April Seedy Sunday

The next 'Seedy Sunday' will be on 6 April from 10.30am - 12.00pm.

Bring a friend or neighbour, seeds/plant material to share or just come along to meet like-minded locals.

After the recent rain, check your garden for any edible or kitchen garden plants that need a prune back into shape. Herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano and many others all benefit from regular 'haircuts' to keep them growing more leaves.

If you have cuttings to spare, please bring them along to swap. Please wrap the stems in some wet newspaper or paper towel to keep them fresh for longer.

Chives can be divided or their seed heads snipped and saved.

Watch out for citrus leaf miner on your fruit trees. Remove any affected leaves and fertilise your trees now with seaweed to boost the trace elements. A foliar spray under the leaves in the morning is ideal.

As usual, at our meeting we'll be discussing what to grow in your garden right now - the challenges and successes plus sharing seeds from our seed bank.

Beginners, people new to the area and long distance visitors are all welcome.

What to Plant in April

Greenharvest have some recommendations for what to plant at this time of year:

In frost-free areas: 

Beans, capsicum, cape gooseberries, cucumbers, eggplant, melon, pumpkin, okra,zucchini and tomatoes can be planted until the end of April. Brussels sprouts take at least 4 months to mature so have to be planted now.

After mid-March plant seed or seedlings of:

Broccoli, kale and collards, mustard,cabbage, cauliflower, parsley, rocket, spinach, silverbeet, beetroot, Florence fennel, the onion family (early and mid-season onions, shallots, spring onions, leek, garlic), celery, coriander, mizuna, tatsoi. Plant carrots,radish, parsnips, kohl rabi and turnips from seed only, root vegetables should not be transplanted.

Potatoes can be planted into well-mulched beds, only use certified seed potatoes to avoid introducing damaging virus diseases to your garden. Strawberries can be planted from March to the end of April. Late March to mid-April is the best time in warmer areas to plant spring flower seedlings of lobelia, dianthus, stock, viola, cornflower, alyssum, pansy, clarkia, nemesia, phlox, lupin, primula, statice, verbena, poppy, nigella, snapdragon and calendula. Sweet peas are a delightful, easy to grow, fragrant flower that can be planted until the end of April. Soak the seeds in hot water and leave them overnight to improve germination. Check the soil pH and lime if necessary, as they dislike acid soil.

Check out these guides for other ideas/tips:

Gardenate - Subtropical zone.

ABC Vegie Gardening Guide.

Aussie Organic Gardening.

This month's Seed Savers Meeting

We meet at Sweethearts Cafe who offer us a large space to get together for free (saving us a hall hire fee so no cost to you) but as a business are in effect hiring out that area to us for a couple of hours.

So as a courtesy please remember to at the very least order a tea/coffee or a yummy meal, to support the cafe. They have a delicious local and organic menu. Visit their website for more info @ http://www.sweetheartscafe.com.au/aboutus.html.

Venue: 2 Anzac Street (cnr Rosebed Street), Eudlo.

FREE to attend so bring a friend and carpool! Hope to see you soon.

By Anne Gibson