Crops wont be affected by wet weather of late spring, says Matthew Biggs

The wet weather in late spring will not affect crops, but germination will have been slower, according to BBC Radio 4’s Gardener’s Question Time panellist, Matthew Biggs. He offered advice to gardeners at the Birmingham NEC for this year’s BBC Gardener’s World Live event.

“Depending on the soil type you have, the cold, wet weather early on will mean that the soil will have warmed up very slowly, particularly clay which gets waterlogged. It has slowed the season down,” he said.

“A lot of people sowed and planted early. Many won’t have had the germination at the time. But now everything should be germinating quickly.”

He added that despite seeds sown early ending up waterlogged and erratic germination, it is not too late for a second sowing.

“What happens is that seeds can germinate in a matter of days in warm weather. You can catch up and redress the balance,” he said.