Welcome to Gardening with Ben, the podcast where we dig into the soil of
our gardens and the depths of our green funds. I'm your host, Ben,
here to guide you through the joints of gardening, from sowing seeds to
reaping bountiful harvests. Each episode will explore tips, tricks, and tales from
the garden and allotment, sharing insights from ourself and stories from our own back
garden adventures. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just getting your hands dirty for
the first time, there's something here for everyone, So grab your brew and
gardening gloves and let's get growing with Gardening with Ben. Hello everyone, and
welcome back to a brand new episode of Gardening with Ben Well. In today's
episode, we're going to continue from yesterday's episode. Yesterday's episode was talking about
all the jobs which needed doing in the garden and the allotment, So if
you've not listened to that episode, make sure you go back and give that
one to listen to, as that is important. Of all the jobs which
need doing down in the garden and in the allotment, well, what needs
doing? What's this episode about? This episode is about all the things that
we can start to plant in the garden and the allotment in April. And
as I've said previously, obviously, now it's started to get warmer, we
can plant more and more stuff, so the list of things gets bigger and
bigger. But hopefully you have got a lot of these started already, which
we could have started in March. But yeah, a lot of these you
can now start in April as well, now that it's getting warmer, and
some stuff you can actually start outside straight in the ground because it's a lot
warmer. But I tend to start stuff off still indoors because I wait until
about maybe before I start planting stuff out personally into the ground with some stuff,
and yeah, I'd rather grow it in the shed in the greenhouse,
just to make sure that I know it does germinate and that it doesn't get
strangled by other weeds and stuff like that. So that is one of the
reasons why I start a lot of stuff off in my shed. But yeah,
here are the things that we can start to grow in April. We'll
start off with vegetables first. Obviously we're going to be talking about vegetables through
and flowers. So the vegetables that we can start off this month are or
continue growing aubergines. If you've started growing aubergines, which is around January February
time, you can start potting these up. Now. It probably is too
late to start aubergines off. If you wanted to grow some, you're best
off buying some from the garden center plant as it's probably too late to start
growing aubergine from seed now. So if you've started some off, start potting
up your seedlings, being careful not to damage the plant. Beetroot. You
can either sew beat root in trays or directly in the ground in April,
as the weather is getting warmer now broad beans These can be sewn directly straight
into the ground at this time of year. Make sure they are protected.
Vote against mice and birds, as the mice will come along and eat them.
All. Broccoli this is so expensive in shops, so why not try
growing your own. All you do is snip off some when it's ready and
let the rest grow. So try to growing some broccoli. Now is the
time to start sewing all them broccoli seeds cabbatures. Now is the time to
sew summer and autumn cabbage seeds. Cauliflower Again, it's now time to start
sewing cauliflowers, why not try to grow some purple cauliflower like I have done
in the past, which I've had some amazing results from. Cause Yet now
it's time to be sewing these this month in the greenhouse and getting those going
cucumbers. If you've not sown cucumbers, yeah, now is the time to
get them planted. The longer they have to grow, the better harvest you'll
get. So if you want them to grow some fantastic cucumbers, get growing
from this month. And the variety which I recommend what I usually grow is
the market more variety of cucumber French beans. You can start sow these directly
in the ground this month that has been in prepared soil. Again, just
protect them from mice and rats because they will come and nibble and also pigeons.
Pigeons do love to come and eat the tops off them. So next
up is globe artichokes andre Rusalem after choke. I've never tried growing globe after
choke before, or Jerusalem artichoke. Globe artitude choke are obviously in a globe
shape, but Jerusalem artichoke, you need to start planting them from tubers and
this will produce great results next year, not this year. Next year.
So if you're wanting to grow some Jerusalem multitude, plant some tubers this month
for great results next year. Kale have grown great kale before and it will
continue growing all the way up to November December, and you can just snip
it off as and when you need them. So if you're wanting to grow
some kale, sow the seeds in pots, then transplant outdoors when they are
big enough. Snip off as much as you want when it's ready for your
Sunday dinners. Leaks. If you've not sown your leaks, this is the
last month to get them sewn for good harvest and big fat leaks at the
end of the year. So if you're wanting to grow some leaks, this
is the last month to get them sewn. Let us start some lettuce off
this month. Make sure you only sew a fewver as they will all often
germinate and get clumped together in a seed train. Just start a few off,
and yeah, don't the whole packet off for lettuce. Just to sprinkle
a few seeds and you will get some great crops. Marrows like corshats.
Marrows can be planted this month. Why not try and see how big you
can grow a marrow. Onions. If you're growing onions from sets, this
is the month to plant them. Make sure the ground is prepared. Also
net them as birds like to pull them up and eat the tops off them.
Parsnips, now, I need to get some parsnips in. These can
be sewn straight into the ground. Now, you don't pull these up vertil
after the first frost of the year, as that gives them the flavor.
