Growing Vegetables
April and May are the perfect time to start growing your own vegetables. The temperature should be warmer now and this will mean that your seeds require less mollycoddling to get them started.
If you are new to growing your own food then try just a handful of crops this year, once you are hooked there’ll be no stopping you. Check out the new Gro-sure seed range available from Unwins.
Runner beans and French beans can be sown in a frost-free greenhouse from April. This gives them just enough time to grow into plants large enough to handle and be hardened off by the time the last frost has passed. That makes them ready to plant out in mid to late June.
In a cool greenhouse or on the windowsill you can sow outdoor tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, courgettes and half-hardy annuals.
Outdoors, if the soil is crumbly and not stodgy, sow leeks, carrots and parsnip. Make a shallow trench in the soil about 1in (2.5cm) deep, line the base with Multi-Purpose Compost with added John Innes, water gently and then sprinkle the seed thinly on top. Cover over with more compost.
Beetroot, turnip, carrots and radish can be sown in shallow drills lined with compost, without extra protection. However if you are in an exposed position, or the weather is particularly harsh, a covering of fleece or a cloche will help speed germination.
Plant onion sets out into the garden. Add a dressing of Growmore Garden Fertiliser to the soil before planting. These tiny onion bulbs should be pushed gently into the soil with their tips just showing. Plant them 10-15cm apart.
Continue to plant chitted First Early, Second Early potato tubers 5-6in (12.5-15cm) deep and about 12in (30cm) apart. Cover over with fleece to protect emerging shoots from frost. As shoots appear cover them over with more soil. This encourages more tubers to form underground.
Sow herb seeds such as sweet basil, parsley and chives. Grow them in small pots containing SureStart Seed & Cutting Compost.
Feed permanent crops such as herbs, artichokes, and asparagus with Growmore Garden Fertiliser.
Improve the soil now where you plan to grow plants that need plenty of water to mature their fruits. Marrows, courgettes, squash and pumpkins all fall into this category. Dig in plenty of Soil Conditioner or organic Vegetable Growing Compost where the plants are to grow. This will add vital nutrients to the soil and also improve its water holding capacity so that it stays moist for longer.
Protect young vegetable plants from slugs and snails. Employ your preferred method of control. Look out for Westland Eraza and Slug Blocker effective ways to deal with slugs and snails.
Remember to keep vegetable beds weed free. Weeds not only compete for any available food and water, but they also provide shelter for a number of garden pests and diseases. Dig out any perennial weeds making sure to remove all the roots and hoe off any annual weed seedlings as they appear. Always hoe when the soil is slightly dry and on a sunny day so that the uprooted weeds seedlings will quickly wither. Persistent perennial weeds can be carefully treated with Westland Resolva. This weedkiller combines the speed of a contact weed killer with the deep down root killing activity of a systemic weedkiller. It works so quickly that you can actually see effects in 24 hours.
