1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:04,480 Welcome to Gardening with Ben, the podcast where we dig into the soil of 2 00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:09,080 our gardens and the depths of our green funds. I'm your host, Ben, 3 00:00:09,359 --> 00:00:12,839 here to guide you through the joints of gardening, from sowing seeds to 4 00:00:12,919 --> 00:00:18,280 reaping bountiful harvests. Each episode will explore tips, tricks, and tales from 5 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:24,800 the garden and allotment, sharing insights from ourself and stories from our own back 6 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:29,719 garden adventures. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just getting your hands dirty for 7 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:33,960 the first time, there's something here for everyone, So grab your bow and 8 00:00:34,039 --> 00:00:40,880 gardening gloves and let's get growing with Gardening with Ben. Hello, and welcome 9 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:46,320 back to a brand new episode of Gardening with Ben well In. Today's episode 10 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:51,119 is our monthly episode where we talk about all the different jobs that need doing 11 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:55,719 in the garden this time of month. And there's not many jobs that need 12 00:00:55,799 --> 00:00:59,719 doing, to be honest, because we've done a lot of the jobs within 13 00:01:00,079 --> 00:01:06,079 throughout the winter, getting it all prepared and already, and hopefully you've been 14 00:01:06,079 --> 00:01:10,480 following along and ticking these jobs off as we go along. And again with 15 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,319 this episode, like I always say, get yourself a little notepad and then 16 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:18,799 make a note of the jobs which need doing, obviously the ones relevant to 17 00:01:18,879 --> 00:01:22,519 you, and then you can tick them off as we go along and get 18 00:01:22,519 --> 00:01:25,599 them all sorted. And I tend to tick them off, and then I 19 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:27,879 know I've done them, and then I can move on to any other jobs 20 00:01:27,879 --> 00:01:33,200 which need doing around the garden that I find that I have to get done. 21 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:36,879 So what jobs need doing in April, Well, we're going to be 22 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:41,599 looking at what jobs need doing in the vegetable garden, what needs to be 23 00:01:41,719 --> 00:01:45,280 done in the fruit garden, and what needs to be done in the flower 24 00:01:45,359 --> 00:01:49,239 garden. And we'll start off with looking at what needs to be done in 25 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:53,200 the vegetable garden. And obviously this is most relevant to me because of my 26 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:59,319 allotment and growing the fruit and vege down there that I've got now something that 27 00:01:59,359 --> 00:02:02,959 I don't actually grow myself, which I should actually have a growing down there, 28 00:02:04,319 --> 00:02:07,680 because once you've got it planted, it's there forever, which is asparagus. 29 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,439 And hopefully these should be now growing and you should be able to start 30 00:02:12,479 --> 00:02:16,159 harvesting these. Remember don't let the spears get too big, and just keep 31 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:21,639 snipping them off and hopefully you'll keep getting crops throughout the year. And as 32 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:24,479 you know, asparagus is expensive to buy, so if you've got some asparagus 33 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:30,000 plants in your garden, you are doing a good job and hopefully it be 34 00:02:30,039 --> 00:02:34,960 able to have some of those with your meals peas. If you're grow in 35 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,840 an early cup of peas, make sure you start to add supports for them 36 00:02:38,879 --> 00:02:45,039 to grow up as to send off little tendrils which hook themselves onto stuff and 37 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:50,159 support them. So make sure they're off the ground because if you leave them 38 00:02:50,199 --> 00:02:53,120 to just grow along the ground, the mice and the rats will come and 39 00:02:53,159 --> 00:02:55,439 eat them all. So make sure you've got some supports from to grow up, 40 00:02:57,039 --> 00:03:00,840 either something like a wigwam or some chicken wine that will do perfectly. 41 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:06,479 So yeah, make sure that your peas are supported and they can grow up 42 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:10,280 it nice and easily. Next up is start to prepare all your seed beds, 43 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:15,280 and what I mean by that is that we're getting them all ready now 44 00:03:15,479 --> 00:03:21,080 for planting stuff out towards May time. And this means by improving your soil 45 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:25,879 by adding compost and green manure to help the soil and give it the nutrients 46 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:30,400 and food which needs the plants to grow. So start adding that into the 47 00:03:30,439 --> 00:03:36,840 compost into the soil so that you get better crops this year and it can 48 00:03:36,919 --> 00:03:44,199 start to add nutrition into the soil before you start planting everything out. Fruit 49 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:46,960 trees, what do we need to do with the fruit trees this month? 