Dry days have been few and far between so far this April. Now I’m not complaining, there’s no denying we need the rain to fill the reservoirs and aquifers and my garden has taken on a lovely green hue as herbaceous perennials spring into growth. But I had started to suffer a window sill and cold frame backup, with plants needing to be potted on and moved into the cold frames to harden off but with no space available in the cold frames for them. It’s just been too wet to plant anything out. Well to be honest it’s been a bit on the cold side too.
So with the weather forecast suggesting more sunshine than showers yesterday I decide to make a dash for it and in a flurry of activity I planted out, potted on, sowed more seed and shuffled plants between window sills, cold frame and the allotment.
Sweet peas ready for planting out
The first to be planted out were the first batch of sweet peas. Sown back in February they were great looking, bushy plants in desperate need of some support so they could do their thing and start climbing. Due to lack of space at the allotment these sweet peas were destined for a hazel wigwam in my front garden. The idea is that they will add some height and provide scent for the warm, sheltered garden in front of my kitchen. To be honest the ground was a little on the wet side to be planting into but with the forecast suggesting another couple of weeks of similar wet weather these plants were going in regardless. Sweet peas can grow to over 2 metres over the summer and will produce huge numbers of flowers if you keep picking them so all this effort requires some food. I tend to add a bit of compost to the planting hole with a handful of comfrey pellets. Comfrey is high in potassium, the nutrient that plants use in the flowering process so this should encourage a good supply of blooms over the next couple of months.
Another batch of broad beans and some scabious plants were taken up to the allotment and planted up. Whilst there I spotted the first Charlotte potato pushing through so grabbing a spade I earthed up the shoots to protect them from any frost.
Back at home I sowed some more lettuce, basil and carrots in pots and then moved into the cold frame some antirrhinums, asters and larkspur. It’s all a bit of juggling act at the moment trying to have enough plants to plant out with some spares. It’s also time when gardeners start to gamble, gamble on the weather that is. When to sow the tender plants such as french beans, cucumbers and squashes can be a difficult one to call. None of them like sitting in cold, wet soil and don’t like fluctuations in temperature. Sown and grown inside these plants can grow quickly with the warmth of a window sill or greenhouse. The problem is if it hasn’t warmed up outside you could have some triffids on your hands probably not a problem if you have a greenhouse but squashes and courgettes are hard to maintain on a window sill once they get going.
It’s already later than I have previously sown but I decided to sow some courgettes, Defender, Romanseco and a patty pan type squash called Sunbeam and also a couple of pots of a red skinned squash called Uchiki kuri. I’m going to wait another week or so before I sow any cucumbers or french beans.
The first Clematis in flower despite the weather
As I’m writing this it has been teeming down for about 6 hours now and I’m just preparing to go out with waterproof trousers and wellies on. Such a good look but at least I’ll be dry. They say a months worth of rain will have fallen by the end of the week and I can well believe it. Hope the plants don’t drown!!
wellywoman 
I’m a novice gardener and my French neighbour who is my garden mentor has forbidden me to sow seeds while its so wet – we’re on our 13th day of rain! I’m hoping to catch up next week but its getting late for some things which is making me worried… do I just sow in the rain and take a chance if it doesn’t stop?
Hi Janine, It is best not to walk on and work soil that is very wet. It can damage the structure of the soil and if it is so wet then there’s a chance the seeds will rot. Maybe you could sow some of the seeds in pots, trays or modules. What types of seed were you planning on sowing?
Just discovered your blog through a Monty Don’s book review on Amazon! Will be following it from now ;-)) You mention “comfrey pellets” – can i buy them somewhere or do u make them yourself??
Hi Crafty Plotter, I get my comfrey pellets from either the Organic Gardening Catalogue or Sarah Raven. They are just pellets of dried and compressed comfrey which you can scatter in planting holes, around the base of plants or put in a bucket of water and make a liquid fertiliser. You can buy comfrey plants again the Organic Gardening catalogue sell these and they are normally sent out some time in May. This would be a cheaper way of using comfrey but I haven’t got the space on my plot. Hope this helps.
yes very helpful info – thanks a bunch! I have no space for comfrey either, so pellets from time to time will have to do!
You were lucky to have a break in the rain to get done all that you did, what a lot you managed to do. I spent most of the time in the greenhouse with my wind up radio, pricking out 168 Meconopsis seedlings, nice and warm in there and the rain pounding on the roof was filling up the water butts!
Hi Pauline, Wow 168 seedlings. I love Meconopsis. I’m so pleased I got so much done yesterday as today has been terrible. Torrential rain since about 6 am and it’s still raining as I write now. It’s ironic that there are counties such as Devon that have declared drought and yet the Environment Agency has issued flood alerts on several rivers. It seems crazy!
It’s a gamble these days… In a week they’re forecasting up to 20C during the day, but before that they’re forecasting down to -2 at night!
-And I grow my plants in the appartment, so I don’t have much of a chance of hardening them off! Oh, dear…
Hi Flaneur, It’s certainly a difficult time for gardeners. It’s quite a change in temperature from 20c to -2. Hopefully it won’t be long now before the last of the frosts for you in Denmark and us here in the UK but at least your plants are tucked up nice and warm at the moment.
