It’s a bumper few weeks for sowing delicious crops. Just watch out for weeds and slugs
April is a busy month in the vegetable garden and all kinds of tasty crops can be sown outdoors now, including carrots, peas, beetroot and cabbages.
Fleece is useful to protect the seedlings from heavy rainfall, sharp frosts and the predations of birds, and covering the rows at night, then uncovering them in the morning, allows you the opportunity to watch out for weeds and slugs.
Slugs are becoming active now, so is time to set beer traps and spread grit in order to deter them. Eggshells and dry pine needles also work as an effective barrier.
If you are growing in raised beds, check regularly around the edges as slugs love to hide in these damp spots and if you are really dedicated then night time patrols with a torch will reveal their nocturnal activities.
Carrot fly will start to appear as soon as carrot foliage pops up and you really do need to use a barrier to protect against them. Alternatively grow your carrots in high, raised beds as carrot fly cannot operate above 60cm.
Keep a close watch too on trays of seedlings in the greenhouse as spring sunshine is very bright and can cause rapid heating under glass. Here again, fleece can be used as temporary shading to prevent scorching and check compost moisture levels regularly to prevent seedlings from becoming parched.
Temperatures indoors and outside can fluctuate dramatically this month, but the added light will see many plants start to grow rapidly and among the flower beds early growth will be sprouting. Now is the time to put plant supports in place for peonies and other tall-growing perennials that have a tendency to sprawl.
Make these from wire hoops or sticks and twine and don’t worry if they look obvious to begin with, as new foliage will soon rise up and cover them. Once plants have already sagged it is too late and they can’t be made to stand up again, but putting supports in place now will prevent that from happening.
Other plants, such as hardy geraniums, are meant to sprawl and are effective at softening the edges of borders. Now is the time to dig up and divide existing clumps of these in order to create repeating waves of them around the garden.