That is six months of empty ground. It is also, quietly, the most avoidable mistake in the Irish growing calendar, because the soil in September is still warm from August and warm soil is what seed actually needs. Air temperature is falling. Soil temperature is not, or at least not yet. You have roughly three weeks of that head start, and four crops that can use it.

Why September sowing works here and does not work in a hotter country

Ireland has a slow, mild, drawn out autumn. That is a problem for tomatoes and a gift for leaves. In a Mediterranean climate a September sowing runs into a hard cold snap and stops. Here the temperature slides down gently over ten or twelve weeks, which is exactly the pace at which a spinach or a chard plant likes to build itself.

The trade off is light, not cold. After the equinox the day length drops fast, and growth slows with it. So the rule for September is simple: sow things that are useful small. A spinach leaf at eight centimetres is dinner. A tomato at eight centimetres is nothing.

1. Winter spinach: the one to sow first

If you sow one thing this month, sow spinach. Matador is a large leaved variety that stands through cold and wet rather than collapsing into it, and it is the difference between buying bagged leaves in November and cutting your own.

Sow direct, about two centimetres deep, in rows twenty five centimetres apart, and thin to fifteen centimetres between plants. Sow now and you cut the first leaves in six or seven weeks, then keep cutting through the winter as long as you take the outer leaves and leave the centre alone. In a bad frost the plant looks finished and flat. Leave it. It usually is not.

2. Perpetual spinach chard: the crop that outlives the winter

Swiss chard Costa Verde is sold as perpetual spinach for a reason. It is the most forgiving leaf in an Irish garden: it stands frost, it stands wind, it stands neglect, and a September sowing will still be feeding you next April. It is one of the few things you plant once and harvest across two calendar years.

Same sowing depth as spinach, but give it more room, about thirty centimetres, because the plants get big. If you only have space for one autumn crop and you want the longest possible return on the seed, this is it.

3. Rocket: six weeks from seed to salad

Cultivated rocket is the fast one. It germinates in a few days while the soil is still warm, it is ready to cut in around six weeks, and it is far better in autumn than in summer because it does not bolt and turn savage when the heat goes. Autumn rocket is milder, broader in the leaf, and it keeps producing after cutting.

Sow it thickly in a short row and treat it as cut and come again. It is also the best crop for a container by the back door, which matters in September when nobody wants to walk to the end of a wet garden.

4. Turnip: the catch crop most people forget

Purple Top Milan is quick, and quick is the whole point in September. It sizes up in six to eight weeks, so a sowing in the first week of the month gives you roots by late October, and if the roots stay small you eat the tops as greens instead. Either way the bed is not empty and the soil is not sitting bare in the rain losing structure.

The two things that will actually cost you the crop

Slugs, first. Every young autumn seedling is soft, wet and alone in a garden where everything else is finished, so it gets found. Protect the rows for the first three weeks, however you normally handle slugs, and after that the plants are tough enough to take the damage.

Timing, second. The window closes around the third week of September, not because of frost but because of light. A seed sown on the twenty fifth of September germinates and then sits there, too small to be useful, waiting for February. Sow in the first fortnight and the plant is established before the light goes.

Two crops that are not part of this

Cavolo nero and radicchio both belong in an Irish autumn, but neither is a September sowing. If they are already in the ground you are about to have the best of them, because both improve after the first frost. If they are not, note them for next year: cavolo nero from February to July, radicchio in August.

What to do this weekend

Pull the beans, pull the courgettes when they stop setting, and do not dig the bed over. Rake it level, sow one row of spinach and one of chard, and put the rocket in a container where you can reach it in the rain.

Twenty minutes of work in the first week of September is the difference between a garden that feeds you until Christmas and a garden that stops in August.

If you want the winter leaves in one go, the Winter Kitchen Garden bundle puts them together and works out cheaper than the packets bought separately. All seed is posted from Co. Longford. BloomySeeds is an Irish stockist of Franchi Sementi seed.

The post What to Sow in September in Ireland (Four Crops That Still Have Time) appeared first on BloomySeeds.

