April’s weather hasn’t been all that good for gardening. Last week was on the wet side and the result is that the allotment needs a few days of dry weather before any more beds can be dug over.

Fortunately, we’d already prepared some beds ready for potato planting.

We’ve also had some chilly nights with the temperature only just hovering above the 0°C or 32°F mark. I noticed today at the allotment the few volunteer potatoes that have dared to surface have been caught by the cold nights.

It’s just as well none of the potatoes we’ve planted so far have produced any shoots above ground.

It’s made me a bit reluctant to move tender seedlings from our indoor growlight into the greenhouse. However, I have taken the plunge and moved a few tomato seedlings. 

I’ll keep a close eye on the forecast and cover them with fleece if any frost is forecast.

Last year we had a disaster with parsnips. we just couldn’t get them to germinate so this year we are experimenting with trying to chit the seeds on a damp kitchen towel. Once chitted these will be planted directly into the allotment. We will also try some seeds using the same method we have used for many years which is sowing multiple seeds in compost lined trenches. I’m not sure about transplanting root vegetables such as parsnips and carrots as it is critical to avoid damaging the tap root to avoid any forked roots. It will be interesting to see how pre chitted seeds perform compared with our normal method.

We’re making a video of the whole process so if you like to see the progress so far the video is included below.