Greenhouse and House Plants
- Feed and water heavily all greenhouse plants, and repeat every week or two weeks to boost fast growth.
- Sow sweet corn and runner bean seeds in the next two weeks for planting out at the end of May.
- There is still time to sow seeds of sweet peppers and chilli peppers.
- Check all greenhouse plants for greenflies and other pests now.
- Plant out greenhouse tomato plants, purchased or home-grown.
Lawn
- Lawn feeding can be carried out now as grass growth begins, particularly if the grass is yellow and thin, but not in a rainy or cold spell.
- Mow regularly from now on.
- Use lawn mosskiller if there is heavy moss growth and feed the grass afterwards to boost it.
- Dead moss can be raked out but this is laboursome and not essential.
- Sow lawn seed as soon as conditions are suitable.
- Old, thin lawns can be over-sown with some fresh seed on the patchy areas in damp weather. A good shower of heavy rain helps to wash down the seeds and get them in contact with soil.
- Do not feed or use lawn weedkillers on wildflower areas.
Fruit, Vegetables and Herbs
- Take advantage of any chance to sow vegetable seeds if the ground is right …? most kinds can be sown from now on.
- Control weed seedlings between vegetables as soon as they come up by hoeing on a bright dry breezy day. It is easier to get rid of ‘weed seedlings’ when they are still small.
- Onion sets can be put in now.
- Potatoes can be planted.
- Apply some potash to fruit trees or a fruit fertilizer to improve growth and yield but not rich compost or manure when tends to promote soft growth and diseases.
- Spray apple and pear trees against scab diseases if the trees are of susceptible varieties and had scab last year.
Flowers
- Perennial flowers in pots can be planted at any time but it is practically too late for lifting and dividing perennials now, or at least only with lots of watering.
- Hardy annual flowers such as calendula and candytuft can be sown now and will flower in late summer.
- Dahlias and gladiolus can be planted directly outdoors from the middle of the month.
- It is late for sowing bedding flowers because they will flower very late …?buy plants in May.
Trees, Shrubs and Roses
- There are still a couple of weeks left for planting root-balled evergreens, as most kinds will be coming into growth.
- Water young trees and shrubs, as necessary, until they are settled in and making active growth.
- The new growth on bush roses and repeat-flowering climbers should be sprayed against blackspot disease.
- Magnolias can be planted now in flower as the roots are active about the same time. These are all sold in pots nowadays but a small palnt could be moved now too.
