End of April crop advice

As April draws to an end and the ground begins to warm up a range of different seeds can now be sown directly into the ground, the Daily Telegraph notes.

Citing advice compiled by the Royal Horticultural Society, the publication notes that plants including Swiss chard, pickling onions, perpetual spinach, kohlrabi, radishes, leeks, turnips, beetroots and carrots can now be planted straight into the warmer soil.

Those wishing to encourage an earlier crop of strawberries should cover their plants in fleeces or cloches and uncover them once they begin to flower to give pollinating insects access to them.

Finally, asparagus should be harvested with each spear being cut three-quarters of an inch below soil level, it is noted.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Mail recently noted that strawberries will grow perfectly well in a hanging basket or container, meaning that horticulturalists who do not have a lot of space in their garden need not miss out on growing their own produce.