April Growers' Guide
It is time for bustling activity as we prepare for the seasonal shift. With the temperatures cooling and the days becoming shorter, our focus turns to cultivating a variety of crops perfectly suited for the milder conditions. Root vegetables such as carrots and beets eagerly push through the earth waiting to be pulled and made into a hearty soup. With each harvest we form a deeper connection to the land and the rhythms of nature, reminding us of the timeless cycle of growth and renewal that accompanies each season of change.
Flowers
Seeds to sow now
Agastache, Alyssum, Calendula, Cornflowers, Delphinium, Echinacea, Foxglove, Lupins, Nasturtium, Poppy, Pyrethrum, Salvia, Sweet peas, Tansy, Zinnia
Dead head and prune spent flowers from Summer.
Get bulbs for tulips etc into the ground in early autumn.
Plant ornamental grasses such as Lomandra and Liriope.
Veggies & Herbs
Seeds to sow now
Beetroot, Bok Choy, Broad Beans, Carrot, Celery, Chervil, Chives, Chinese broccoli, Coriander, Daikon, Dill, Endive, Fennel, Garlic, Garlic chives, Kale, Leek, Lemon balm, Lettuce, Mizuna, Mustards, Onions, Pak Choy, Parsley, Peas, Potato, Radish, Rocket, Sage, Salsify, Silverbeet, Sorrel, Spinach, Spring Onion, Swede, Thyme, Turnip
Seedlings to transplant now
Artichoke, Asparagus, Beans, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, Leek, Lettuce, Rhubarb, Silverbeet
Start thinking about the potatoes you want to sow in the upcoming season.
Fruits
Fruits
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Keep watering regularly - especially citrus.
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Mulching your fruit trees is important for water retention in the soil.
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Order your bare rooted fruit trees if you have not yet already.
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Prepare soil for bare rooted fruit trees.
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Cut out citrus tree water shoots.
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Finalise all your summer fruit tree pruning for tree maintenance.
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After your last raspberry harvest, remove old canes.
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Use supports to hold up heavy bearing raspberry canes.
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Check for and remove dropped citrus to stop fruit fly.
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Thin citrus as the fruit develops to stop branches breaking.
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Remove any mummified fruit and fallen fruit from stone fruit trees.
Soil, Tasks and Tools
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Ensure your worm farm is somewhere warm for the winter
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Keep your veggies mulched
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Continue to weed, especially Mother of Millions
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Decide if you want to plant a green manure over winter - lablab, cow pea, millet etc
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Clean up fruit fly traps for next season
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Tidy up nets as required
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Wash fruit bags and dry for next season
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Repair irrigation systems, consider adding timers where possible
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Sharpen pruning tools after summer pruning
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Clean saws and other blade tools
Harvest, Preserve
& Seed Save
Harvesting
beans, berries, lettuce, silverbeet and citrus fruit as they ripen, radishes, spring onions, mustards, spinach, squashes, tomatoes, herbs, lilly pilly fruits, makrut limes, bananas, pomegranate fruit, squashes, sweet potato, chillies
Seed saving
Beans, rocket, radishes, broccoli, silverbeet, artichokes, tomatoes, squashes
