APRIL is the perfect time to sow sun loving tomatoes and other veggies.
Here, green-fingered expert Olga Grieves gives Natalie Clarke her insider’s guide to turning seeds into delicious table-ready vegetables.
FEED HUNGRY TOMATOES
When to plant:Now. If you haven’t sown any yet, there’s still time – but hurry!
Where to plant: and need at least 6-8 hours a day. You can grow them on a balcony or indoors on a sunny windowsill. In a hanging basket or window box works too.
Ready to harvest: 60-80 days from planting.
How to do it:If growing tomatoes indoors, opt for determinate varieties that stop growing at a certain height, as indeterminate ones require trellises.
Don’t sow hundreds of seeds – less is more. Use damp compost and sow three to four seeds per variety in a small tray or pot.
Tomatoes are hungry plants, so once fruits start forming, feed them every couple of weeks with a high potash fertiliser (Miracle-Gro Pour And Feed Liquid Plant Food 1L, £4.80, ).
Gently press seeds into the compost, cover with a thin layer, and place them on a sunny windowsill above a radiator for warmth. Keep the two strongest seedlings and discard the weakest.
Once they develop true leaves (scalloped or rugged in shape), pot them on, burying them deep for strong roots. At 20cm tall, they’re ready for buckets, grow bags, greenhouses, or polytunnels.
For grow bags, cut open pre-formed holes; for buckets, drill drainage holes, fill with compost, water, and plant seedlings deep.
TICKLE FLOWERS FOR AUBERGINES
When to plant: Mid May onwards.
Where to plant: Warm and sunny windowsills in two to five litre pots.
Ready to harvest:80-120 days from sowing.
How to do it:Sow aubergine seeds from late to early March to give them a strong start. Missed the sowing window?
Don’t fret — just head to your local garden centre and grab a tray of plug plants. Aubergines are closely related to tomatoes but come with a touch more attitude — they’re fussier and need a little extra care to thrive.
Mist your plants regularly to prevent bolting, which happens when they go into flower prematurely, marking the beginning of the end for the plant’s life cycle.
When your aubergine plant reaches 30–40cm tall, it’s time for a bit of tough love: pinch out the main stem to encourage side shoots, which lead to more flowers and, ultimately, more fruit.
Feed them with high-potash fertiliser every two weeks. Growing indoors?
Grab a small paintbrush and gently tickle inside each flower to help with pollination. Congratulations — you’ve just created aubergine babies!
KEEP SOIL MOIST FOR COURGETTES
When to plant:April is perfect – they grow fast and will be ready for planting out by late May.
Where to plant:Tricky indoors, but a sunny garden or patio is ideal. For those with balconies, try a climbing variety like Shooting Star.
Ready to harvest:As soon as 8 weeks from sowing.
How to do it:Start by sowing two seeds per 9cm pot filled with peat-free compost or garden soil. Water thoroughly and place the pots on a warm windowsill or in a greenhouse to germinate.
Once your seedlings have developed four leaves, it’s time to pot them up into five-litre containers. Keep the soil consistently moist to ensure healthy growth.
Unless you’re a courgette fanatic, two plants are plenty — they’re incredibly prolific. For variety, try growing Black Beauty (a classic with fleshy green fruit) and Golden (bright yellow and visually stunning). Feeling adventurous?
Tromboncino courgettes are long, curvy, and bound to raise a smile with their quirky shapes.
Bonus:Courgette flowers are edible and utterly delectable when battered and fried – perfect for a tasty treat straight from your garden.
KEEP CONTAINERS COOL FOR LETTUCE
When to plant: Anytime from now to October.
Where to plant: Pots, trays, windowsill boxes – somewhere cool and sunny. Avoid the hottest spots – lettuces dislike heat.
Ready to harvest:30-60 days.
How to do it:Fill your container with peat-free compost, water it thoroughly, sprinkle your lettuce seeds evenly across the surface, then gently press them down and top with a thin layer of compost.
Mist regularly to keep the soil moist and prevent bolting, which happens when lettuce produces flowers instead of leaves.
Place your container in a spot with partial shade — lettuce loves cooler conditions and will thrive out of the hot midday sun.
Supermarket lettuce can be a bit uninspiring, so why not grow something more exciting?
Try Dark Roden, with its stunning purple leaves and satisfying crunch, or Red Velvet, a deep red variety that looks as good as it tastes.