August feels like peak season, which it is. Tomatoes finally ripening in the polytunnel, courgettes at maximum production, climbing beans producing daily, basil fragrant and abundant. The August garden rewards everything you did from February onwards and it is tempting to simply enjoy it and do nothing else. But the productive Italian kitchen garden runs August as two things simultaneously: the height of summer and the start of winter preparation. The sowings and transplants you make this month determine how much you eat from October through February.

What to Sow in August

Winter Salad: Into the Polytunnel Now

The most important August sowing task is one that most gardeners leave too late: sowing the winter salad mix that will carry you through the darkest months. In a polytunnel, direct-sow a mix of winter lettuce varieties, spinach, rocket and any oriental leaves you grow in a bed that will be cleared of summer crops by September. These sowings need to be in the ground now to establish properly before the light levels drop in October. Left until September, they barely establish before winter, and you get a much reduced harvest.

Outside a polytunnel, the same sowings can go into a cold frame, under fleece or in a south-facing raised bed that you plan to cover. They will not produce as abundantly as under polythene, but a fleece-covered raised bed of winter spinach and hardy lettuce is considerably better than nothing in November.

Spring Onions: Final Sowing of the Year

A direct sowing of spring onions in August will give you an autumn harvest in October and November. Use a winter-hardy variety and sow thickly in a short row. In a mild winter, some will carry through to spring. In a cold one, harvest them in October before the hard frosts arrive. This is the last realistic outdoor sowing window for spring onions in Ireland.

Spinach: Two Sowings, Two Harvests

An August sowing of spinach gives an autumn harvest. A September sowing, if you get to it, overwinters and produces in spring. Sow directly into prepared soil, thinly, and cover with fleece in a cold October. Giant d’Inverno, the large-leafed Italian winter spinach variety, is better suited to this late sowing than standard varieties because it handles cold and low light better and produces larger leaves through the autumn months.

Cavolo Nero Transplants: Out Now

Cavolo Nero sown in June and July is ready to transplant into its final position in August. Space at forty-five centimetres, water in well, and protect from slugs aggressively in the first two weeks while the plant establishes. Once established, Cavolo Nero largely takes care of itself. The outer leaves will be ready to harvest from October, and the plant produces continuously through winter as long as you leave the growing tip intact.

If you did not sow Cavolo Nero earlier in the season, you can still sow it now into modules for a late August or September transplant. The plants will be smaller than earlier sowings, but will still provide a meaningful winter harvest from November onwards. It is not too late.

Cavolo Nero
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Radicchio Transplants: Out in August

Radicchio sown in July is ready to transplant into its final position in August. Thirty centimetre spacing, direct sun, water in well. The heads begin forming in September and are ready to harvest from October through December. Leave them until after the first frost for the fullest development of flavour: the bitter, sweet, acidic character that makes radicchio extraordinary with pears, walnuts and good Parmesan.

Radicchio Tonda di Verona
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August Harvesting: The Peak Continues

San Marzano Passata: The Defining August Task

For anyone growing San Marzano tomatoes in a polytunnel, August is the month the whole project has been building towards. When the fruit is coming faster than you can eat it fresh, make passata. This is what the Italian kitchen garden was always for: not just the summer abundance, but the winter continuity. A day spent making and jarring passata in August produces a supply of the finest pasta sauce you will ever make, available through January and February when polytunnel growing is months away.

The method is simple. Halve the tomatoes, roast with olive oil, garlic and basil at 180 degrees for forty-five minutes. Push through a food mill. Season. Pour into sterilised jars and seal. Store in a cool dark place. Open in December over fresh pasta and be reminded of why the whole season was worth it.

San Marzano seeds for next season
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Courgettes: Still Daily

The courgette plants do not care that it is August. Pick daily. A courgette left for two days in warm conditions becomes a marrow and diverts energy from new fruit production. Pick at ten to twelve centimetres. If you are overwhelmed with production, slice thin, salt, drain, and freeze for winter soups. Or make courgette soup in large batches. Or give them away freely to anyone willing to accept them.

