UK Gardening offers gardening information, help and ideas for the beginner gardener, including weekly gardening tips and some of the basics of gardening.

Seeds to plant now:

Indoor or in a heated greenhouse

Coriander

Cress

Forget-me-not

Ornamental pepper

Outside

Alpine wallflower

Alyssum

Amaranthus

Aubretia, Rock cress, Aubrieta, Aubrietia

Basil, Sweet basil, Common basil

Beet, Beetroot, Chard

Beetroot, Garden beet

Cabbage

Canterbury bell, Cup and saucer

Cardoon

Carrot

Courgette

Cress

Dianthus / carnation / pink / Sweet William

Double daisy

Foxglove

French bean, fine bean

Kohl rabi

Lettuce

Marrow

Ornamental winter kale

Pansy

Radish

Runner bean

Spinach

Spring onion

Turnip

Wallflower

Outside under cover

Cucumber

Shows and events:

Update 15/04/2021
With the easing of lockdown in parts of the UK from April 12th, some shows and events have now changed dates or been cancelled altogether. I have checked the 2021 events listed below and have added comments where necessary.

I'll try to keep this list up to date as the situation changes. Regards Nick.

18/06/2021 - 20/06/2021

23/06/2021 - 25/06/2021

24/06/2021 - 27/06/2021

02/07/2021 - 04/07/2021

06/07/2021 - 11/07/2021

16/07/2021 - 18/07/2021

21/07/2021 - 25/07/2021

24/07/2021 - 24/07/2021

31/07/2021 - 01/08/2021

04/08/2021 - 04/08/2021

04/08/2021 - 08/08/2021

06/08/2021 - 07/08/2021

07/08/2021 - 08/08/2021

13/08/2021 - 15/08/2021

15/08/2021 - 15/08/2021

19/08/2021 - 22/08/2021

21/08/2021 - 22/08/2021

26/08/2021 - 29/08/2021

27/08/2021 - 29/08/2021

29/08/2021 - 30/08/2021

03/09/2021 - 05/09/2021

04/09/2021 - 04/09/2021

07/09/2021 - 12/09/2021

15/09/2021 - 19/09/2021

21/09/2021 - 26/09/2021

22/04/2022 - 24/04/2022

30/04/2022 - 08/05/2022

01/05/2022 - 02/05/2022

15/05/2022 - 15/05/2022

All event details have been entered as accurately as possible, but please check with the event organisers before travelling to avoid disappointment.

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The UKGardening web site has been running since 1998. The idea behind the site has always been to provide what we think will be interesting and useful information for the novice gardener.

Jobs to do in the garden this week.

Feed tomato plants fornightly with a liquid fertiliser (this must be diluted in water to prevent burning the plants)
Tie tomato stems to canes or stakes to prevent the weight of the fruit breaking the plant.
Tender herbs such as basil can be planted out in the garden now. Protect basil from slugs and snails.
Pond fish will eat more in the summer, feed them little and often, once or twice a day. If the food has not been eaten within 15 minutes, remove and dispose of the excess.
Plant up hanging baskets. More information available here.
Ensure that soil in hanging baskets and patio planters is kept moist. Remove fading and dead flower heads from plants, this will encourage new flowers. Feed hanging baskets and planters weekly with liquid fertiliser if a slow release fertiliser was not added when planting the basket.
We have probably now seen the last of the frosts. Summer bedding plants can safely be brought outside from the greenhouse or purchased from the Garden Centre.
Apple and pear trees will shed some fruit, this is known as the 'June drop'. This is quite natural, it's the trees way of restricting the amount of fruit that develop.
Move houseplants outside for some summer sunshine.
Plant tender perennials including pentstemons and salvias.
Depending on recent weather conditions and daytime temperature, gooseberries should now be ready to be picked.
Tomato plants can be moved outside. If growing them as 'cordons' nip out the side shoots
Continually nip out side shoots from upright (cordon) tomato plants. These reduce the amount of food available to fruit baring branches. If growing plants in the greenhouse, nip out the growing tip after the plant has produced 4-5 fruiting trusses, reduce this to 3-4 if growing tomatoes outside. See here, for more information: https://youtu.be/zFBgCBaFSnk
Cover strawberries and fruit bushes with netting to protect them from birds. Start to feed the plants weekly when the fruit starts to form.
Buy plants in strips or trays that are compact and sturdy, the compost that they are growing in should be moist. Try to buy plants in bud, with few open blooms.
Stake and tie perennials to prevent them being broken by wind and rain. Remove fading delphinium flowers to encourage a second flowering.
Paint shading on the greenhouse glass, or use shading to lessen the scorching effect of the sun and to keep temperatures lower.
Check the ties on climbers, flower stems and standard roses - the tops of plants can get very heavy when in full bloom or when wet.
Pinch out the growing tips of annuals and some perennials to create a stockier plant and to encourage more flowers More information here.
Sow hardy annuals in their flowering positions to fill any gaps in the border.
Check gooseberries for sawfly. Prune this year's growth back to 4-5 leaves (this shouldn't affect fruit as they appear on old wood).
Remove spring bedding plants and lift and store spring flowering bulbs (with the exception of snowdrops).
Trim hedges to encourage the branches to thicken up and to keep them neat and tidy.
Take soft wood cuttings from thyme. Thyme cuttings take easily, so they can be stuck in the soil or in pots. Remember that thyme likes full sun and hates to be grown in the shade.
Propagate marginal pond plants. Take short cuttings, remove lower leaves and push stems into pots of mud. Keep top of the pots just under the surface of the water.
Lots of tender plants can be grown outside in containers between May and September as long as the pot is big enough and they get enough water and the occasional feed.
The adult vine weevil, the number one garden pest, will be emerging from the soil as the temperatures rise.
Protect plants from slugs and snails with slug pellets, course grit or traps. Alternatively try to encourage birds, hedgehogs and frogs to your garden - all prey on slugs and snails. More suggestions to reduce slug and snail damage.
Regularly water trees and shrubs that were planted last autumn and winter. Their roots won't have had a chance to fully develop yet.
Cut grass weekly, long grass takes more nutrients out of the soil. It is also harder to cut and may leave yellow patches in the lawn.
Apply a weed and feed to established lawns. Water in with a hose after a few days if it hasn't rained.
Feed established roses, fortnightly, with a rose fertilizer, dead-head regularly and check for aphids and black spot.
Lift, divide and replant chives.
Weed and spread compost from the compost bin over the borders and vegetable patch. This adds valuable nutrients to the soil and acts as a mulch, to retain moisture and reduce weed growth. Ensure that the soil is moist before adding mulch.

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