Five outdoor tasks you must do this April for a thriving garden

April is a busy time for gardeners as the sun finally starts to come out, and brings with it the spring season. As you start to plan what you will be planting, there are several tasks you need to start with to ensure the success of your garden over the ensuing summer months. One of the first things to consider is how you will protect your plants from slugs and snails.

Gardening expert Louise, who goes by @gardeningwithlou on TikTok , said she uses crushed up eggshells to make a barrier for them to cross. She told her more than 400,000 followers that she also uses nematodes - but they aren’t the most effective methods as they only kill slugs not snails. Another method is using beer to trap them, but Louise said that while they are highly effective, it’s arguable “that the smell actually attracts bugs”.



Therefore, her main defence is simple to get in there with her plants and pick the slugs off by hand. Next up on the list of April garden jobs is to plant out your potatoes. Louise said she always adds chicken manure pellets to the compost that will go into grow bags.

The gardener also revealed that she had been chitting potatoes for the last few weeks which she thinks will give her “about a week or two head start”. At this point in the year, you will want to start bringing your plants outside to harden them off. “Only do this with established seedlings because if they’re too young they can get sunburnt,” Louise explained.

However, make sure to wait until the end of the month to bring out your tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash because it is still too cold for them at the moment. April is also the best time to start sowing your grass seeds again. If you have a clover lawn, it will need to be re-seeded every couple of years, and it’s important to water the seeds in dry weather.

“In the summer you’ll have clover flowers which are fantastic for pollinators,” Louise said. “Instead of cutting the whole lawn and losing all those flowers, I cut paths into it instead so my children can still run around without getting their feet stung by bees.” Finally, if you want to save money by growing your own herbs this year then April is the perfect time to start.

“Coriander and parsley can be sown directly in the ground or in pots outside. "And don’t forget basil, which can be sown inside to plant out later," she said. "April is such a busy time for gardeners.

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