Seeds Lane Seasonal Guide
Welcome to our comprehensive gardening hub. This guide is crafted to help Seeds Lane gardeners align their efforts with the natural cycles of our London allotments, ensuring productive crops and a thriving community soil.
- Monthly Planting Schedules
- Essential Maintenance Tips
- Local Soil Wisdom
- Communal Harvesting Insight
A month-by-month roadmap for Seeds Lane Allotments. Discover what to sow, plant, and tend to ensure your plot flourishes throughout the year with our community-tested horticultural wisdom.
January
What to Plant: Broad beans (under cover), garlic, and rhubarb crowns.
Maintenance: Plan your crop rotation, clean pots and tools, and prune fruit trees while dormant.
February
What to Plant: Shallots, onions, and early peas. Start tomato seeds on a sunny windowsill.
Maintenance: Chitting seed potatoes in a cool, bright place. Mulch fruit bushes with compost.
March
What to Plant: Carrots, parsnips, beetroot, and early potatoes. Sow leeks in seedbeds.
Maintenance: Weed beds as soil warms up. Apply general-purpose fertilizer to established plants.
April
What to Plant: Maincrop potatoes, brassicas, and salad leaves. Sow courgettes indoors.
Maintenance: Support peas and beans with stakes. Watch for slugs and snails on tender new growth.
May
What to Plant: French beans, runner beans, and sweetcorn after the last frost.
Maintenance: Earth up potatoes. Thin out seedlings of carrots and beetroot to ensure space.
June
What to Plant: Winter brassicas like kale and Brussels sprouts. Successional sow salads.
Maintenance: Water regularly in dry spells. Hoe weeds weekly to keep them from establishing.
July
What to Plant: Spring cabbage and late salads. Transplant winter brassicas to final spots.
Maintenance: Harvest garlic and shallots when leaves turn yellow. Pinch out tomato side shoots.
August
What to Plant: Winter-hardy greens and Japanese onions. Sow green manures in empty beds.
Maintenance: Harvest onions once tops fall over. Prune summer-fruiting raspberries.
September
What to Plant: Overwintering broad beans and spring cabbage. Plant out autumn onion sets.
Maintenance: Start clearing finished crops. Net brassicas to protect from birds and butterflies.
October - December
What to Plant: Garlic, fruit trees, and soft fruit bushes. Sow broad beans for an early spring crop.
Maintenance: Dig over heavy soils. Protect tender plants from frost with fleece. Repair structures.
Maintenance Tips
January
The core work in January is structural. Focus on preparing the allotment for the busy spring ahead by tending to dormant plants and maintaining your infrastructure.
- Clean and sharpen all hand tools.
- Prune apple and pear trees while dormant.
- Check structures for winter wind damage.
- Begin planning bed rotations.
February
As the days lengthen, start warming the soil. Weed early to catch spring germinators before they take hold in your beds.
- Mulch fruit bushes with compost.
- Cover future potato beds with plastic.
- Clear remaining winter vegetable debris.
- Prepare seed trays for early indoor sowing.
March
Spring officially arrives. Focus on soil health and ensuring your plot is ready for the bulk of sowing coming next month.
- Fork over beds to loosen soil.
- Dig in well-rotted manure or compost.
- Erect bean supports and pea netting.
- Hoe weeds on dry days.