Seasonal Tips for April and May - Salads & Greens

Sow short rows of lettuce other salad crops to ensure a continuous supply.
Choose loose-leaf lettuce varieties, and continual cropping plants that you can cut and harvest continually. These are less susceptible to bolting and more tolerant of hot weather.
Sow herb seeds such as sweet basil, parsley and chives. Grow them in small pots containing Multi-Purpose Compost with added John Innes.
As the season progresses and your vegetable sowings start to mature you can start to harvest early sown salad crops. Where possible remove alternate plants to leave plenty of room for the remaining plants to develop.
Plant out established seedlings of Brussels sprouts, summer cabbage, cauliflowers and celery.
Keep a watch out for caterpillars on your cabbage plants. Look out for clusters of orange yellow eggs beneath the leaves. Let these hatch first to ensure that they are not ladybird larvae, a very beneficial ally for gardeners. Caterpillars will hatch as tiny wriggling strands, which can be removed by hand or sprayed if you prefer.