For a mix of textures and flavours, go for a Mesclun mix. Harvest as baby leaves for fresh salads or let them grow to full heads — either way, homegrown lettuce is a game-changer.
DON’T OVER GROW BEETROOT
When to plant:Any time from now until .
Where to plant:Outside, in crumbly soil that you know does not get waterlogged, or in a container.
Ready to harvest:40-60 days.
How to do it: Prepare the bed by weeding and gently raking the soil until it’s loose. Make a drill, 3cm deep, water it, and plant the seeds 10cm apart.
Don’t stress if you sow more – you can always thin them out later. Ideally, rows should be 30cm apart, but if space is tight, 20cm is fine.
Gently cover the seeds with soil and before long, you’ll have baby beetroots. The same method applies to growing in containers – just make sure it’s big enough, at least 50cm wide.
Fill it with compost, water it, scatter the seeds, then cover with a thin layer of .
Both the root and leaves of beetroot are edible. Young leaves are great in salads or added to soups. Harvest beetroot when they’re ball-sized – that’s when they’re tastiest.
Huge beetroots may look impressive but are often woody.
GET DECORATIVE WITH SWISS CHARD
When to plant: Anytime from April onwards.
Where to plant:Free-draining soil, partly shaded areas.
Ready to harvest:Chard is a dream plant for beginner gardeners – easy to grow, vibrant, and versatile. You can start harvesting baby greens just 4–5 weeks after sowing, with mature leaves following shortly after.
To get started, sow seeds directly outside in drills or large outdoor pots. Sprinkle them evenly, cover lightly with soil, and let them work their magic.
Aim for one seed every 10cm, and thin them out later if they look overcrowded.
Chard thrives with minimal effort, but it can bolt if the soil dries out, so keep it well-watered.
In hot summers, you might need to water every other day, while cooler requires less frequent attention. Water in the early morning or evening to reduce evaporation.
For a pop of colour, grow Canary Yellow chard alongside classic red and white-stemmed varieties – their bright yellow stems are stunning and make a striking focal point in any garden or container.
USE RADISHES TO BOOST SPINACH
When to plant:Any time from now to summer.
Where to plant: Anywhere – pots, beds, containers, veg or flower beds.
Ready to harvest: 40-50 days.
How to do it:Like chard, it’s a “throw it and grow it”; plant. Sow it in drills, which are shallow trenches, or sprinkle in a pot and keep moist. Pick young leaves often – they’re the most delicious at this stage.
Spinach loves the shade, so it’s perfect for darker, less sunny gardens or patios. It’s very easy to grow, but slugs and snails can be a nuisance.
I’ve found that growing sacrificial radishes nearby works a treat – the slugs go for those instead and leave my spinach and lettuce alone.
HARVEST LEEKS YOUNG FOR FLAVOUR
When to plant:Sow in April.
Where to plant:Outside in a seedbed or in trays and transplant once big enough.
They can also be grown in containers. You will need a big 10 litre bucket or if you only have a balcony space, five litre bucket will be enough.
Ready to harvest:four to five months.
How to do it:Sow in trays on damp compost and press the seeds lightly into the surface.
Cover with a thin layer of compost or vermiculite and keep them somewhere warm.
It’ll take about 8 weeks before they’re ready to transplant, so be patient. In June/July, once they’re 20cm tall, plant them deeply in drills, spaced every 15cm. The same method applies if you put them in containers.
Keep earthing them up – adding around the base of the plant – for lovely white stems.
You can also harvest them young, like mini leeks – they might be small, but they pack loads of flavour.
MAKE SOIL LOOSE FOR CARROTS
When to plant:Any time from now till summer.
Where to plant: in A Container or directly in the ground.
Ready to harvest: 70-90 days.
How to do it: The same method applies to sowing in containers or directly in the ground.
Make sure the soil is loose and not clumpy – carrots need to stretch, otherwise they fork and end up wonky or stumpy. Wet the soil or compost surface enough so you can feel it’s damp if you put your finger in it, sprinkle the seeds, and cover.
Once they come through, thin them out early on if they’re overcrowded. Carrots can be prone to carrot fly.
A few things I’ve found that help: I grow chives and calendula between the rows to mask the scent, and I use fine mesh to cover the crop from the moment I sow – it’s a great physical barrier.
Also, try funky varieties like Cosmic Purple, Purple Dragon, or Solar Yellow.
