What to Sow in April

Crimson Clover Green Manure is a good choice for smothering weeds, fixing nitrogen from the air and is a fast-growing bulky green manure. It has deep roots that penetrate the soil and bulky furry foliage that once dug in helps to improve soil structure. It is not always winter hardy...

Pak Choi is an unusual all year round veg that is becoming ever more popular with its use in oriental stir-fries and salads, it has a mild cabbage flavour. Pak Choi Yuushou is a green leaved variety that is great for overwintering as well as for maincrop sowing. (Green stemmed...

Parsley Plain Leaf Herb is also known as French Parsley and has serrated fine leaves that are generally regarded to have a slightly better flavour and texture than curly parsley. It is the one that the continentals grow and use and is the 'true Parsley variety'. Parsley is one of...

Edamame 'Green Shell' are immature Soya beans that are picked and cooked in their pods, the beans are then shelled from their pod to eat (the pods are not usually eaten). These nutty tasting beans have a creamy texture when cooked rather like a Broad Bean and they are great...

Purple Creeping Thyme is a hardy evergreen perennial and has small aromatic dark green leaves with clusters of small pale pink flowers. Purple Creeping Thyme can be picked all year round, once established, and is the classic herb used in Bouquet Garni (see recipe on Parsley page). Also great for...

Borage is an annual herb with pretty little vivid blue star shaped flowers and hairy grey/green leaves. It is very easy to grow and will reach a height of 30-50cm. Borage leaves can be added to salads and taste like cool cucumber; the pretty flowers can be frozen in an...

This trendy Wasabi Rocket actually has the punchy flavour of Wasabi - a Japanese vegetable much like horseradish. Real Wasabi is a root veg that is very difficult to grow in the UK climate so this little leaf helps fill a gap and companies like Wagamama use it to flavour...

Garlic Chives are also known as Chinese Chives or Chinese Leek. They are similar in appearance to ordinary chives but with a flatter broader leaf and a mild sweet garlic flavour. Garlic Chives have beautiful white 'starry' allium flowers that would not go amiss in the flower garden. These flowers...

White Clover 'Barblanca' makes as excellent long-term green manure. It has good frost tolerance and once established can last from 2-5 years. White Clover makes a good weed suppressant as it produces a fair amount of foliage and is able to fix nitrogen. White Clover 'Barblanca' is a low growing...

Mmmm, not sure about the name but it is reputed to have 'no repeats.' Cucumber Burpless Tasty Green is a real winner in other ways it is an excellent variety to grow outdoors and is easy to grow. It has a crisp outer skin with a sweet juicy centre that...

Parsnip Gladiator F1 is a top-quality, reliable veg that consistently produces bumper crops of long wedge-shaped roots with the classic sweet parsnip taste. Parsnip Gladiator F1 roots are white and have a very smooth skin that is easy to clean and peel, and as most of the parsnip flavour is...

Chives are grass like perennial herbs with a hollow centre that have a mild onion flavour. They grow to about 30cm tall by 30cm. They perk up salads, jacket potatoes with sour cream and make a lovely garnish for sprinkling on soups too. If Chives are left to flower, the...

Courgette Tromboncino Albenga if the name of this Italian heritage variety didn't make you want to have a go at growing this easy to grow veg than maybe the fact it looks so fun (like a trombone) and is also so versatile in the kitchen will! Courgette Tromboncino Albenga can...

Chamomile is a pretty little annual herb with the aroma of apples. It is part of the aster family and has flowers with daisy like white petals and an 'eggy yellow' centre and it grows to a height of between 10-40cm. This variety of Chamomile is the wild or German...

Alfalfa, Arabic for 'father of all foods' which is very appropriate as it is packed full of lots of different vitamins & nutrients. Alfalfa is a bean sprout and looks a little bit like Cress. It's great for adding a crunch to salads and is mild in flavour. Best eaten...

Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis) is an easy to grow hardy annual that has very attractive vivid orange flowers. It's petals are edible and can be sprinkled on salad leaves to add colour or they can be used as a substitute for saffron to add yellow colour to rice. Pot Marigold...

Dwarf French Bean Stanley is a cracking little plant, producing masses of long, straight pods (14cm x 1cm) and top quality french beans. It produces white flowers and the green pods are filled with white seeds. The dwarf plant requires little staking, growing to about 45cm tall. Is quick to...

Pea Sugar Snap Delikett is an edible-podded pea that is crunchy, juicy & tastes super sweet and is a splendid variety of snap pea, a dwarf plant with a compact plant habit. Delikett produces in clusters of two a generous number of dark green, cylindrical pods that can be harvested over...