BY SALLY EDWARDS
WILL APRIL SHOWER?
April may not seem like the roughest month weather-wise but you could give your garden plants a boost if you protect them this season. We have no crystal ball and won’t know if there will be April showers or not but I have enough regret in my life to underestimate the rain. So plan for a little precipitation and drill a few extra holes in your pots and planters just in case. Excessive rain on plants can cause disease by fungal and bacterial pathogens on foliage and root systems. Leaves decay, stems wilt and fruit rots. So avert some of these problems by promoting good drainage, clearing away any dead matter by raking, raising beds and even removing dead limbs. You may even need to use fungicide, but prevention rather than cure is best so look at the drainage and moisture pattern in your garden in April and plant or prune appropriately in the next proper season.
Don’t Give a Frosty Reception
It’s so hard to tell when the last frost will be, after all we are in April! But on average April-May in the UK are the last frost dates, even in the south of England. Be on the cautious side unless you have money to burn and a cold heart! Why not keep an eye on the weather using the many and varied weather apps we have today. They aren’t 100% guaranteed but they are surprisingly accurate and could save you a lot of trouble. But overall, patience is a virtue here.
Think You’re Hard Enough?
Harden off your plants to give them the best chance to thrive. Hardening off means you introduce your young indoor plants, either bought from nurseries or grown from seed or cuttings, to outdoor conditions SLOWLY rather than shock them by moving them immediately out in the natural weather, which can restrict a plant’s growth. Do this over a period of approximately 2-3 weeks. Hardening off will thicken the plant’s leaf waxiness and make it a sturdier plant. It won’t work miracles though; if there is a late frost, it won’t save a plant that is frost sensitive. See previous paragraph.
So who knew that April was such a perilous month for gardeners! We thought we were on the home strait! But isn’t that the fun of gardening? Learning new skills and identifying the valuable work you do. If it was easy it would be boring!