Dartmouth Gardener April 2011
April Sun Flowers
April tends to be one of those months that can have two different kinds of weather; long hot sunny days followed by cold nights with the risk of frost in the early part of the month or on the other hand, one dry day followed by three wet days.
As there is so much to do in April the gardener has to be ever watchful to be able to achieve all desired tasks. Choosing the optimum time to fit in the right job.
Despite our plot being set on top of a hill and having to cope with winds from every quarter, last year many of the other plot holders grew a good crop of tall sun flowers.
There is something about sunflowers that lifts the heart and raises hope, whether memories of growing them as children or seen as the emblem of the Calendar girls and many other charities.
Plant breeders have now developed a host of new varieties so it’s not just the tall giants can be grown in your garden. Cultivars such as lemon sorbet is a branching type offering multiple blooms of pale yellow reaching a height of 5ft.Varities ‘ Terracotta’ and’ Ruby sun’ offer a variation in colour.
If it’s the skies you wish to reach for, then it’s variety’s such as’ Gold rush’ 6ft or the colossal ‘Mongolian giants’ reaching three metres or more.
The seeds, are easy to sow and germinate in a few days followed by robust plants soaring to the sky.
Blooming is triggered by daylight reaching 10 hrs; this will initiate the forming of the flower buds. These buds will track the sun as it passes overhead.
In early April, sow two or three seeds in 9 cm pots of general - purpose compost, or later in the month plant in open ground that has been prepared well.
Sunflowers can be happily grown in containers, but the larger the pot the better - they like to have a deep root run. Pipes inserted to a depth of half that of the pot would aid watering.
Young plants are vulnerable to attack by slugs and snails and mature plants can be susceptible to powdery mildew so be careful not to over water.
Last year on May 1st, guerrilla gardeners in Brussels and London who transform neglected patches around their city, declared May1st as International Sunflower Guerrilla day. They and others around the world planted sunflower seeds in public spaces and fought hard to help them reach towering maturity. Just imagine seeing sunflowers adorning the banks of the Dart?
The Vegetable Garden
Sowing and planting
• Chit and plant out second early potatoes in the first half of the month, main crop potatoes in the second half.
• Sow seed outdoors for beetroot, carrots, Swiss chard, summer cauliflower, kohl rabi, lettuce, leeks, radish, turnip, spring and pickling onions, peas and perpetual spinach in well-prepared soil.
• Sow seed indoors of marrows, courgettes, pumpkins and squash. Also sweet peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines, celery, salads and globe artichokes.
• In very mild areas sow dwarf French beans and sweet corn outside under cloches or fleece. If the weather is cooler than the norm wait until May.
• Sow a seedbed of brassicas to provide transplants of sprouting broccoli, cauliflowers and cabbages for planting out in June or July.
• Transplant broad beans grown in pots.
• Plant shallots, onion sets
• Plant out onions sown from seed earlier in the spring.
• Pot up tomato seedlings when they develop true leaves above the more rounded seed leaves.
• Remember to harden off plants even those bought from the garden centre, before planting outside. This can be done by placing the plants out side on warm days and placing them under cover at night.
First Published April 2011 By The Dart
