves to grow, or a barrier around them of at least 60 cms. The sooner this is done the more likely that you will have protected them in time.
- Sow sweet corn under glass. Sow some now and some later in May for a good succession. Don’t forget when planting out that they should be planted as a block and not in rows as they are pollinated by the wind.
- Include annual flowers such as nasturtium and calendula along edges of beds to attract pollinators and to act as a sacrificial plant for black fly.
- Plant up asparagus crowns in previously prepared beds if not already done so.
- Plant other perennial vegetables including rhubarb and horseradish.
- Take softwood cuttings of lavender to replace aging plants.
- Tidy up strawberry beds, removing any dead leaves and unwanted runners.
- Check compost heaps and empty any that are ready. Those that are not will need to be turned using a garden fork.
- Grow some comfrey to encourage bees. The leaves can be added to your compost or made into a liquid fertiliser as they are very high in nutrients.
- Don’t forget to lift any cloches and water underneath.
- If you have 15 minutes to spare then tidy up the border of your allotment with the access path/road. These are your responsibility to keep clear so as not to restrict access.
- Start preparing your bean frames ready for your climbing beans.
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Pages last updated: 31st March 2012 :10:43
Queries regarding the Stockwood Leisure Gardens website should be addessed to our website author - please e:mail e:mail the Secretary
Note: The BUYBRITISH site is useful but not entirely accurate!
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