What to do in the garden calendar April week 3

WHAT TO DO IN THE GARDEN IN
APRIL 15th to 22nd

Susan Explains Raised Beds
Raised beds are simply areas of soil which are higher than the surrounding area. The soil is retained by edges, normally wood although bricks and other materials are often used.
They allow you to improve the soil easily and once dug they do not need further digging because they will not be walked on. Carrots, onions, beetroot, strawberries, lettuce, garlic, parsnips and radish all grow well in raised beds.

We have set up a special site for raised beds which can be found by clicking here. It's devoted entirely to raised beds and has a picture gallery to inspire you.

Sowing Seeds Outside This Week
Lots of seeds can be sown outside this week including carrots, beetroot, summer spinach, peas and winter cabbage. Brussels sprouts should be sown in seed beds now.

Less hardy vegetables should be sown inside this week so that they can be planted outside in June. We have sown our pumpkin, runner beans, french beans, tomato and sweet corn this week in three inch pots which are on the window sills. Next week we will cover how to manage seedlings on window sills when they emerge.

Strawberries
Strawberries often suffer from fungal diseases and the main cause is lack of air circulation. If you haven't done it already, clear out all dead foliage and debris from strawberry beds. This will help air to circulate and keep them disease free.

Feed your strawberries now and at weekly intervals. Tomato fertiliser is best, it encourages the growth of the fruit.

More Information
For more detailed information and timings go to our individual vegetable, herb and fruit pages. If you want to see a condensed vegetable advice page with planting, sowing, care and harvesting information for the entire year on one page then go to our vegetable calendar.

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