Vegetables

Think ahead to next spring and improve the quality of heavy, claybased soil by digging it roughly, so different levels are exposed to winter frosts, winds, rain and sun. Raw manure can be added also and will break down over winter.

Any potatoes still in the garden should be lifted and stored.

April is the traditional month to sow broad beans. These ultratough vegetables will germinate at very low temperatures and although they may make little growth over winter, will grow strongly in spring to produce better crops. The longpod varieties generally have heavier crops.

Some gardeners also sow peas at this time, with favoured variety Onward, which has a long maturity period (97 days). The dwarf variety, Novella, needs no staking and matures in 63 to 77 days.

Cabbage and cauliflower plants can be set in soil that has been wellmanured or generously composted to stand the winter and mature in spring.

For planting out in spring, sow cabbage and lettuce seeds in glasscovered boxes or cloches. Choose a rich soil and a sunny position.

Another tough vegetable is tatsoi, (Brassica narinosa or Brassica rapa var. rosularis), also called spinach mustard, spoon mustard or rosette bok choy. An Asian green with spoonshaped, thick, glossy, dark green leaves that grow in rosettes and white stems, it can withstand temperatures down to 9degC. Sow seed in rows 60cm to 90cm apart.

Now is the time to prepare rhubarb for a good crop next spring. Rhubarb is a gross feeder, so heavy manuring or composting is required every year. Remove all dying stems and leaves, pull out weeds and pile manure or compost on the crowns. Blood and bone can be forked through.

Asparagus tops should be removed before the berrylike red seeds ripen or the beds will be clogged with seedlings. Cut stems to ground level, remove all weeds and apply seaweedbased fertiliser before leaving the beds clean and tidy for winter.