April’s ramblings
Well, it’s nice that the clocks have sprung forward giving us extra hours of daylight and who knows, extra motivation to get out there into the garden and catch up on all those jobs we promised to do but never quite got round to. We had some lovely weather toward the end of March but as April starts, it’s almost back to winter with a very cold spell. Some parts of the country have even had snow! As I write this, it is raining heavily and vertically. Looking on the bright side, it will ensure the general purpose weed and feed I put on my lawns is taken up quickly, I can already see the patches of moss turning black so I know it’s working. Looking at my last year’s records, we appear to be about a month further on than last. Daffodils were just emerging and we were looking forward to the tulips blooming. This year, my daffodils are finished and have been replaced by some fine tulip specimens although they did get damaged slightly by frost earlier this week
Temperatures are forecast to recover this weekend and a spell of more settled weather is expected. I have managed to get my tomatoes and cucumbers potted up and shall have plenty available for the plant sale on May 4th. I have also sown lettuce, leeks, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and planted onions, shallots and broad beans. I had hoped to get an early sowing of sweet corn by now but it was not to be. I shall be making multiple sowings of these and many other of my vegetable selections in order to ensure as long a harvesting period as possible. April sees a marked increase in sowing and by the end of the month I shall have beetroot, carrot, runner and French beans, mange tout, courgette and squash all sown. Those of you who grow potatoes will no doubt be getting them in the ground this month too.
In addition to my usual variety of French bean, I’m trying a variety new to me called Hunter. They look quite attractive and I’m hoping they may catch the judge’s eye at the show. After trying a dwarf variety of Brussels sprouts last year which turned out to be an absolute disaster I’m reverting to my traditional variety of Brendan.
In the decorative garden, tidying continues at apace, readying the borders for annual planting. Rose pruning is complete and an early feed applied. The dahlias I started into growth last month are shooting well and I shall be able to take cuttings from them in the next week or so thus increasing my stock. In the greenhouse, I will be sowing annuals for filling in those gaps in the borders. If, like me, you have a glut of snowdrops, now is the best time to split them while they still have their foliage. Just dig them up and divide the clumps as you wish. Put the remainder back into the hole you made when digging them up and in a couple of years you’ll be looking to divide them again.
A week or so ago, I listened to an item on the radio regarding water or the lack of it. In essence, it was forecasting that there will be insufficient water to support the population within 25 years. As responsible gardeners, it behoves us all to use water judiciously and we can all play a part by storing and using the water that falls on our own properties. If you don’t have a water butt, they are an excellent investment.
Good gardening,
Alex