April is an all go month on the allotment but plot holders should proceed with caution. We all love the longer days and warm sunshine but beware there is the treat of hard, night frosts. Hold back rather than take a risk. It isn’t the loss of seedlings or young plants that causes the problems but the loss of your precious time that you will ever get back that does the damage. The allotment will always catch up eventually and reward your patience with bumper harvest.
To do…
Continue with planting out the seed potatoes; complete the planting of onion sets and carry on making successional sowings of beetroot, carrots, parsnips, lettuce, spinach, spring onions, kohl rabi, radish, turnips, early peas, Swiss chard. Sow maincrop peas and make the last sowing of summer broad beans.
On a prepared seed bed sow the seed leeks and summer cabbage. Plant out celeriac grown on earlier and keep the plants well watered all through the summer. Sow under glass, in pots and trays filled with fresh seed compost, the seeds of runner beans, sweet corn, courgettes, pumpkins, squashes, outdoor/ridge cucumber.
Early sowings of Brussels sprouts will need thinning out this month and the soil for next month’s transplanting of sweet corn, courgettes, marrows, pumpkins and outdoor/ridge cucumbers will need preparing. Put up the runner bean poles and start to support the growing peas with brushwood or netting. Prepare seed beds for outdoor sowing of main crop vegetables next month.
Invoices Sent
There will again be no increase in charges this year. The committee has decided that rents for plots, membership and water charges will like last year remain the same.
Everyone should have had sent an invoice, do contact us if you have not received your invoice. The easiest way to pay is by bank transfer, our bank details are on your invoices. Other payment methods will not be accepted unless arranged with our treasurer.
Please be aware that if people are not in contact with us regarding their rent or are not maintaining plots they may lose their plots. Please also note that each plot holder is responsible for keeping the roadway & verges clear & vegetation on verges should
Don’t Water with hosepipes
It’s that time of year again where everything needs watering, but please do not be tempted to use your hose directly or with a sprinkler. We have all managed really well last year without watering with a hose, and this has enabled us for the first time in ages to manage the water bill, and thus keep charges the same this year. It’s okay to fill water butts up with a hose, but collecting rainwater is better for us and for your plants.
Thank you for you continued cooperation 🙂