April's 'To Do' list !

Many Thanks to 'Fran' for compiling the list as follows :-

April To Do List

Fruit: Thinking of summer, take a look at your strawberry plants and tidy up, giving a feed. As the flowers appear if they are under cloches, ensure they are open on frost free days to allow polination. Watch out for pests and diseases and treat accordingly ââ?¬â?? spraying if non organic, and if organic, use things like green soap, and pyrethrum. Feed fruit trees with fertiliser such as blood, fish and bone, or pelleted chicken manure and remove any shoots below where the tree was budded onto rootstock. . Ornamental cherries will benefit from a phosphate rich fertiliser, like rose or tomato fertiliser. Plant new raspberry canes, cutting them to about 15cm above ground level after planting. Two things to remember this month a) that you may need to protect flowers if we get a another cold snap, and b) that birds like fruit as much as you do, and therefore now is the time to think of how to protect them ââ?¬â?? cage or netting.

TREES AND SHRUBS: If the weather is showery, planting of evergreens can still be carried out, but if the weather is dry, make sure that you water newly planted trees and shrubs and mulch them with tree bark or a leafy compost to retain moisture. Prune early flowering shrubs like Berberis, forsythia and spirea immediately after flowering, so that you have flowers for next year. . Now is the time to remove the canes of less hardy shrubs like fuchsias, hydrangeas etc, which have been protecting them all winter. But in the main, where trees and shrubs are concerned this month, enjoy the leaf burst.

VEGETABLES: Plant one year old crowns of asparagus in well prepared ground and plant garlic, onion sets and shallots 10cms apart. Plant potatoes chitted in January and February. Potatoes like pretty well all vegetables can be grown in containers, just remember to keep them watered and fed. Feed spring cabbage and broccoli with nitrogen rich feed to increase leaf. Sow short rows of salad vegetables for a succession of crops i.e. plant a row, then plant another row three weeks later, and so on but don't forget to label them Protect early carrot crops from carrot root fly by covering them with fleece - and you may find laying branches of the herb wormwood between the rows helpful - as you thin seedlings the scent may help ward this pest off. Carrot root fly is attracted by scent, therefore, anything you can do to confuse the beastie is worth trying. This is the month you can really get going in sowing outside - broad beans, radish, cabbage cauliflower, spinach, spring onions, peas and spring onions to name but a few - but watch the weather, and use fleece if frost is forecast. Runner beans, sweetcorn, and and French beans should be sown at the end of the month.

FLOWERS: Plant out all plants raised from autumn sowings such as carnations, border chrysanthemums, pansies and sweet peas, but protect them with fleece on cold nights. Put stakes in place for tall plants such as lupins and delphiniums. Lift and divide polyanthus and snowdrops, the latter in particular are best planted in the green. After flowering prune winter flowering heather (ericas) by removing flowering stems with either secateurs or shears. Lifting and dividing perennials can still be done in the early part of the month. The two fork method works for most things or if your feeling frustrated a clean cut with a spade. But ensure you keep your divisions watered if the weather is dry, to enable them establish. Now is the month you can sow hardy annual seeds directly in the ground, if you sow in straight or curved lines, you will find it easier to differentiate your newly planted seeds from sprouting weeds. You can always move them to if you want to create a more informal effect. If your dahlias are starting so sprout, now is the time to propagate them to increase your plants. Gently ease the new shoot from the tuber, and having dipped it in rooting powder, plant in a 50/50 mix of compost and vermiculite and cover with a polythene bag or propagator, til rooted. Keep it the cuttings in a sheltered light sight but not in full sun.

Nip autumn or spring sown sweet peas to encourage bushy growth.

Roses will be shooting apace following March pruning, and if you haven�t already done so, spray the new young leaves with a proprietary brand against black spot, rust and aphids. You will need to do this at least two weekly for the next 6-8 weeks, but do it in the early morning, before the insects are around. Most sprays are toxic to bees etc. If you would wish to grow roses organically, then chose the most disease resistant varieties you can, and use green soap or pyrethrum against aphids.

GREENHOUSE: Watch out for the whitefly, spray with natural pyrethrum -if you don't want to chemical spray, use sticky paper strips - or inspect the leaves and squish eggs and fly . With the temperature starting to rise increase the ventilation during the day, whilst still watching the night time temperature. Its not long now til you need to get shading in place whether by paint or mesh or blind in place, especially in south facing greenhouses. Increase watering, and feeding as overwintering plants start into growth and start repotting tender plants for the summer. If your tender plants go out for the summer, when repotting be sure to add a slow release fertiliser. If repotting is not advised then refresh the compost by remove the top inch of compost, and replacing. Remember that most composts contain enough nutrients for 6 weeks and no more, and the season has just started.

LAWNS: If you havenââ?¬â?¢t already done so spike and scarify the lawn. To spike and aerate with a garden fork, throw it into the ground, press down to a depth of 10cm and then lever back to leave the holes. If you can, backfill with sand ââ?¬â?? and keep off it when its wet. Compacted lawns lead to moss and other problems. Lawn edges will need trimming, - when digging borders next to lawns always leave a gap and trench, to enable you to trim the grass, and to prevent plants growing through. Barriers in the form of bricks and edging are useful, but remember the mower ââ?¬â?? if the barrier is higher than the lawn you will need a strimmer.

POTS: As with greenhouse plants, now is the time to repot, and if not repotting , then refresh, see above. Take cuttings where you can of newly sprouting pots. As soon as forced bulbs or other spring flowering bulbs stop flowering move them to a sheltered cool position and keep them watered and fed, to build up the bulb for next spring. . Spray vines with clean water. Remove dead flowers from all plants to encourage the development of further blooms. Do not allow the soil around grapevines, peaches, and almonds to become dry.

PONDS: This is still a good time build new ponds and to check out the plants in your old one. If your are considering a new pond, then think about adding a bog garden at one edge, you would be surprised how many beautiful plants like their roots to be in very damp soil. Then there�s the frogs and toads that will arrive, that will be the best form of pest control you could wish for.


Keep up the good work Fran !!!


Nathan.

 

Steven,

Seeds that are/were sown this year, would produce fruit later this year.

Nathan.