Jobs for the Month - April

April is a transition month, and a very unpredictable one weather wise, with anything possible from snow to heat waves. 

During March I sowed seeds like mad (and still am) and come early May I will be hoping to plant out everything into the garden. So in April I will need to bring on my tender vegetables - tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and the rest - from vulnerable seedlings to plants that are robust enough to survive life outside planted in the ground. This process, called hardening off, needs to be taken slowly. Young plants used to living indoors will really suffer or possibly die if they get plonked straight outside into the ground. Just imagine how you'd feel - duvet and central heating one day, cold feet, driving rain or intense sunshine the next! Yes, we need to get the plants used to sunshine as well as the cool.

I use a small blow away greenhouse as a half way house, and much of April is spent doing the In Out Plant Shuffle. Initially I'll choose a warm and sunny day to move all the plants out into a shady and sheltered spot for a few hours. I don't put them into full sun: the leaves can scorch and small pots can quickly dry out. In the first year we were here I put a tray of chillies out onto a windowsill and was then side-tracked by a friend arriving with beer. A couple of hours later and there was nothing left but a few shrivelled and crispy remains!

The plants will come back in to the house at night and after about a week of this they will advance to spending their nights in the little greenhouse and some part of their days in the sunshine. It is essential to keep the growing medium moist, but not wet and to avoid getting water on the leaves, as this can make sun scorch much worse. Eventually the plants will be used to living outside day and night, rain and shine. You must watch the weather during this process; any plant that is not frost hardy must come in at night, however tough they've become; my green house will not provide enough protection, or at least not without extra plastic or bubble wrap. And remember if the plants have to spend more than a day or two back inside, the hardening off will have to begin again!

In addition to the In Out Plant Shuffle, April sees continued repeat sowing of 

• turnips 
• beetroot 
• lettuce 
• radishes 

Plus bulk sowing of

• red & summer cabbage 
• carrots 
• cauliflower 
• courgettes 
• perpetual spinach & leaf beet 
• climbing & dwarf haricot (French beans) 
• kale
• peas
• parsnips
• sweetcorn
• various basils, other herbs & flowers as the mood, time and available compost takes me!

I'll be carrying on cutting the grass and the edges of the grass paths in the potager; the grass will be used as mulch on the beds and around both newly planted shrubs and hedges and those that are well established.

In April we will continue enjoying the short asparagus season, and possibly the first globe artichokes of the year, too. We should have lettuces and the last of the leaf beet, too, but otherwise April can be quite bleak in the kitchen garden!

We will also still be under le confinement due to covid-19 until at least the middle of the month and probably right through to the end. In practical turns I am so lucky to have my own garden to sit and work in, to contemplate the incredible quiet, and in which to be distracted from the current situation. 

Stay safe & healthy everyone, and please stay at home!