April on the allotment: controlled chaos, mostly

April is the month where the allotment goes from dormant to overwhelming in the space of about ten days. Suddenly everything needs doing at once. The weeds that were theoretical in March become very much actual. The seedlings on your windowsill are getting leggy and desperate to be outside. The onion sets you planted in March are either thriving or have been redistributed by pigeons.

The good news is that April is genuinely one of the most rewarding months of the growing year. The bad news is that you probably need to be at the plot more than once a week.

What can go outside now? Quite a lot, as it happens, but with some caveats. Potatoes are the main event in April. Once you've chitted them (left them somewhere light and cool to sprout, ideally since February), they can go into prepared beds. First earlies should go in at the start of the month; second earlies and maincrops can follow in the latter half. Plant them about 30cm apart for earlies, 40cm for maincrops, and 12cm deep.

Hardy brassica seedlings, cabbages, Brussels sprouts, kale, can be planted out now if they've been properly hardened off. This means spending a week or two gradually acclimatising them to outdoor conditions rather than going straight from kitchen windowsill to open ground. It sounds fussy. It is fussy. It's also worth it.

Lettuce, rocket, and other salad leaves can go directly into the soil or raised beds, or into containers. They grow remarkably quickly in April and you'll be cutting your first leaves within the month.

Peas sown in March in guttering can be slid directly into a prepared trench, one of the genuinely satisfying tricks in vegetable growing. They barely notice the transition.

What stays inside?

Tomatoes, courgettes, squashes, and anything frost-tender. We still get frosts in April, sometimes late April, and a single cold night can wipe out weeks of work. Keep these on the windowsill or in a polytunnel and resist the urge to rush them out.

April rewards the organised and punishes the impulsive. Try to be the former.