Normally there’s no more frost in May, but it can still happen… I think I will start planting out this weekend, though, and then I’ll hope for the best!
(I might improvise some cloches for the dahlias, though, just to be on the safe side!)
Equally bad weather here with cold, snow and rain the past week and April has been mostly cold…many plants not doing well…can’t harden my seedlings as well…
Hi Donna, It’s a difficult time for all gardeners and I’ll be relieved in a month or so when all my plants are out and fending for themselves. I’ll be able to relax a little then.
I’m suffering a bit of a seedling backlog as well. I started my cucumbers last week, now I’m worried I’ve started them too early. I know we need this rain, but I want to crack on with planting!
Hi Anna, I know what you mean. I don’t want to complain about the much needed rain but it is strange to have some places with simultaneous drought orders and flood warnings.
The present weather is definitely exhausting my strategic planning skills WW. We had a brief and decent impersonation of a spring day yesterday before today’s latest downpour. My sweet peas look like yours ~ anxious to be away and doing but I think it may be the weekend before they get to the allotment. Holding back on sowing French beans too. Last April we were all being tested by a long dry spell. Gardening is never dull!
Hi Anna, You’re right there. Do you think one year we might get just perfect growing weather and seasons that behave themselves? In my garden utopia it rains at night and is sunny during the day. The last frost is at the end of March and the first frost not till December. We have a cold enough winter to kill off bugs and send plants into dormancy but not so cold plants are damaged. Show me if this place exists and I’ll be there like a shot but I rather think it doesn’t!!
Having bemoaned the lack of rain, I’m now finding myself falling behind on mowing and weeding and planting and all the rest. And I tend to be over-cautious when planting seedlings out as we are prone to late, hard frosts where I work. Keeps me on my toes I suppose. Least I haven’t had to do any watering.
Hi David, We do seem to fluctuate from one extreme to another. There is now the strange situation in the south west where they were declared to be in drought last week and now have several rivers on flood alert!! As you say it keeps us gardeners on our toes. I guess if we wanted an easy life we wouldn’t be gardeners.
“Hey ho the wind doth blow and the rain it raineth every day” to misquote the bard. I’m housebound too, not by the rain but by a howling gale! So commiserations, but it is filling up your water butts.
Hi Croftgarden, It was only last week the Welsh weatherman Derek was stood by a local river saying it was incredibly low for the time of year. Well after a week of heavy rain it’s full to bursting now. Hope the winds have subsided and you get the chance to get out. Best wishes.
It started off rather nice here today, took the dog for a walk and thought how warm it is. I’m now sat here watching the rain bouncing off the pavements. We just don’t seem to have a full hour just lately without some rain falling.
At least all this rain has highlighted where there are drainage problems on my new plot. I would rather know now that the new asparagus bed is prone to flooding and do something about it, than a couple of years down the line. Every cloud….
Comfrey pellets sound like a great idea. Here’s hoping you haven’t swapped those waterproof trousers and wellies for a wetsuit and waders by now!
Hi Gardening Shoe, I’m impressed with you being able to find a silver lining to all that rain. I could have done with a snorkel as well yesterday!!
It’s clear that you’ve busy busy regardless of the rain which makes me just a touch guilty. Mind you I’ve been able to do very little on the plot for the past couple of weeks as the ground is waterlogged. xx
Hi Flighty, Most of my work was done at home. A part from a couple of broad beans that were planted out at the plot. Hopefully all this rain will make a difference in the next couple of months though as things warm up and plants start to grow. I feel your frustration though and share it.
The weather is awful here to, today its blowing a gale and on/off rain but when it rains it rains. My girls (chickens) are hating this weather because they dont know if they are in or out, when it downpours they are in and when the suns out they come out – bless them, but the thing thats driving me bonkers is I’m running from my plot to my friends doing the same with her girls today because she hasnt been well so I’m looking after her 9 girls to, I should be well fit or fit for nothing later.
My greenhouse is fit to bust with everything growing in there. I’ve even put beans in pots and they are getting quite big now and wanting to climb – guess I didnt judge the sowing time right. The slugs are having a field day on my plot with the wet weather, I sowed seeds of many veg straight into the ground and they have eaten all of them. Ive put large brussel sprouts into the ground and they have even devoured them, its heartbreaking, usually when the plants are large the slugs leave them alone but not this time, why dont the eat weeds?. They have even eatedn all my parsnip seedlings and they are in a raised bed.
I have been told that our weather is going to be awful until Sunday when its supose to be hot and DRY.
Hi Gaynor, It is heartbreaking when your lovingly nurtured crops are devoured by something other than yourself. Last spring was so dry here that we had hardly any slug problems and it really seemed to affect the slug population for the whole year. No such luck this time. I’m liking the sound of that hot, dry waether. The weekend here is meant to be wet again. Oh dear!!!
Don’t regret the rain, it is, in the end, what makes our gardens grow. We’ve had several days of heavy showers but nowhere near enough! Now it’s hot!
I feel so lucky having a greenhouse, I don’t miss having to jostle plants around on the windowsills x