Now we’re in April, the gardening jobs start piling up.
And whether you’re lucky enough to have an allotment – or you’re just gardening in a small outside space – there’s all sorts you can be doing now the weather is hopefully warming up.
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When war photojournalist Lalage Snow returned from Afghanistan – she took over an abandoned allotment in her village and detailed her trials and tribulations in the book ‘My family and other seedlings – a year on a Dorset allotment.’
Here the mum-of-three gives her six top tips: including the ancient Native American Three Sisters method – where you grow three specific vegetables together to benefit each other.
Nourish Your soil is your canvas and it’s not too late to give it a kick with some well rotted manure from a friendly farmer or ‘farmyard manure’ from commercial outlets. But as it is pretty late in the soil cycle year already, do ensure you dig it in and let the worms do their magic.
Plan – Now is the time to work out where you at least want your veg to grow. Which crops will come first? Is there any shade? Companion planting is a good way of working out growing combinations. Garlic, onions and carrots work well, so does the ‘three sisters’ of corn, courgette/squash and beans.
Propagate – All you need is a window sill, a pot, earth and seeds. Lettuce, spinach, chard are easy croppers and don’t need much space. Propagate contingency seedlings if, like me, your plot is a favourite eatery for pigeons, mice and slugs.
Weather watch – In the UK we are still in frost territory for another month or so. If you do plant out or direct sow, keep a bit of fleece to hand and keep an eye on the forecasts. How much water will you need and is there a good source? Can you put in a water butt to collect rainwater?
Pollinators – Plant some pollinators beloved by bees and butterflies. Nasturtium, marigold, cat mint, lavender, pelargoniums are more or less edible so you won’t be sacrificing space for taste.
Enjoy it – After a long and pretty dull winter, any form of growing is the most mindful and meditative way of watching nature’s rhythms. And if things don’t work out, it’s only a few seedlings. Try again.
The Three Sisters method has been used for thousands of years, whereby Native Americans planted sweetcorn, climbing beans and pumpkins together.
The idea was that they offer benefits to each other.
The sweetcorn provides climbing support for the beans.
The Pumpkins shade the soil and their large leaves block out weeds from growing.
And the Beans fix the nitrogen in the soil – which helps the other two.
But the important thing to remember is not to plant them all in one go.
Instead, first plant the block of sweetcorn – sweetcorn always has to be planted in blocks as it’s wind pollinated.
Then once the sweetcorn has reached around a foot high, plant the beans the base of each plant.
And at the same time plant your pumpkin seeds – one plant per metre. They need lots of watering throughout.
Currently you can buy Butternut Squash seeds for 49p from The Range, French bean climbing seeds from SowSeeds for 99p and Sweetcorn seeds for 99p from SimplySeed.
Also in Veronica’s Column This Week….
News, top tips and win an £899 barbecue and a pair of BBC Gardeners World Spring Fair tickets
WIN! BBC Gardeners World is encouraging gardeners to ‘Make a Metre Matter, asking you to transform a square metre of your outside space to make a meaningful difference.
Whether this is growing plants for pollinators or veg to cut down on food miles or even creating a compost heap, they want to hear from you.
Register your metre at www.gardenersworld.com/win/make-a-metre-matter/ and you could win a £1000 Crocus Voucher.
Their Spring Show takes place on May 2-4 in Beaulieu, Hampshire – and they’ve offered 5 pairs of tickets worth £52 per pair for Sunday May 4 to Sun Gardening readers.
You’ll get to mingle with Gardening stars like Adam Frost, Arit Anderson, and Carol Klein, with showgardens, beautiful borders, plus all sorts of shopping.
To enter visit www.thesun.co.uk/Springfair, or write to Sun Spring Fair Competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Ends 23.59GMT 19/04/25 T&Cs apply.
NEWS! For the first time ever in the UK, you can now buy Heinz 1350 tomato seeds – and literally make your own ketchup.
Introduced in 1963 by H J Heinz Co – the medium-sized, bright red tomatoes that are great for salads and sauces. – and they’re drought tolerant and don’t split as easily as others. Classed as determinate tomatoes, this variety will grow to a compact height (3-4’), equires limited staking for support and is perfectly suited for planting in containers. Available now at www.shegrowsveg.com
NEWS! MARY Berry has got behind the National Garden Scheme’s Great British Garden Party. Taking place from July 14 to 20th, its a chance to get together in green spaces to raise money for charity.
WIN! Its National Griddle Week – and what better way to celebrate than winning a Blackstone Griddle with Airfryer worth £899. To enter visit www.thesun.co.uk/BLACKSTONE or write to Sun Blackstone competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Ends 23.59GMT 19.4.25 T&Cs apply.
TOP TIP: If you’ve planted onion sets – make sure you cover with netting or fleece to prevent birds pulling up the green shoots.
JOB OF THE WEEK Start deadheading daffs if they’re past their prime, clean greenhouse glass to maximise sunlight, cut back tree suckers, plant main crop potatoes.
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