The days have been wet, cold and mostly dull with only a handful of sunny days. Everything is growing well considering but some of my tomatoes are needing a little extra TLC due to the cold. I probably moved them to the greenhouse too soon and even with bringing in on an evening I think the cold shock of going out on a morning and the cold evenings before bringing them back in were just too much.
Beginning of April was filled with gorgeous Muscari in the garden borders. I adore them and definitely need more 😍 They flowered for ages and didn’t seem affected by the wet ground. Tulips have been a little disappointing though. The wet ground and slugs haven’t helped at all. I planted so many in the autumn and only around 20% have actually appeared which is a real shame.
The winter squash have popped through and by the end of the month have been potted up. They do grow so quickly. I’m keeping them in the greenhouse until June so i can make sure they are as big and strong as possible before going out. Courgettes sown beginning of the month were through within the week! They’ve been potted on and are already bigger than the pumpkins! 🎃
Autumn sown onions have been planted out at last. they’ve grown quite well since being potted on. I definitely need to look after my autumn sowings a lot better going forward. Potting on sooner and/or feeding to help get the best from my plants.
This month I’ve had a few lovely leek harvests which have been just wonderful. There’s still plenty left to lift and some I will leave to flower so I can save my own seeds. I’m glad I left them as they’ve fattened up so much over the past couple months.
I’ve mulched the garlic and onion beds with Magic Mulch, my fave 😍 which will give the plants a good boost 💪 plus it also makes the beds look amazing! I’ve also sprinkled some Sulphate of Potash which helps the bulbs to swell. The first year I tried this the difference was amazing so I’ve now used it the past 3 years.
The garlic won’t be harvested until July so for now its just leaving it to do its thing. The bulbs will be fattening up nicely and soon we will have scapes from the hardnecks to enjoy too!
As we head into May I’m hoping for some sunshine and warmer weather. Happy growing everyone,
Steph💚
Steph’s Allotment 
Your garlic looks amazing, most of mine rotted away during the winter. I am waiting impatiently to get the squashes out too – they are taking up too much space in the living room.
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