In The Garden, 10 Tips for April

3rd April 2019

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April showers and longer sunnier days are what we expect this month which gives us more opportunity to get out into the garden. This also means that weeds are starting to pop up more and more and there’s a whole lot more planting to do!

Here are 10 Tips to help you stay on top of what needs doing in your garden this month:

Throughout this month keep on top of controlling those pesky weeds, weed, hoe and mulch to keep them down but be careful not to mulch on top of weeds like ground elder which will become even more prolific under the heat of a mulch.
During the first half of April second early potatoes can be planted out and start chitting main crop potatoes which can be planted during the second half of April.
Deal with aphids, caterpillars and powdery mildew in whichever way suits you best but just be sure to be diligent.
Give fruit trees a balanced feed fortnightly to start with, this can become more frequent when summer reaches us.
Start thinning out vegetable seedlings as soon as they are big enough to be handled. If they are all left to grow you will get smaller spindly plants.
Pot up tomato seedlings when then develop their ‘proper’ leaves.
Remove flower heads that have gone over, eg. Daffodils
Continue to plant gladioli corms so flowering is staggered over a number of months. The same for onion sets which can also still be pushed into the ground.
Some vegetables can be planted straight into the ground now, eg. Carrots, beetroot and peas. In a greenhouse you can plant many of the summer veg, eg. Tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines, peppers, courgettes and many other veg.
Towards the end of the month start putting up your supports for climbing beans which can be planted out next month.

Bonus tip:
Don’t forget your pond – remove blanket weed with a rake before it takes over!

Remember though, that it doesn’t matter what you read here, anywhere else or even on the seed packet, if it’s really cold – then don’t sow your seeds!

The main thing is that whatever the time of year, enjoy your garden. :)

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