50 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,879 So let's look at what needs doing in the fruit garden. So fruit trees, 51 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:53,919 make sure that these have been mulched. And when I say like mulch, 52 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,919 you can get the mulch from the wood chips or you can get mulching 53 00:03:58,039 --> 00:04:00,719 bags from diy store. But yeah, if you can get the wood chip, 54 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,360 that will make it a lot cheaper because you can get a lot of 55 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:09,560 it for free if you know people that do wood chippings. So it starts 56 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:13,400 to melt around your fruit trees, but don't mult right up to the trunk 57 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:17,360 as this could cause rotting on the tree trunk itself. So give them a 58 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:24,000 good mulch and yeah, hopefully that will improve your crops this year. Raspberries, 59 00:04:24,319 --> 00:04:28,839 what you need to do is add a slow release fertilizer to the plants. 60 00:04:29,399 --> 00:04:30,600 Now, I've got a lot of raspberries on my allotment, so this 61 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:34,480 is always a good little tip for myself. As I get some chicken manewer, 62 00:04:34,519 --> 00:04:40,160 and I just sprinkle it around the bottom and leave it to release throughout 63 00:04:40,199 --> 00:04:45,959 the year, and yeah, hopefully it gives it a good old fashioned kickup 64 00:04:46,439 --> 00:04:51,680 and gets it started and boosted. So what needs doing in flower gardens? 65 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,800 Like I said, there's not much stuff that needs doing this month, not 66 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:00,120 at all down in the allotment at garden. The jobs which need doing it 67 00:05:00,199 --> 00:05:04,360 in the flower garden this month. Or heathers. You need to prune winter 68 00:05:04,439 --> 00:05:08,920 heaves this month as they start to fade back. Now, my winter heather's 69 00:05:09,199 --> 00:05:13,319 still in bloom. It's not dying back or fading back whatsoever. Someone leaving 70 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:15,839 it for the time being until it fades back. I definitely won't be touching 71 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:21,360 it while it's out in bloom. Pans is keep deadheading those old winter panthers 72 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:26,439 whileever you're deheading them, the more the flowers will grow. Don't let them 73 00:05:26,439 --> 00:05:30,839 go to seed. Dehead them and take off the old panze. Prim Roses, 74 00:05:31,199 --> 00:05:35,079 these can be divided this month as they stop flowering. The best thing 75 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:39,879 about prim roses is you just keep dividing them and dividing them and you'll get 76 00:05:39,879 --> 00:05:44,439 more and more flowers from them, and it's cheaper than buying new ones, 77 00:05:44,519 --> 00:05:47,639 just keep dividing them and you can have a whole flower bed of prim roses. 78 00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:54,399 Roses. Roses will be waking up and growing again now, so make 79 00:05:54,439 --> 00:05:59,720 sure you tie up any rambling roses and start trading them back around where they 80 00:05:59,759 --> 00:06:03,560 need to grow. Sweet peas. Pinch out the tips of the sweet peas 81 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:08,079 so that they bush out when they grow. So if you're grow in sweet 82 00:06:08,079 --> 00:06:14,199 peas, make sure you pinch off the tops and then they'll start to grow 83 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,040 bush here and you'll get more and more flowers on them. So, as 84 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:23,000 I said, there weren't many tips for this month for jobs in the garden, 85 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:25,560 so you probably could get a lot of that done it in the weekend, 86 00:06:25,639 --> 00:06:29,759 to be honest, and then you can get onto other jobs like painting 87 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:34,040 your fences, painting your beds, doing any tiding up and sorry, more 88 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:39,800 and more seeds, which we're going to be talking about in the next episode, 89 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,360 so make sure you come back for the next episode where we're going to 90 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:49,319 be talking about what seeds can be planted in in not February, what seeds 91 00:06:49,319 --> 00:06:55,240 can be planted in April. So if you're not following this podcast already, 92 00:06:56,160 --> 00:07:00,319 do give it a follow, Do give it a like and you'll get noticed 93 00:07:00,519 --> 00:07:04,120 next time. The next podcast is out, which will be tomorrow, so 94 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:10,720 thanks for listening. As always, remember keep smiling, keep shining, and 95 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:16,399 keep gardening with Bet everyone, And that wraps up another episode of Gardening with 96 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:21,800 Ben. Thank you for joining me in this journey. Remember, every seed 97 00:07:21,839 --> 00:07:27,319 planted is a step towards a greener world, and every day is a chance 98 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:32,480 to grow something beautiful. Keep nurturing your gardens and your souls. Until next 99 00:07:32,519 --> 00:07:36,879 time, I'm Gardening with Ben, reminding you to let your garden be your 100 00:07:36,959 --> 00:07:44,000 sanctuary. Happy gardening, and see you in the next episode. Remember keep 101 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:48,040 smiling, keep shining, and keep gardening with Ben.