Green Fingers: Here's how April showers can benefit your garden
Gardening in the spring time
It is difficult not to talk about the weather when it plays a big part in growing plants.
No year is the same and it might be better to take a philosophical view of gardening otherwise it can lead to frustration and much more, including losing the plot!
‘All good gifts around us’ and ‘soft refreshing rain’ are extracts from popular hymns and the way we should be viewing it during April. We expect warmer temperatures, with light showery rain during the spring months, leading to rapid growth. We have held back on sowing vegetables outside as the ground is too wet, and also those young plants in modules under cover will not be planted out until the soil is drier. But there will come a time within the month when vegetables will have to be planted out for to reach maturity. Sow a small amount of the plants you eventually need and thereafter sow more in succession as the season progresses. Covering with fleece will give protection from heavy rain, sleet, hail and frost. With all that has happened so far, do understand that germination outdoors will have been poor due to the low temperatures and wet conditions.
Though vegetables and most other plants are relatively hardy, annuals and patio plants will just sulk and die under adverse conditions especially low temperatures, wet ground and frost. The time for planting out these more tender plants is from the second week of May. If you have those large flowering begonias and dahlias, you can kick start them into growth by potting them up into any old pot just large enough to accommodate the roots and leaving them indoors near a window. They can grow undisturbed ready for planting out in the middle of May.
It is a very good time to plant fruiting bushes as they will have enough time to establish before the drier summer months. Some will even start producing fruit this summer. Soft fruit such as blackcurrants, raspberries, blueberries can give you some fruit to indicate what is to come in the following seasons. For now, strawberries are the best bet for summer fruiting, from planting in the next few weeks. Check the plants to make sure they are free of weeds, and give a general feed to boost them up, especially with strawberries, they will respond to regular weak feed every few weeks.
We call all non-edible plants ornamentals, and from now until late summer, they will be showing off at the time of flowering, tempting the browsing gardener to impulse buy a plant or two. The choice is huge and changeable according to a particular month you view such plants. Visit garden centres and gardens during this period to access plants that you would like to have in your own garden.
