Veg to plant in April and things to do.

Sally_A

1st week of April:-

Sow sweetcorn undercover - not too hot and not too moist or the seeds will trun to mush.
Last chance to sow tomato seeds - the latest I've ever tried is 6th April.
Get the spuds in.
Plant onion/shallot sets.
Sow parsnip in an un-manured patch, germination is erratic to say the least so sow 3 every 6 inches apart or so. Make sure the soil is fine in the bed area, to a depth of at least a foot - this will avoid forking of the roots.
Leeks - almost last chance now.
French beans - they may need to go out while the weather can still get a bit nippy, if you sow them now make sure you have protection in place for the planting out date which will be early May - old window panels or bubble wrap around the outside of the wigwam helps: always plant the bean plants inside of the wigwam, so you can protect from the outside if necessary without damaging the plants.

2nd week - get your purple sprouting broccoli in, I sow these in a deep tub, but keep them outdoors unless frost threatens.
Butternuts, pumpkins, courgettes can be started off under cover.

3rd week - start runner beans off in pots. Ready to plant out mid May.

4th week - sow any leftover french bean seeds, broccolli, courgettes to fill gaps. Courgettes and squashes/pumpkins are ideal gap fillers, so put these in where you have a square yard of space, rather than planning a bed dedicated to them. Sown in large enough pots, they can even be held back before planting out, and will fill the gaps from the early first potatoes (manure the ground before you plant the courgettes in).

I don't do salady stuff - but beetroot, radish, spring onions, lettuce etc should be going in now, some may need covering with a cloche.
Carrots have also been a failure here, but may have another go this year - and hope the badger doesn't ruin them.

VJsmum

Can anyone help? I am going away next weekend for 3 weeks, but would like to grow some stuff this year, everything will have to be outside and hope it rains as i can't ask anyone to come in to do it.

Can i sow runner beans directly into the ground - will the frost get them? Potatoes are in, not sure what else I might do.

I guess it may be a case of buying the plants when i get back rather than sowing now. :-(

Sally_A

Depends where you are VJsmum, direct sowing of runner beans can be done mid may to early June, a personal preference to me is to start them off in pots, that way I know I'm using the beanpoles to best efficiency, and not twiddling my thumbs waiting for a non-germinator to emerge.

Sally_A

Forgot to mention - if you fancy sweetcorn, plant in blocks, 16 plants in a 4 x 4 (no not a Landrover) formation is the minimum, personally, this year, I am aiming for a 8 x 8 layout, ie 64 plants.

Excess cobs freeze really well, and are a treat to have on a winters day.

kinkyjinks

Sally_A wrote: »

1st week of April:-



4th week - sow any leftover french bean seeds, broccolli, courgettes to fill gaps. Courgettes and squashes/pumpkins are ideal gap fillers, so put these in where you have a square yard of space, rather than planning a bed dedicated to them. Sown in large enough pots, they can even be held back before planting out, and will fill the gaps from the early first potatoes (manure the ground before you plant the courgettes in).

I've been thinking about planting like that this year but I have a question. I like to do crop rotation at my lottie so this year I'll have potatoes in a dedicated area, followed by brassicas next year then veg (corn, squashes etc) on the third year. If I plant squashes as soon as my first earlies are out of the ground, will it have a knock on effect for my rotation system?

cootambear

planted salady seeds, toms, courgettes and beans in seed tray, watered. it all took 15 minutes. work for april is done

Sally_A

kinkyjinks wrote: »

I've been thinking about planting like that this year but I have a question. I like to do crop rotation at my lottie so this year I'll have potatoes in a dedicated area, followed by brassicas next year then veg (corn, squashes etc) on the third year. If I plant squashes as soon as my first earlies are out of the ground, will it have a knock on effect for my rotation system?

Don't panic too much about rotation, I've realised that I have this years garlic slightly overlapping last years shallot space, and the Earth is still turning.

I do try to rotate it a bit, but don't beat myself up if I get it a bit wrong.

If I had carrot fly, club root etc I might treat it a bit differently

grrmich

VJsmum wrote: »

Can anyone help? I am going away next weekend for 3 weeks, but would like to grow some stuff this year, everything will have to be outside and hope it rains as i can't ask anyone to come in to do it.

Can i sow runner beans directly into the ground - will the frost get them? Potatoes are in, not sure what else I might do.

I guess it may be a case of buying the plants when i get back rather than sowing now. :-(

VJsmum, depending on where you live, you could wait until you're back from holiday.....

Last year was my first year, and I didn't start working on my allotment until 7th May. I live in London. A friend gave me a few runner bean plants to start me off, but I sowed both runner beans and french beans directly into the ground sometime after 7th May, and I got a decent crop.

I also sowed courgette seeds outdoors, but in a make shift propogater (2 old plastic "underbed boxes" tied together with string). My courgette plants cropped very well.

I personally wouldn't direct sow runner bean seeds now, unless as Sally A suggests, you sow them inside the supporting canes and cover with something to protect them in case of frost.

VJsmum

Thanks for the replies. I just can't remember when I started last year. I am in the midlands and have a really hot conservatory in lieu of a greenhouse, so i think most will have to wait.

Rummer

My leeks have still not leeked.

gazza975526570

Rummer wrote: »

My leeks have still not leeked.

Mine just have!

Concerned they hadnt germinated i sowed another lot as time is ticking. Gave the initial ones a good water and could just about see those familiar hooks poking through

Still eating last years - just pulled another 10 or so for meals this week - one of the best veg to grow if you have the room to keep them