Veg to plant in April and things to do.

[Deleted User]

gazza975526570 wrote: »

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

leek moth is travelling northwards and all leeks on our allotments were devasted last year so everyone is going to grow them under cover this year. I have sown many more leeks than normal this year and of several varieties, fortunately all are up. This is one of my most valued veg

Any

I have sown my leeks indoors so far and only 1 came out (out of 4-I have little space).
I just put them into little pots with soil - do they need any special attention?

cubegame

1st week for the last chance to plant Toms?

I wouldn't even dream of sowing Toms for outdoor planting until the middle of April. The plants suffer from getting too leggy and will probably succumb to blight. The only exception to this is my root stock toms which are being grown ready for grafting.

You've missed Peas off too......I'm getting a batch of 50 plants planted every week through April....

Any

I already put peas out 2 weeks ago - I was worried about frost (I was being impatient) but 10 plants are already poking out of the ground. It was the early variety.

I will plant later variety out soon too. Maybe next week.

Furny

cubegame wrote: »

1st week for the last chance to plant Toms?

I wouldn't even dream of sowing Toms for outdoor planting until the middle of April. The plants suffer from getting too leggy and will probably succumb to blight. The only exception to this is my root stock toms which are being grown ready for grafting.

You've missed Peas off too......I'm getting a batch of 50 plants planted every week through April....

Phew! glad you posted that cubegame. I have some tumbeling toms in but thought I'd read on the packs the other varieties that they didn't need sowing till later, then the Op's post scared me a tad!.

Sally_A

Sorry, didn't mean to scare you, my latest sowing of a good productive tom was 6th April.

I don't do peas....I let the Cap'n do that for me ;-) but I do like mangetout, ignore Alan T's book that says they don't get "inhabited", and hold each one up to the light as you top and tail them.

[Deleted User]

Sally_A wrote: »

Sorry, didn't mean to scare you, my latest sowing of a good productive tom was 6th April.

I don't do peas....I let the Cap'n do that for me ;-) but I do like mangetout, ignore Alan T's book that says they don't get "inhabited", and hold each one up to the light as you top and tail them.

inhabited by what?? :eek:

Sally_A

Pea moth can be a right pain, it normally affects peas by planting eggs in the pea flower resulting in maggots in the pea pod.

Mangetout is less susceptible, but as I am really squeamish about this sort of thing I hold every mangetout up to the light before steaming it.

You can normally tell by external markings on the pod, but I take no chances and check each one.

Over 3 years i've probably found about 6 pods, it's not a major issue, but Alan T said that mangetouts were not affected like peas. True, but they can still be affected.

Don't let his put you off, as the imported ones on the supermarket shelf can still have "visitors".

A very worthwhile crop to grow IMHO,

splodger_seedswapper

pigeon and or pea weavil - wil do more damage to young pea plants than anything else

both are simple enough to combat
net young plant against pigeons - and use twiggy sticks as support (pigeons don't like the twiggy bits)
with pea and bean weavils - sprinkle old soot or wood ash over the area where they are sown - the bugs don't like the smell or dust of the soot i usually use wood ash and soot mixed - to make the soot affect go further - trust me - it is tried and tested method - but only use OLD soot - as fresh soot will burn your plants (works on early aphid attacks too - like black fly on broad beans )

scotsaver

Sally_A wrote: »

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.

Sally - many thanks for getting us going again. I'm hoping you are right about Tomato seeds, I've sown 4 different varities this year as I have a Garden, Greenhouse and an Allotment. So far all are ok but the Beefsteak variety have gone all leggy and on checking them this mroning they have flopped over and gone mushy.:o Never had this happen before so I'm going to try again as I've never grown this variety before and love Beefsteak tomatoes.

I'm also going to try again with Parsnips as there is no sign of life from the tray I tried to sow a few weeks ago.

Touch wood everything else looking good.:D