April Gardening Guide: Spring Success at Capel Allotments
April is a pivotal month in the garden. As the soil warms and the days lengthen, it’s time to transition from preparation to active planting. Whether you are tending a full allotment or a few patio pots, here is your essential guide to a productive April.
General Maintenance & Soil Prep
Before the heavy planting begins, ensure your ground is ready:
- Prepare the Ground: Rotovate cleared areas and hoe beds to disrupt emerging weeds.
- Mulching: Apply peat or chipped bark to borders to retain moisture.
- Weed Control: Address weeds on paths and drives now before they go to seed.
- Smart Watering: Use an open-ended watering can for thorough soaking. Avoid "indiscriminate spraying" with a rose once seedlings emerge to save water and time.
In the Veg Plot
April is the month of the "Big Plant."
- Feeding: Rake in 4oz per sq. yard of Growmore, Blood, Fish & Bone, or Poultry Pellets before sowing.
- Potatoes & Onions: Plant seed potatoes (earlies through maincrop) and onion sets. Tip: Keep an eye on the forecast; if frost is predicted, earth up emerging potato shoots or cover with fleece.
- Sowing: Direct sow salad crops, leeks, peas, winter cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and broad beans.
- Harvesting: Start picking asparagus toward the end of the month and remove any flowers from rhubarb.
Fruit & Flowers
- Fruit Care: Spray fruit trees with a Winter Tree Wash (before buds break). Feed Blueberries with an ericaceous feed or Iron Sulphate.
- Spring Blooms: Deadhead daffodils and feed them with Growmore to ensure a good display next year.
- Roses & Perennials: Prune and feed established roses. This is also the perfect time to lift and divide overgrown perennial clumps.
- Sweet Peas: Plant these out now to grow up 6-foot cane frames.
Under Glass (Greenhouse)
Maximize your indoor space to get a head start on summer:
- Tender Crops: Sow tomatoes, runner beans, cucumbers, melons, and sweetcorn.
- Succession Sowing: Sow lettuce, beetroot, and spring onions in plug trays every fortnight for a steady harvest.
- Clever Sowing: Try sowing peas in a length of old guttering—once they are 1.5” high, you can simply slide the whole row into a shallow trench outside.
Lawn Care
Get your lawn "summer ready" by aerating and clearing thatch with a wire rake.
- Repair: Mix grass seed with compost to fill in bare patches.
- Mowing: On dry days, give it a light trim with the blades set high.
- Treatment: Apply lawn feed and moss killer. (The Hut stocks a "single application" solution for Spring).
Allotment News & Events
The Hut: Weekend Opening
Starting April 4th, The Hut will be open Saturdays and Sundays (10 am – 12 noon). We stock everything from seeds and potatoes to compost and tools.
- Join & Save: Membership is just £5 a year. You’ll likely make that back in savings on your first visit!
Key Dates for your Diary:
- AGM & Plot Holder’s Meeting: April 19th (12 noon). Join us for refreshments and a chat.
- Picnic on the Plot: Save the date for Saturday, July 25th.
- The Village Show (Sept 5th–6th): It’s never too early to start planning your entries for the Photography, Handicraft, and Art competitions!
Need machinery repairs?
Contact Steve Blake (07813 814623) or TGC Garden Machinery Services (01473 327737) for expert servicing.
