First of all let me apologise for the late posting of this guide. Due to the British summertime springing on us last week, I have been making the most of the additional sunlight hours and spent more time within my garden and at my allotment.
Looking back at my post the same time last year, I was surprised to read my own notes where I described my frustration of not being able to get to my plot to do any work due to the wintery white snow that covered my ground. What a difference this year has been so far. I was worried last year whether the crops would catch up due to the late planting, but I shouldn’t have worried. They performed above and beyond my expectations.
Bearing those thoughts in mind, here is a list of some of the things that you could be doing this month to keep you organised for April.
Jobs to do………in April
- Continue to harden off and transplant autumn sown cauliflowers and cabbages
- Rake areas of the soil that need a fine tilth weekly. This will help to break down the soil ready for sowing fine seeds
- Continue to pot on plants that need transplanting, trying to accommodate them best you can under cover until the risk of frost has passed
- Weeds will grow strongly now so keep the hoe busy to save more work later on
- Remove all overwintering leeks and parsnips to make room for more crops
- Feed Spring cabbages with a top dressing of nitrate of ammonia. This helps to encourage lush, leafy green growth
- Continue to pick salad crops to encourage more leaves
- Sow a selection of herbs in pots ready for transplanting later
- Improve your soil by adding well rotted manure or compost
- Pot up tomato seedlings when they develop true leaves
- Cover newly sown crops and seedlings with cloches to help protect a little more from the elements
- Collect rain water from outside buildings for use in the next few months
What to sow………Indoors (Heated or Unheated)
- Aubergines
- Broad Beans
- Lettuce
- Peas
- Chillies
- Parsley
- Melons
- Celery
- Onions and shallot seeds
- Kohl Rabi
- Kale
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Brussels Sprouts
- Winter salads
- Summer Cabbages
- Summer Cauliflowers
- Calabrese
- Early variety peas
- Parsley (curly leafed)
- French beans
- Sweet corn
- Leeks
- Sweet peppers
- Spinach
- Radish
- Courgettes
- Summer squash
- Marrows
- Pumpkins
- Winter squash
What to sow………Outdoors (Under Protection)
- Spinach
- Salad Leaves
- Lettuce
- Rocket
- Brussels Sprouts
- Sprouting Broccoli
- Red Cabbage
- Summer Cabbage
- Autumn Cabbage
- Tomatoes
- Early Cauliflower
- Leeks
- Calabrese
- Spring Onions
- Herbs
- Radish
- Mangetout
- Calabrese
- Early Peas
- Carrots
- Beetroot
- Broccoli (Summer variety)
- Broad beans
- Onions
- Parsnips
What to plant………in April
- Plant rhubarb sets
- Fruit bushes
- Asparagus crowns
- Jerusalem Artichoke tubers
- Horseradish
- Strawberries
- Second Early and Maincrop potatoes
- Garlic
- Onion sets
- Shallots
Crops in season now
- Broccoli (Sprouting)
- Spring onions
- Spring cabbage
- Spring cauliflower
- Chicory
- Jerusalem Artichokes
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Parsnips
- Forced rhubarb
- Spinach
Happy sowin’
Debb
digginwivdebb 
Brilliant post – my little man and I are going to be sowing our seeds this week as he is off school fo the easter hols.
I find that most of my seed sowing takes place during the 2nd or 3rd week of April too. At this time of year mny greenhouse is already bursting at the seams and sowing the seeds at this time, saves me having loads of plants taking up too much room before the risk of frost has past.