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April’s Weather

The weather has been unusually cold and it was very wet at the beginning April in the east of the UK.

The daylight hours are now approaching 15 hours a day however there has been a noticeable absence of the Sun in April. Hopefully it might warm up in May.

April – I’m currently growing…

In an UnHeated Greenhouse

Potted on from March

• Basil & Coriander seedlings,
• Tomatoes,
• Sweet Peppers,
• Violet (flower) seedlings,
• Sunflowers seedlings.

Not Planted out from March yet

• Leeks – due to be planted out in 2 weeks time.

Seeds Sown in April in the Unheated Greenhouse

• Brussels Sprouts,
• Red Cabbage,
• Courgette,
• Mini Cucumber,
• Sweetcorn,
• Pumpkin,
• Lettuce.

Outdoors in a Raised Bed in April

• Broad Beans are now flowering but have slowed growth.
• Winter Lettuce – Harvesting,
• Chives – flowering and harvesting,
• Garlic – have got lots of green shoots,
• Autumn Carrots – tiny carrots from overwintering, not done very well this year.
• Perpetual Spinach – Harvested and bolted.

New Sowings in Raised Beds – April

• Radish – just germinated.
• Carrots,
• Planted out Onion Sets from cell trays,
• Spring onions.

In Pots – Outside

I buy my 30L pots from Oakland Gardens.

• 🥔 1st Early Potatoes ‘Casablanca’- are shooting up and leaves have been covered over with compost twice already.
• 🫛 Peas ‘Twinkle’ – have been planted in a pot.
• 🧅 Onions ‘Hercules F1’ have been grown in cell tray and some have been planted into a pot.

April Sowings Timeline

My Vegetable Garden is located in the South East of England, UK so timings may be different for your area of the UK or world.

My Greenhouse is in the sunniest spot in the garden and it is sheltered on two sides by a fence. It gets very hot in the summer and we have to use shading material on the glass roof.

Weekend 6-7 April

• 🫑 Sweet Pepper ‘Tangerine Dream’ (orange) potted on into 9cm diameter pots. In unheated greenhouse.
• 🍃 Spinach ‘Perpetual’ – Harvested as it bolted. It’s been in the ground since last August.
• 🥔 Potatoes ‘Casablanca’ in Pots outside – Leaves coming through soil. Added more compost to cover leaves.
• Chives – Harvesting. These have overwintered in the raised beds since last August.

Weekend 13-14 April

• 🧅 Planted Onion ‘Hercules F1’ sets in cell trays out into Raised Beds
• 🧅 Planted Onion ‘Hercules F1’ sets x 5 onions in a pot in the unheated Greenhouse.
• 🥕 Carrots ‘Marion F1’ seeds sown outdoors directly into the middle of the raised bed of onions – Not germinated yet.
• Brussels Sprouts ‘Medio Enane de la Halle’ seeds sown in cells in the unheated greenhouse – germinated in 9 days.
• 🫛 Peas ‘Twinkle’ 6 plants planted into a pot. Pot is in the greenhouse.
• Radish ‘French Breakfast’ seeds sown outside in raised bed – Germinated in 7 days.
• Spring Onions seeds sown outside in raised bed – Not germinated yet.

Weekend 20-21 April

Protected Seedlings in unheated greenhouse with fleece due to risk of overnight temperatures below 1 degrees centigrade.

• Potted on 🪴 Basil ‘Sweet’ seedlings in the unheated greenhouse.
• 🍅 Tomato ‘Cherrola F1’ and ‘Orange Cherry’ potted on into 9cm diameter pots in the unheated greenhouse.
• Red Cabbage ‘Red Acre’ seeds sown in cells in the unheated greenhouse – Not germinated yet.
• 🥔 1st Earlies Potatoes ‘Casablanca’ in Pots outside – Leaves coming through soil again. Added more compost to cover leaves.

As the night temperatures have been low (down to 1 degrees Centigrade last week), I have not followed My Master Sowing Plan for April.

I have delayed sowings by 2 weeks due to the fear of seeds not germinating as it’s too cold. Hopefully now the seeds have been sown in the list below, they’ll catch up with growing in May when it warms up.

Weekend 27-28 April

• 🌿 Coriander ‘calypso’ seedlings potted on into 9cm diameter pots in the unheated greenhouse.
• 🟡 Ball Courgette ‘Summer Holiday F1’ seeds sown in 9cm pots – 2 seeds per pot. In the unheated greenhouse.
• 🥒 Cucumber ‘Piccolino F1 Mini’ seeds sown in 9cm pots – 2 seeds per pot. In the unheated greenhouse.
• 🎃 Pumpkin ‘Bellatrix F1’ seeds sown in 9cm pots – 2 seeds per pot. In the unheated greenhouse.
• 🌽 Sweetcorn ‘Gold Crest F1’ seeds soaked and sown in root-trainers. In the unheated greenhouse.
• Radish ‘French breakfast’ seeds germinated in Raised Bed.
• 🫛 Pea and 🧅 Onion Pots have been moved outside.
• 🧄 Garlic – Growing longer leaves, growing strong since the recent cold snap overnight.
• 🧅 Onions – in Raised beds, are standing upright and have settled into new soil.

Vegetable Articles written in April:

Brussels Sprouts

• Operation – Brussels sprouts to the dinner table plan

Carrots, Cabbage & Onions

• 🥕 🥬 🧅 Grow Your Own Coleslaw.

Broad Beans

• 🫘 Part 4 📙 – How to Plant Out your Broad Beans in a Raised Bed with video.

Tomatoes

• 🍅 Part 3 📘 – How To Choose a Tomato Variety to Grow
• 🍅 Part 4 📙- How to Pot on Tomato Seedlings
• Unusual Vegetables – Growing White Tomatoes
• Next Steps: 💦 Setup a Tomato Watering System in the Greenhouse

Onions sets

• 🧅 Part 2 📗 – How to Plant Onion Sets grown in cell trays in Raised Beds with Video.

Pak Choi

• How to Grow Pak Choi

Vegetables to Sow in April

• Vegetables to Sow in April

Let’s Grow Together – 5 Top Veg Garden Trends for 2024

• Vegetable Garden Trends for 2024

Collection of Monthly Timelines

• Monthly Summary
• March Growing Timeline