April does what it wants. So do we, we're going to sow!

“April does what it wants” is an old Dutch saying and refers to the weather. “A dry March and a wet April, that is the farmers' will”, is also a saying. And since we are all a little bit “farmers”, in this case vegetable garden farmers ... it also applies to us and we should be happy with the rain that will fall in April. Because when we are going to sow, we also want a shower of rain so that the seed can germinate and the plants can grow. Of course, with the sun from time to time to warm the earth. For some it has taken far too long and the courgette plants have been on the windowsill for weeks, while for others it is still early enough. After all, in the past we only sowed from mid-April and then everything went well. I am talking about the vegetable gardens outside on a vegetable garden complex or in the garden or the land at home. Of course there are people who sow early and buy a propagator or special growth lamps for that. For example for peppers and paprika , aubergines and tomatoes. That is how the plants are grown and I have learned that for this group of plants that is an advantage, because in the past I never grew a nice coloured paprika and by sowing earlier, with my nice growth lamp, given to me by a good friend, I now also grow nice red paprika 's and peppers at the end of the season. But in this story I will limit myself to sowing outdoors in the open ground or, if desired, in a cold greenhouse or flat tray. baking , I'm also dealing with that this year. Works easily, you only have to dig standing, so no back problems, but upper arm muscle pain... My big garden, that is no longer there, I am going to garden smaller from this year, but even with a small garden you can still harvest something for yourself, provided the soil is good and that is still lacking for me, I start with yellow forest soil, now dug over and compost and some manure worked in. But just like in containers and pots , you also sow in the garden. My season always started in February, when I sowed broad beans in the open ground. Spinach , turnip greens , summer carrots , celery and parsley were also sown at the end of February / beginning of March, just outside, that's possible. But this year it was different, the weather was not good, it was cold and dirty, no garden weather, even ice days, no, the seeds were better in the bags in the house than in the ground. In the meantime the outlook has improved, it is now getting a little warmer during the day at the beginning of April and the nights are also said to be above zero, which is nice, but remember: “April does what it wants” …. April is according to ancient times a HE and as everyone knows the sun is a SHE, so they will have to work together to please our garden plants. So no quarrel between these two, we can't use that. At these temperatures it is of course nice to work in the vegetable garden and from what I saw, many gardens have already been dug over or worked in some other way. Also, almost everyone already has the seeds and seed potatoes at home, which is nice, then we can start. broad beans , I sowed the first around March 24 in the concrete containers , which friends let me use. But I would also like to plant some in my new garden, but I have already read stories about mice eating the broad beans and well, with my garden in the middle of the forest, that is a risk, so at the end of March I filled 28 pots with potting soil and sowed broad beans in them, when they are plants, they can be planted outside. Now I hear people thinking out loud… aren’t broad beans beans ? And beans may only be sown after mid-May…? Yes, you sow beans after mid-May, but broad beans are beans that you can sow outside early, known to others as lab beans , they can tolerate frost. spinach and turnip greens , tasty vegetables and very healthy, especially the turnip greens are nice and early to harvest and you can make a delicious spring stew from them. snow peas , sow along wire mesh or grow in a large pot to put outside later, before sowing because of possible mouse damage. Herbs, almost all herbs can be sown this month, some outside and some in the greenhouse to cover on extra cold days. Think of basil for example. Celery, parsley, etc. can simply be sown outside. You can also sow leeks from April onwards, outdoors in a row, for planting out later. Even pointed cabbage , red and white summer cabbages, cauliflower and broccoli , just sow outside. Not kale and Brussels sprouts, you can wait a while with those, I don't sow kale until the end of May. I sow cabbage in rows to plant them out later. Then you also make permanent beds, where you sow thinly, where the plants remain and which you thin out a little at most. For example summer carrots or later in May the winter carrots, but also red beets, can now be sown on such a bed. Make a nice straight groove along a line with the back of the rake , the handle and do not sow them too deep. I sometimes sow beets by placing 1 seed every 4 cm, the balls in the beet seed contain multiple seeds, so 3 or 4 beet plants can grow from 1 such ball, by placing the seeds a little further apart, you do not have to thin them out, they push each other aside during growth. You also sow carrots very thinly. If they are too thick, you can thin them out. Be sure to close the holes again, because if the carrot fly smells the carrots , it will lay its eggs there, with all the consequences that entails. Small worms that hatch from the eggs eat entire paths in the carrots , if necessary cover the bed with insect netting , if you place it 1 meter high all around, then you will have a lot of success, just leave it open at the top, the carrot fly cannot get higher than 60 cm, but press the insect netting 10 cm into the ground. Radishes, some people like them, others don't like them at all, but hey, they are such a real "vegetable garden vegetable" that they simply belong there, and now you can just sow them outside. planting potatoes , in the past you did that in April, nowadays we plant them from mid-March, but with late frost you have to protect them all the time. Now the weather this year has made sure that we are forced to plant them in April, so just like in the past, don't worry, they will give you a fine harvest. Nowadays people who have less space or no garden, plant their potatoes in bags or in a tub, there are several videos about it on youtube and I am also going to try this for fun. Endive and chicory , I will wait with that until the end of May, beginning of June, summer endive bolts easily, to prevent that you sow at a temperature of about 20 degrees, then you often have a nice harvest. Chicory is more of a late autumn vegetable that can also tolerate frost. Lettuce, I have already sown some of this, also outside, young lettuce can also tolerate a degree of frost. Swiss chard, it comes in different colours, you can sow it in rows and simply cut it off when harvesting or you can place 1 seed every 10cm, then you get larger plants from which you cut off loose leaves, after which the plant will produce new leaves again, so that you can continue harvesting until late autumn. As you can see, there is already a lot of sowing possible. "And even if April does what it wants and April has sweet, sometimes a white hat..." these plants can handle that. So don't stress if another winter shower comes and if the potatoes are already above ground and there is another night frost, throw a shovel of soil over them or place an upside-down flower pot over the plant and everything will be fine. For early potato varieties: 10-12 weeks after planting you can harvest the first ones. Don't forget to give a handful of patentkali during growth, the potatoes really need that. And let's not forget the flowers, the bees will thank us. Zinnia , Cosmea, Malva, sunflower and many more, it brightens up the garden! Have fun sowing and read the information on the bags carefully, it is there for a reason! I am looking forward to the young greenery that will soon adorn our vegetable garden again, aren't you? Wim