What to do in the garden in April

Now that daylight saving is over, the days are getting shorter and cooler.  Even still, there is plenty of time to start seedlings from seed.  It’s getting a bit late for brassicas, so I would concentrate on sowing the following seeds.

Seeds to sow this month

• Broad beans
• Peas (dwarf and tall)
• Lettuce
• Rocket
• Mesclun
• Spinach
• Silverbeet
• Carrots
• Radish
• Onions
• Parsley
• Dill
• Coriander
• Poppies

Seedlings to plant this month
With the country currently in lockdown, garden centres are closed and seedlings are generally unavailable.  Awapuni, a company that ships seedlings within New Zealand, is open for orders twice a week.  The following seedlings can be planted in the garden in April.

• Beetroot
• Broccoli
• Broad beans
• Cauliflower
• Cabbage
• Kohlrabi
• Fennel
• Leeks
• Spring onions
• Onions
• Kale
• Pak choi/bok choy
• Silverbeet
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Rocket
• Mesclun

There’s lots to do around the garden.  If you keep your storage shed well-stocked like me, these tasks probably don’t require a trip to the garden centre, so there’s no excuse for not being active in the garden!
​
Gardening tasks

• Plant garlic.  While traditionally planted on the shortest day, garlic can be planted anytime from April until July.  While it is not possible to order seed garlic from suppliers due to lockdown, you may have grown garlic last summer, in which case you can use your best cloves for planting for next season
• Pull out all summer crops which have finished
• Weed garden beds in preparation of autumn planting
• Make a pile of garden waste, to be composted or disposed of by your garden waste service (ours is still operating despite lockdown)
• Spray weeds with weed killer.  Look out for kikuyu growing over the edges of your garden bed.  Yesterday, I sprayed ours with an organic weed killer my uncle made for me
• Prune roses.  Traditionally this is done in winter but there is no harm cutting back any extra-long branches which poke you as you walk by