As the days grow longer and the temperatures begin to rise, April offers the perfect opportunity to start planting and tending to your fruit, vegetable, and herb gardens. With a little bit of planning, patience, and care, you can set the stage for a bountiful harvest later in the year. This comprehensive guide will provide you with essential tips on sowing seeds, planting, greenhouse planting, disease and pest control, and weed management, ensuring a thriving and successful edible garden this season.

Sowing Seeds and Planting

Vegetable Seeds

Sow vegetable seeds in good weather and soil conditions, including carrots, broccoli, cabbage, broad beans, peas, parsnips, beetroot, and white turnips. Maincrop vegetables, such as carrots and peas, and repeat sowings of small amounts of salads can be sown as the soil warms up. Take advantage of any chance to sow vegetable seeds if the ground is right.

Fruit Trees

Apply some wood ashes (potash) or a fruit fertilizer to fruit trees to improve growth and yield. Avoid using rich compost or manure, as it may promote soft growth and diseases. Potatoes can be planted at any time, and it is already a bit late for the first early varieties.

Onion Sets and Shallots

Onion sets and shallots can be put in, if not already done.

French Beans

A first sowing of French beans can be made as soon as the soil warms up.

Herbs

Sow herb seeds in warm weather. Herb seeds can also be sown in a greenhouse or sprouted indoors.

Greenhouse Planting

Sweet Corn and Runner Beans

Sweet corn and runner beans can still be sown in the greenhouse for planting out later.

Disease and Pest Control

Apple and Pear Trees

Spray apple and pear trees for apple or pear scab disease and check for greenfly. If codling moth was a problem on apple trees last year, apply a spray of systemic insecticide at petal fall and two weeks later. The normal sprays for apple scab should be kept up, especially following wet weather.

Weed Management

Control Weeds Between Vegetables

Control weeds between vegetables by hoeing on a dry, breezy day when they are still seedlings. Remove weed seedlings close to vegetables by hand. Weeds among vegetables should be removed now while they are still small and before they get a chance to develop. The first flush of weeds is always the worst, but if it is controlled, it will be easy to stay ahead.