S. Anna Climbing French Beans: Peak Season

By mid-August, S. Anna climbing beans are at full production. Stringless pods ready before they develop any toughness, picked every two days to keep the plant producing. These are the most reliable bean for an Irish summer: they handle wet conditions that collapse dwarf French beans, they climb two metres on a simple cane frame, and the flavour young is genuinely good. Cook briefly, dress with olive oil and a little garlic. At this stage, they produce faster than you can eat them.

S. Anna Climbing French Bean
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Watch for Blight

From mid-August onwards, check polytunnel tomatoes daily for the first signs of blight: brown patches appearing on leaves, often starting at the leaf tips or edges. Remove affected leaves immediately and dispose of them outside the garden. Increase ventilation through the tunnel. Avoid any overhead watering. Blight spreads fast in warm, humid conditions, and the difference between catching it on two leaves and losing half the planting is often twenty-four hours.

Overwintering Onions: Plant Now

Overwintering onion sets planted in August produce spring bulbs that are ready for harvest in May and June, months before summer-planted onions. Plant into well-drained soil at fifteen centimetre spacings, tips just showing above the surface. They need little attention through winter and produce reliably in the kind of soil conditions that Irish gardens consistently provide.

August Jobs: Garden and Polytunnel

Sowing is only half of August. The other half is the maintenance work that decides whether the summer crops finish well and whether the beds are ready for the winter ones. Below is the practical list, split by where the work happens.

Outdoors

• Water deeply, not often. One long soak twice a week grows deeper roots than a light daily sprinkle. Water in the morning so the foliage dries before evening.
• Feed weekly with a high-potash feed. Tomatoes, courgettes, beans and anything in a container are all fruiting hard now and running down the soil.
• Stop your outdoor tomatoes. Pinch out the growing tip two leaves above the fourth truss. Anything setting after mid-August will not ripen outdoors in Ireland, and it takes energy from the fruit that will.
• Pick every second day. Courgettes at ten to twelve centimetres, beans while the pods still snap, basil from the top of the plant. Picking is what keeps the plant producing. A missed week ends the crop.
• Clear spent beds and refill them immediately. Early potatoes, garlic, broad beans and the first peas are finished. An empty August bed is a wasted bed: sow winter salad, spinach or a green manure the same week you clear it.
• Hoe on a dry day. Weeds are setting seed now. Ten minutes with a hoe in August saves hours next spring.
• Net the brassicas. Cabbage white butterflies are at their peak. Fine mesh over the Cavolo Nero and cabbages, not fleece, which traps too much heat.
• Earth up leeks to lengthen the white shank, and keep the base of the plants clear of weeds.
• Order slug nematodes for September. The autumn application goes on when the soil is still warm and damp, which protects everything you have just transplanted.
• Save seed from your best plants. Franchi varieties are open-pollinated, so seed saved from the strongest tomato, bean or lettuce comes true next year. Choose the best plant, not the last one left standing.

Polytunnel and Glasshouse

• Ventilate hard. Doors and vents open day and night through warm spells. Still, humid air is what turns a small blight infection into a lost crop.
• Damp down the paths on hot days, not the leaves. Wet foliage overnight is an invitation to disease.
• Remove the lower tomato leaves up to the first ripening truss. Better airflow, faster ripening, easier to spot trouble early.
• Check for blight daily. Brown patches at leaf tips or edges. Remove affected leaves at once and take them out of the garden. The difference between two leaves and half the planting is often twenty-four hours.
• Water the beds properly. Tunnel soil never sees rain and dries out far deeper than it looks. Push a finger in to the second knuckle before deciding it is wet enough.
• Watch for red spider mite and whitefly. Both build up in dry, still tunnel air. Higher humidity and better ventilation are the cheapest control.
• Turn beds around fast. As the early cucumbers and first tomatoes finish, clear them and direct-sow winter salad in the same bed. This is the single most valuable use of tunnel space in August.
• Clean the polythene in late August. A season of dust and algae costs you light exactly when light starts to matter. Warm water and a soft brush is enough.
• Plan the winter layout now. Decide which beds carry winter salad, which carry spinach and which get a rest, before September crowds the decision.

The August Rhythm

The practical August routine combines two speeds: the urgent daily harvesting of summer crops, and the slower, forward-looking work of sowing and transplanting for autumn. Neither can be neglected without cost. A courgette missed for a day becomes a marrow. A Cavolo Nero transplant delayed until September is two weeks behind where it should be. The productive kitchen garden runs both tracks simultaneously, and August is the month when managing both properly makes the largest difference to what you eat through the following six months.

