April 2018 mid month: propagation, planting tips, make compost, weather damage, picking salad leaves

The first two weeks of April here were more like December, in terms of light levels. However after the new moon tonight (15th-16th) and it’s associated rain, there is a change to ten days of warmer and sunnier conditions.  

Wild rocket, sown September and overwintered in pots in the greenhouse, planted February outside with fleece over

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Kale rising to flower, 14th April: we shall clear it in two or three weeks after picking more shoots, then plant celery and celeriac in late May

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The first shoots of Claret F1 broccoli, sown mid June and planted late July after clearing broad beans

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Aquadulce broad beans are finally making strong growth: I sowed them December and planted them in January, they had mesh over until mid March

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Transplanting, yes you can!

All vegetables can be transplanted. The only ones that are difficult are parsnip and carrot, because of damage to their taproot, unless you plant them when very small.

Recently we were surprised to read advice in a magazine advising against sowing radish and turnip in modules, and suggesting that you have to direct sow spinach, lettuce and oriental greens. This is untrue: be wary of believing everything written (or spoken) as there is a lot of misleading information out there.

Spinach and kohlrabi seedlings ready to go out, we planted these and hundreds of other modules at the very beginning of April

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Transplanted spinach has been growing more slowly than usual because of low temperatures and lack of sunshine

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Radish Poloneza multi-sown 20th February, planted mid March

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Propagating and fleece covers

From being asked so often about plant raising, I decided to make a video on the subject. It is proving popular.

How long to leave fleece covers on depends on the weather. If hot and dry, fleece needs to come off, but  in our part of the world it's rarely the case in April. I plan to leave the covers here in place for another two weeks, partly also because they protect seedlings against rabbits.

Video thumbnail for success with sowing

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Edward barely had room for himself and the camera

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Beetroot mudule ready to plant as a clump of four seedlings

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Warmth loving plants

Now we enter a new and very different phase of sowing and propagating plants that need warmth all the time, also they die if frozen. Their seeds germinate well at a constant 20 or 25C/68-77F (or higher), rather than in warm days but cool nights. Therefore windowsills are worthwhile for the first week after sowing, to maintain warmth.

The coming two weeks are excellent for sowing basil and all cucurbits, from squash to cucumber, strictly under cover only and for planting outside a month or so after sowing. Check my sowing timeline for more details and ideas.

Basil seedlings, sown 8 days earlier and in the middle of the pallet sitting on my hotbed

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We pricked out these tomatoes and marigolds, now on the hotbed after germinating in the conservatory

Celery germinated on a windowsill, now pricked out and on the hotbed

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New trial of composts

Steph and I created a no dig bed with four parts, each of which has a different compost as the surface layer of 4cm, about 1.5in depth. Underneath is the same base layer of 3in composted cow manure, then 1.5in green waste compost.

The top layers of compost in the four squares are Melcourt horse manure, Dalesfoot wool compost, Homeacres 8 month old compost and green waste compost.

We planted 6 potatoes and 18 onion sets in each square.

Compost making

Now there is more green material from the garden, you need to balance it with brown ingredients such as paper, old leaves, woody prunings and cardboard. My main heap is now over often 70C near the surface, from the higher proportion of green (compared to winter) and thanks to regular new additions.

I am trialling a Rotol compost bin and after loading it with grass mowings layered with straw, cardboard and twigs, it reached 67C in two days. Within a week the level was below halfway, then I refilled with similar materials.

• There are still two places available on my course about making compost, on May 19th.

Homeacres main heap 13th April, has all the waste of two months and plenty more is required to fill it up

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Compost from November until Christmas, which was turned in March. It’s still 35-40C so the worms are near the top!

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Rotol compost bin newly filled

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As long as I keep adding fresh materials, the temperature is a steady 55-65C

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Storing veg

The photo of stored veg, taken here on 10th April, is of summer and autumn harvests. Storing is not difficult:

• the root veg are just in boxes, potatoes in sacks - all in my brick lean-to
• squash, onions and garlic are in the conservatory.

10th April at Homeacres, vegetables stored since last summer and autumn

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Oxhella carrots have been in a paper sack in the lean-to annexe of my house

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Crown Prince squash, kept 6 months in the conservatory, it tastes so sweet

Salad picking

We are harvesting under cover for another two weeks or so. However outdoors there is sorrel, wild rocket, chervil becoming abundant, land cress and spinach. It is such a slow spring!

This time last year we were already picking a few outdoor lettuce leaves, whereas this year the lettuce are still seedlings, barely grown since transplanting three weeks ago.

14th April, covers rolled back just for the photograph: on right are new lettuce and spinach

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7 month old endive Aery F1 in the pilytunnel, picked all winter

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Polytunnel salads 13th April, have been giving large and requent harvests, all picked not cut

Weather damage, and hardy plants

It was a bad early March for perennial kale, many of mine were almost killed by the freezing winds that preceded the first snow. Best survival was of a plant near to the shelter of a shed.

In contrast, spinach survived fine without any protection, except a bird net against eating by rabbits. Coriander also is fine, chervil is rampant now, as are many salad plants.

6 year old Taunton Deane kale survived the wind-freeze, but is slow to regrow where it had less shelter

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8 month old Medania spinach had no protection from the freezing winds and snow

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8 month old coriander Cruiser and Palco F1 spinach

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Freesia in the greenhouse, it’s third year of flowering and such a lovely scent

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Tips on dealing with an overgrown allotment

I gave this advice to Ron in Bristol, who plans to tame part of a very weedy plot, and wondered if cardboard + 4in/10cm compost is enough, after he will have strimmed the weeds.    He does not want to cover with polythene.

• 4in/10cm compost is minimal for that many weeds. You need to lay a double thickness of cardboard first, as temporary weed barrier until it decays in situ. Then the compost on top of it.
• New plantings will be happy in the compost for a couple of months, then the card softens and two way traffic resumes - roots into the soil, and remains of perennial weeds growing up! But with much weaker roots. The new shoots of any weeds will need pulling through summer until their roots die.
• Plus lay triple card all around the edge for a weed-free path surround.
• See more here on this site, and in this video.

A nice comment on pricking out, to my lettuce video, from Teresa Grodi in Ohio

The very day you posted this video, I had my lettuce seed packets on the table ready to plant! I had never had luck with germinating lettuce indoors. I always had to plant in the ground to get anything. I went to the store that very day and purchased vermiculite and followed your directions. I got PERFECT germination and pricked out the seedlings. I now have about 30 plants preparing to be transplanted.