Traditionally, the months of April and May have been known as the “hungry gap” as during this period of time, there is a great shortage of fresh salads and vegetables. The only thing ready for harvesting will be the first asparagus of the year. If you prefer to eat as much home-grown food as possible, then brassicas, such as cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, and kale, will make up most of your Spring time menu. Apart from this though, April is a great month to start properly sowing outdoor seeds. Any patches of soil that have been warmed up by covers in preparation for sowing, should be able to be planted straight into. If, however, your garden is still suffering from cold weather and frost, you can still plant indoors or under the protection of cloches or cold frames.

Top things to do in April are to harvest any remaining leeks or kale from last year, pick any spring cabbages, cauliflowers or broccoli and harvest the first asparagus of the year. You should also sow seeds indoors if the weather is still cold or outdoors if the soil is warm and ready for planting. Potatoes – second early and main crop - and the last of your onion sets should be planted in April, plus your first early potatoes should also be ready for harvesting. As well as this, you could use your spare time to weed and rake the soil thoroughly, ready to begin planting seeds. Finally prune any cherry and plum trees once their leaf buds have opened.

April is the time for leafy vegetables such as cauliflowers, lettuces and cabbages. Leeks, lettuces, spring cauliflowers, broccoli and kale will all be ready to be harvested for the last time. Once the kale has been picked, you should not plant others in the same place. Instead, choose a different site instead. First time batches of vegetables will also be ready for harvesting, such as, spring onions, spring cabbages, spinach, asparagus and rocket. Harvesting these foods will depend upon which time you harvest them. For example, if spring onions are left too long, they will become large and very strong leading to an unpleasant taste. Salad leaves, swiss chard/spinach beet and rhubarb can be harvested, just as they were last month.  

Once the last of any plants have been removed you should prepare the bed for seed sowing. You can do this by first raking over the soil, making sure you break up any large clumps of earth. De-weeding the ground thoroughly, and finally, if necessary, mixing some well rotted manure or compost into the soil to make it fertile and ready for planting. 

Written by Matthew Thorns