Planting vegetables in April

Cabbage

Where to sow. An ideal place for cabbage is in the area where cucumbers, garlic, onions, potatoes, carrots or legumes grew last year. But after radishes, radishes, turnips or arugula, it cannot be placed: they have common diseases and pests.

How to sow. It is best to sow cabbage in holes. They are made with a diameter of 0,5 m, 1 bucket of humus is added there, mixed well with the soil and watered.

Seeds are sown in holes of 3 pieces at a distance of 10 cm from each other. Top with dry soil. Above it is a layer of ash. It will protect seedlings from diseases.

The sowing scheme depends on the variety:

• early (they have a small head of cabbage) – 40×40 cm;
• mid-season – 50×50 cm;
• late ones with large heads of cabbage – 60×60 cm.

After 1-2 true leaves appear in young plants, they are thinned out (1) – from 3 shoots in each hole, you need to choose the strongest one, and pull out the rest. Sometimes it is a pity to destroy good plants, but you can’t leave them all in a crowd, otherwise the heads of cabbage will not tie.

Council. As soon as shoots appear, cover the plants with a non-woven fabric – it will protect against cruciferous fleas and other pests that are activated precisely at the end of April – May.

Carrots

Where to sow. It is best to sow it where cabbage, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions or legumes used to grow.

How to sow. There are 3 ways.

• Sprouted seeds. They are soaked in warm water for 10 – 12 hours to swell. The water is changed several times. Then it is drained, the seeds are wrapped in cloth and placed in a warm place for germination – for 2 to 4 days.

  Once half of the seeds have roots, they can be sown. If for some reason the germinated seeds cannot be sown immediately, they must be wrapped in a plastic bag right in a rag and put in the refrigerator. At a temperature of 1 – 4 ° C, they can be stored for up to 7 days. And the roots will not grow. Moreover, they will give more friendly and strong shoots, so experienced gardeners put germinated seeds in the refrigerator for a couple of days, even if it is possible to sow them right away – for hardening.

  The disadvantage of this method is one: the germinated seeds after sowing must be well watered – the soil should not dry out. If you come to the country only for the weekend, it does not suit you.

• Dry seeds. This method is just for those who appear in the country once a week. Dry seeds are not afraid if the beds are not watered in time: they sprout even in dried soil. True, not so friendly.

To evenly sow small carrot seeds, they must be mixed with sand in a 1: 1 ratio.

• Seeds on ribbons. Often, carrot seeds are sold in this form. They are glued to paper with starch paste through the same distance. It is more convenient to close up such ones – I unwound the tape, put it in a groove, sprinkled it with earth, watered it and that’s it. Seedlings will appear evenly spaced and do not need to be thinned out. In addition, disinfectants are often added to the paste, which protect young plants from diseases.

But many summer residents complain that such seeds do not germinate. This comes from ignorance of the main thing: seeds on ribbons need to be watered much more often – the soil must be moist all the time until shoots appear! As soon as it dries, the paste will harden again and the sprouts will die. For weekend summer residents, this method of sowing is not suitable.

Council. Even if you mix the seeds with sand, they will still sprout thicker than they should. You will have to thin out – this is done when the plants have 1 true leaf (2). Extra seedlings are usually thrown away. In the meantime, you can also get an additional crop from them.

To do this, on a separate bed with a stick, make holes 8-10 cm deep at a distance of 5 cm from each other. Then carefully lower a small carrot into each hole so that the root crop is just below ground level. Then sprinkle the plantings with dry earth mixed with ash, water the bed well, after which the plants are slightly pulled out of the ground to straighten the root.

It is best to dig such carrots grown from seedlings … in the spring, when the snow melts. Carrots are big and sweet.

Beetroot

Where to sow. Beets work well after carrots, potatoes, onions, cucumbers and green manure.

Beetroot grows well in the garden, which was seasoned with organic matter in the previous season and which was partially “eaten” by its predecessors – cucumbers or tomatoes. In such soil, beets will do without top dressing.

On dry and dense soil, root crops grow insipid and even bitter. On sour – small.

How to sow. Seeds are sown in grooves 2–3 cm deep. The distance between rows is 20–30 cm (3), between plants is 8–10 cm.

The easiest way is to sow dry seeds.

Council. To save space, sow beets as a compactor for cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, or onions.

Turnip

Where to sow. To the beds where cucumbers, potatoes, onions or tomatoes grew last year. The place must be sunny. The soil is neutral.

How to sow. Seeds are sown in grooves with a depth of 1,5 – 2 cm, the distance between rows is 20 – 25 cm, in a row – 2 cm. After sowing, it is useful to mulch the beds with humus.

When the turnip has 2 – 3 true leaves, the crops are thinned out, leaving 6 – 8 cm between plants. The second time this is done in the phase of 5 – 6 leaves – this time between plants should remain 10 – 12 cm.

Council. At the first thinning, excess plants can be carefully dug up with a small scoop or teaspoon and transplanted to another bed.

rutabaga

Where to sow. The swede is undemanding to the acidity of the soil – it can grow both in neutral and in acidic areas. Even peatlands are suitable if they are cultivated. According to the mechanical composition, light fertile loams or sandy loamy soils are suitable for it. But sandy and very heavy clay, as well as areas with a close occurrence of groundwater, are not suitable for swede.

The best predecessors are peas, beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, zucchini, watermelons, melons, pumpkins.

How to sow. The seeds are sown to a depth of 2,5 cm. The distance between the rows is 45 cm. After the shoots appear, the plants must be thinned out, leaving 4 cm between them.

When the seedlings have 4 true leaves, they must be pulled again, leaving 15 cm between the plants.

Council. Rutabaga loves moisture, so it should be watered at least once a week. Consumption rate – 10 liters per 1 sq. m. Otherwise, the root crop will be tough and bitter.

Root parsley

Where to sow. Parsley root vegetables will be juicy and meaty if you choose a bed after cabbage, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes or garlic, especially when the soil was fertilized with organic matter last season.

If the soil is poor, it must be fertilized: per 1 sq. m contribute 3 – 4 kg of compost or humus. It is useful to add 5-6 kg of sand to clay soil so that the roots do not suffocate. And parsley loves phosphorus, so for each linear meter it is worth pouring 2 – 3 tbsp. tablespoons of superphosphate, then close up the fertilizer with a rake.

Remember: the area for growing parsley should be very light.

How to sow. Dry parsley seeds germinate unfriendly and very slowly – 15 – 20 days. To speed up the process, before sowing, they must be soaked for half an hour in hot water (40 – 50 ° C).

Seeds are sown in grooves to a depth of 1,5 – 2 cm. The distance between rows is 20 cm. When 1 – 2 true leaves appear at the seedlings, they are pulled at a distance of 3 cm from each other. The second time is thinned out when the plants have 5 – 6 leaves – the distance should be 10 cm.

Council. Root parsley should not be watered often: 3-4 waterings per season are enough, 2-2,5 buckets of water per 1 sq. m. In too wet ground, root crops lose their unique smell.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about the April sowing of vegetables with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. Pantielev Ya.Kh. ABC vegetable grower // M .: Kolos, 1992 – 383 p.
2. Shuin K.A., Zakraevskaya N.K., Ippolitova N.Ya. Garden from spring to autumn // Minsk, Uradzhay, 1990 – 256 p.
3. Yakubovskaya L.D., Yakubovsky V.N., Rozhkova L.N. ABC of a summer resident // Minsk, OOO “Orakul”, OOO Lazurak, IPKA “Publicity”, 1994 – 415 p.