Browse Italian seeds for late season sowing

How this guide was written. Drafted with the help of an AI writing tool, then reviewed, corrected and checked against Irish growing conditions by Dario Addabbo of BloomySeeds before publication. Timings are for Irish gardens and are our own.

The post What to Sow in August in Ireland: Peak Harvest and Winter Preparation appeared first on BloomySeeds.

Forty euros buys a takeaway for two, or half a tank of diesel, or the Vintage Orto Kit: ten Italian vegetable varieties in one box. Here is what actually comes out the other end of that box, variety by variety, with real numbers.

Basil, from one packet

A packet of Genovese basil at the supermarket costs around one euro eighty. It lasts four days in the fridge before it wilts. One packet of basil seeds from the Vintage Orto Kit, grown in a pot on a windowsill, gives you leaves from May to October. That is six months against four days.

Courgette, from one plant

One courgette plant, grown from the seeds in the kit, produces fifteen to twenty courgettes through July and August. That is not a good year. That is an ordinary Irish July.

San Marzano tomato, from one plant

In a polytunnel or a warm sheltered spot, one San Marzano plant produces four to six kilograms of sauce tomatoes between August and October. Enough passata for the winter, made once, eaten for months.

The other seven

The kit also has fennel, rocket, and six more varieties chosen to work together in an Irish garden rather than sit in a drawer unused. Rocket alone can be cut four or five times from a single sowing before it needs replacing.

What this does not include

It does not include the tomatoes you give away in September because there are too many. It does not include the Sunday afternoon your eight year old spends picking courgettes instead of a screen. Those do not have a price. They are the part of the forty euros nobody puts on the label.

Yields are typical figures for Irish growing conditions, not guarantees. Your own garden, soil, and a bit of luck with the weather will always have the final word.

The post What Forty Euros of Italian Seeds Actually Grows appeared first on BloomySeeds.

Courgettes have a reputation problem in Ireland. Half the gardeners I talk to swear they are foolproof, and the other half have a sad, yellowing plant that has given them nothing but trouble and three flowers. Both groups are usually doing almost the same thing, and the gap between a glut and a failure is smaller than you would think.

This guide walks through how to grow courgettes in Ireland from seed to harvest, including the two reasons most plants here stop fruiting and exactly what to do about each one.

Short on time? Sow indoors from mid-April, harden off properly, and do not plant outside until early June. Give each plant 60 to 90cm of space, feed it well from first flower, and hand-pollinate if you are not seeing bees. Pick fruits young and often, or the plant slows down.

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Why Courgettes Suit Irish Gardens

Courgettes are one of the most forgiving crops you can put in an Irish vegetable patch. They do not need a long hot summer like aubergines or melons, just a decent run of mild weeks and consistent water, both of which Ireland tends to provide.

6 to 10kgof fruit a single healthy plant can produce over one season, from one seed and a square metre of ground.

The trade-off is that courgettes are hungry and thirsty. Skip the feeding or let the soil dry out and growth stalls fast. The plant itself rarely dies from this. It just stops bothering to fruit, which is the most common complaint Irish growers have.

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When to Sow Courgettes in Ireland

Timing matters more than most guides let on, because Ireland’s soil warms later than the seed packet instructions usually assume.

Indoors. Sow from mid-April to early May, in small pots, about 2cm deep, one seed per pot, on its edge. Courgette seeds need roughly 20 degrees to germinate reliably, so a windowsill, heated propagator or a bright porch works far better than an unheated greenhouse this early in the year.

Direct outdoors. Only attempt this from late May onwards in the warmer parts of the country, and even then a late frost can wipe out a direct-sown crop overnight. Starting indoors gives you a head start and a safety net.

Do not sow too early

A courgette plant that is ready in March will sit pot-bound and stressed for two months waiting for outdoor conditions to catch up, and it rarely thanks you for it later.

