Knowing what to sow in the kitchen garden in April is pretty easy because it is the month where everything really gets going in the garden. The temperature warms up quite quickly, and there will be more daylight, making it a great time to sow many seeds and get them off to a good start for the season ahead. It is an exciting time for gardeners, so get your seed packets ready, seed trays, compost and plant labels ready so you are prepared to get sowing seeds.
1. Outdoor sowing
Many seed choices can be sown directly outside where they will grow, particularly if you don’t have a greenhouse or much indoor space. Delicious and easy to grow crops such as beetroot and Swiss chard can be sown in a well-prepared seedbed during April. If you would like to grow carrots, add a little sand to your compost and sow lines on carrots ready to thin out at a later date as they grow. You can also sow many different varieties of salads, including:
- lettuce,
- radish,
- turnips,
- spring onions,
- spinach.
2. It is time for squashes
The joy of growing pumpkins and odd-looking squash is so much fun, and April is the time to sow
- courgettes,
- pumpkins,
- all different kinds of squash,
- marrows.
Take a look at the many varieties so you can grow squash that you will really enjoy eating, from the newer ‘mashed potato’ squash to finding a gorgeous looking blue squash as well. Make sure you have plenty of room as the vines take up a lot of space and need plenty of water and light.
3. In the greenhouse
If you have a greenhouse or an indoor area where your seeds can be warm and with good light, you can sow some sweet peppers, cucumbers, aubergine and tomatoes. If you haven’t got room, wait a little longer before sowing outside undercover. Don’t forget to make sure that if you are growing in a greenhouse, it is clean to keep away pests and diseases and well ventilated on warm days, so your seedlings don’t struggle.
4. The ones that take a long time
Leeks are delicious when homegrown and actually don’t take up that much space because they can be grown in lines in a garden, raised bed or on an allotment. Sow them in April at two weekly intervals until mid-June, and they can then be harvested from August all the way through the winter. So you can have your own homegrown leeks for a festive feast as well.
There are a lot of seeds to sow in April, so we hope you enjoy the process.
Please choose from our seed range in store along with seed trays, compost and everything you need.