April bounced along, in fact it flew once Easter had arrived. The late Easter was the starting pistol and we had the benefit of a few weeks of light evenings ahead of it to prepare. So many people use it as the start time for gardening, so there were many lined up for the charge and since that weekend trading has been lively. I say late Easter but in fact not as late as it can be, The date is determined by the first Full moon of the spring and in 1943 it didn’t happen until April the 25th in 1943.

Anyway, it is all systems go now. The last of the spuds can go in, we can run successions of vegetables, keeping pinches of lettuce, radish, spring onion and beetroot going, pushing in summer cabbage and would you believe even planting sprouts. The real joy these days for me is that the supermarkets have introduced so many new vegetables. Well, not perhaps new but better publicised. Celeriac, Kohl Rabi and Flower Sprouts to name just a few. Celeriac is a long winded grow, but Kohl Rabi is a doddle and quick. As the month advances tomatoes, beans, marrows, courgettes and cucumber can all be put out. In the case of Tomatoes and Cucumbers watch out for late frost and be prepared to cover them with something overnight and if your garden is naturally cold then leave them in until the last week of the month. Beans and Peas in fact can be sown straight to the ground if you haven’t got plants (they germinate very quickly at this time). Try to give all plants space if you can, aphids and white fly are already busy and they are disturbed by the breeze. Of course all the bedding is about too and as with the veg, most things can be planted out. Here too there is a cautionary note, so do watch the night temperatures. Dahlias, Busy Lizzies and Marigolds don’t like frost much. I remember loosing every Marigold I had to a very late frost in the first week of June.

And finally, look out for Chillis and heritage tomatoes. There are Chillis everywhere and even if you are not a fan,they are very decorative. The heritage tomatoes take you back to the ‘olden days’ when tomatoes really tasted and they certainly worth a space.

Happy Gardening.

Chris Evans
www.dundrynurseries.co.uk
www.thebutterflygarden.org