Planting & Sowing in Spring-It’s All a Matter of Timing

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April is the month when planting and sowing is on most allotmenteers minds. Looking in some of the gardening books they talk about getting your first early potatoes in late March and sowing parsnips in early April. But beware – they don’t take into account where you live or the current weather conditions. In fact you get the impression some of the writers must live in Cornwall and have a garden with a south facing wall! And of course they are often stock articles written ages ago and don’t reflect the current weather.

There are two things to consider-Frost and Soil Temperature. Frost can knock out the tops of delicate plants overnight. In our area we can get light frosts as late as early May-it’s a result of being too far away from the sea and hence the warming effect of the Gulf Stream. Potato tops are vulnerable so you need to plant them so the tops come out after early May which usually means sowing them mid April. I have to admit I plant all types at the same time whether they are earlies or maincrops and I know many people on the site do the same. Delicate things like climbing or French beans, sweet corn and pumpkins and squashes also need to be planted late. Often they are started off in a greenhouse. Plants such as broad beans and peas are toughies and can be sown in early April or sometimes earlier as can onion and shallot sets.

Soil temperature is important as seeds will only germinate within a range of temperatures and usually the higher in that range the better. Some seeds like broad beans, peas and radish grow at quite low temperatures. Parsnips and carrots need a bit more. Parsnips need about 12C to grow well but they will grow a bit at 5C. Hence there’s no point in sowing them until the soil warms up to those temperatures. That of course depends on the weather. We all know some April weather can feel like early March. So don’t rush out to plant them until it warms up enough and the forecast says will stay warm for a while. Otherwise the seed just rots in the ground. However you can of course use cloches to keep the temperature up. A good test if the weeds are growing well so will your seeds!

A website that allows you to find the best dates for planting/sowing  for your area is GardenFocused. 

Happy sowing and remember keep an eye on the weather forecasts!

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George Gray