So you won't be looking at pulling your parsnips up till November. So think
of a space that you won't be able to use until November time and sew
them there. Pease, start sewing these directly into the ground and they will
never make it home. Trust me, you'll be eating them at the allotment
before you even get them moment. You'll be shelling them and eating them down
at the plot. I always do. I just pick them and eat them
raw from the plant. Peppers. Start potting up your pepper seedlings this month.
Potatoes. This is a month you can plant out your potatoes in the
ground. Did you know you don't have to dig a trough. For many
use bull planters to use to make the whole. Rather than dig a massive
trough, Just use a long buld planter and plant them that way. It
saves so much hard work and backbreaking. Pumpkins. Start throwing pumpkin seeds this
month. Have a little competition and see who can grow the biggest pumpkin.
The question is will you be able to move it once you've grown it?
Though radish keep saying radish seeds for continuous harvests throughout the year. Radish is
one of the fastest growing vegetables and yeah it mads great. Really. Runner
beans, I were talking about this in my other episode. This is the
month to sew your runner beans. Sometimes it's best to sew them in pots
first in the greenhouse so that the mice don't pinch the seeds and the birds
can't eat the tops off the shoots. Spring onion. Continue to sew spring
onion this month for your harvest for your salads. Now spring onions. A
lot of people get mistaken and they tend to plant them in lines. What
you can do with spring onions is just plant them in bunches and they will
be fine. So like, start growing them off in seed cells, and
rather than divide them all, just plant the seed cell all together and let
it be a bunch. That's how you grow spring onions. You don't grow
individually in lines. You grow them in bunches and you get better crops from
them. Squash like pumpkins, these can be sewn this month. They take
a long time to grow, so start your seeds off now in the greenhouse.
Swede these can be sewn straight into the ground this month. They'll need
finning out when the plants are big enough. Sweet Corn. If you've not
tried growing sweet corn before, you are certainly missing out some sweet corn kernels
this month in pots in the greenhouse, and you will be harvesting your sweet
corn around September time, and trust me, it tastes absolutely fantastic. Tomatoes.
Start sewing your tomatoes if you've not sown them, but start potting them
up as well. You should have actually started them off like around March time.
I started mine off around March, so hopefully they'll start shooting through the
soil so they're not germinating yet. Hopefully they do, and hopefully we can
start potting them up this month. But be careful not to damage the plants,
fruit trees and fruit bushers. So what can we do with fruit trees
and food bushers this month? Blackberries. You still have time to plant blackberricanes,
but make sure you plant them somewhere where you can support them. The
best place to plant a BlackBerry is down the side of an allotment or garden
so that you can trail it down the fence or down the hedges at the
side. Fruit trees. It's too late to plant bear rooted fruit trees.
You can still pot up pot fruit trees, but yeah, don't be planting
fruit trees this month. Melons. If the weather is warm and sunny and
you have a greenhouse or pond tunnel, you could try growing melons. I'm
growing some this year, so some seed this month in a greenhouse or a
heated propagator. Raspberries. If you've not planted any raspberri kanes yet, you're
still chance to get them planted. Be careful where you plant them, for
as the due spread like weeds, and the roots go everywhere and they'll be
popping up everywhere, between paths, between everywhere that they can creep through.
So do watch out when planting Rasper's strawberries. Why not try growing some strawberry
seeds this month? They will through next year if you start growing strawberry seeds
this month. What flowers can be planted this month? So the flowers that
can be planted this month are lilies. These can still be planted in pots
for this month for fantastic blooms and fragrance in the garden. Marigolds is so
easy to grow. Sow some seeds in a greenhouse this month for amazing color
in the summer. Mustatiums plant these out in the garden this month. Make
sure you plant them in poor soil rather than rich soil, as that is
the soil that they prefer. Petunias, why not have some amazing hanging baskets
in the garden this year, and so your petunia seeds for fantastic blooms.
Now, this is the one that I am definitely growing some flowers. It's
always great to have some fun in the garden. So why not see who
can grow the tallest sunflower? So these impots in the greenhouse this month and
see who can grow the biggest sunflower on the allotment or garden. So that
is everything that you can sew this month in April. As you know,
there's a lot of stuff that can be sown. But yeah, I'm excited.
I'm excited for this year. We've got so much growing and so much
going on down at our allotment that is going to look absolutely amazing and hopefully
get lots and lots of flowers growing. So make sure you stay tuned,
follow my Instagram and my TikTok to keep up to date with all my pictures
and all my socials. And until next time, remember keep smiling, keep
shining, and keep gardening with Ben. Everyone, And that wraps up another
episode of Gardening with Ben. Thank you for joining me in this journey.
Remember, every seed planted is a step towards a greener world, and every
day is a chance to grow something beautiful. Keep nurturing your gardens and your
souls. Until next time, I'm Gardening with Ben reminding you to let your
garden be your sanctuary. Happy gardening, and see you in the next episode.
Remember, keep smiling, keep shining, and keep gardening with Ben.