April is one of my favourite months. It’s the time of year when the garden, the allotment, everything is growing. We’ve had some cold and wet weather, but its been pretty sunny of recent weeks, and the sun has started to transform the plot.
The month that has just finished is the first of the year to have new produce to harvest, as well as the stalwart that is Swiss chard. Only the other day we were able to pick the first few delicate broad beans. I love harvesting the first of these beans, sliding my finger along the shell and opening it to reveal the lime green beans in their silken bed. To be honest, the majority of the crop is not quite ready, but my wife and I couldn’t resist a quick nibble on these sweet treats. We’ve also be harvesting a few radishes (the globe variety grown in boxes in the cold frame) and the first of the salad leaves.
I started sowing with enthusiasm during April, and this will continue into May with beans, peas, beetroot, chard, fennel, cavalo nero and cime di rapa all to sow. Every year I get excited by the coming of spring and good weather, sow a load of seeds and then have too many plants, then end up with a glut. I’m determined this year to sow successionally, so I’ll be curbing my enthusiasm and only sowing a few seeds every few weeks. This way I aim to keep the crops coming, but not have them coming out of my ears!
I’ve pretty much completed the big winter jobs at the plot. I’ve managed to get the fence fixed, water butts sorted and have even managed to construct a netted protection frame for some of the crops. During May I need to create another of these netted cloches, but without a doubt the major job for this month is weeding. The crops are growing, but so are the weeds. So battle commences again for the year!
This post is contributing to The Garden Share Collective; an international group of bloggers who share their vegetable patches, container gardens and the herbs they grow on their window sills.
Spade Fork Spoon 
Eek! It’s all so exciting. You are a good bit ahead of us, our baby broad beans will only be going in this weekend! Hugs C
Thanks for the comment. Yeah, they’re quite early. I overwintered these ones, so they are well ahead of the spring sown ones which I put out last week. We’re quite a way south from you too; that must have an impact.
Isn’t it great to be able to start harvesting this year’s crops? … and not so great to be pulling up this year’s weeds already, but I guess that’s what gardening is all about.
Yeah, with every good edible plant growing, there’s a weed that grows faster. Perhaps eating weeds is the answer! Nettles are dead tasty.
Great pictures! But are you sure those bluebells aren’t the dreaded Spanish sort, which are beginning to overwhelm our more delicate English ones? I found some near us today and seriously wondered whether I ought to grub them out 😦
Thanks. Yeah, think they are. But they still look good.
I know. I just hope they don’t take over, as they have apparently in some parts of the south,
We’ve only got those. Haven’t seen any English ones around the city at all. Glad of some spring colour!
Such beautiful photographs. I know how good those first sweet straight-off-the vine broad beans taste. I hope you have staggered your crop (unlike others I know ). Are nettles that good? It must be very English to cultivate and eat them, I am not sure if we have the same variety here as they are reknown but not common in Oz. Are they an acquired taste? It sounds like you are having great fun planning your Spring/summer garden, I look forward to seeing how it grows next month. 😀
Thanks for your comment. The nettles are delicious; a real fresh green taste. Not really an acquired taste, a slightly stronger taste than spinach I would say.
Yes, I’ve got a succession of beans sowed. May even plant another row in a week or so. They’re so good when small you need a load!
Thanks for your kind comment about the photos.