How to Sow the Seed

1. Fill 9cm pots with a good seed compost.
2. Push one seed in on its edge, about 2cm deep, to reduce rot risk.
3. Water well, then keep the compost just moist, never waterlogged.
4. Place somewhere warm and bright. Germination usually takes five to ten days.
5. Once true leaves appear, move to a cooler, brighter spot to stop the seedling getting leggy.

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Hardening Off and Planting Out

This is the step most Irish gardeners rush, and it is where a lot of plants get checked badly.

Hardening off means gradually introducing an indoor-raised seedling to outdoor conditions over seven to ten days, starting with a few hours outside in a sheltered spot and building up to a full day and night before planting.

Before Planting Out	Check
Frost risk	Fully passed in your area, typically late May to early June
Plant size	At least three or four true leaves
Daytime temperature	Reliably above 12 degrees
Soil	Dug over with plenty of well-rotted manure or compost worked in

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Spacing, Feeding and Watering

Courgette plants get far larger than the seedling suggests, and overcrowding is one of the quickest routes to disease.

Spacing. Leave at least 60 to 90cm between plants in every direction. A bush variety still needs the room to breathe and to let air move through the leaves.

Watering. Water at the base of the plant, never over the leaves, and aim for deep, regular watering rather than a light daily sprinkle. A mulch of straw or compost around the base helps retain moisture through dry spells.

Feeding. Once flowers appear, switch to a high-potash feed, the same kind used for tomatoes, every one to two weeks. This pushes the plant towards fruit production rather than just leaf growth.

Quick checklist

Sown indoors mid-April to early May. Hardened off over 7 to 10 days. Planted out only after frost risk has passed. At least 60cm between plants. Mulched to retain moisture. Feeding with a high-potash fertiliser from first flower.

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Solving the Pollination Problem

This is the single biggest reason Irish courgette plants flower beautifully and produce nothing.

Courgettes produce separate male and female flowers on the same plant. Male flowers appear first, sometimes two to three weeks before any female flowers show up, and a lot of gardeners give up around this point assuming something is wrong. Nothing is wrong. The plant is just getting started.

You can tell them apart easily. Female flowers have a small swollen fruit shape at the base, behind the petals. Male flowers sit on a plain thin stem.

30 secondsis all hand-pollination takes, and it makes a measurable difference during a cool, wet June when bees are scarce.

If you have female flowers opening but no fruit is forming, low bee activity is almost always the cause. The fix:

1. Pick an open male flower in the morning.
2. Strip back the petals to expose the pollen-covered centre.
3. Gently dab it into the centre of an open female flower.
4. Repeat for each female flower you want to set fruit.

Do this every morning while flowers are open and you will see a noticeable jump in how many fruits actually form, regardless of what the bees are doing that week.

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Harvesting for a Longer Season

The biggest mistake with harvesting is letting fruit grow too large before picking. A courgette left to balloon to marrow size tells the plant its job is done, and it slows or stops producing new fruit.

Pick fruits at 12 to 18cm long, usually every two to three days once the plant gets going. Use a sharp knife rather than twisting, since twisting can damage the stem and invite rot.

Check under the leaves daily during peak season. Courgettes hide well, and a missed one can balloon from perfect to oversized in 48 hours.

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Common Mistakes

Planting out too early. A late frost or even a cold, wet spell can stunt a young plant for weeks.

Watering the leaves instead of the soil. Wet leaves invite powdery mildew later in the season.

Letting fruit grow too big. The single most common reason for a plant that “stopped producing” halfway through summer.

Skipping the feed. Leafy growth without potash rarely converts into a good crop.

Overcrowding. Restricts airflow and makes mildew far more likely by midsummer.

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FAQ: Growing Courgettes in Ireland

How long does it take to grow courgettes in Ireland from seed?

From sowing indoors to first harvest typically takes 10 to 12 weeks, so a mid-April sowing should give you fruit from late June or early July.

Why are my courgette leaves turning yellow?

Usually one of three things: a watering issue, a nutrient shortfall, or in more serious cases cucumber mosaic virus, best avoided by controlling aphids early.

Can you grow courgettes in pots in Ireland?

Yes, in a large container of at least 40 litres with good drainage, though they will need more frequent watering and feeding than ones grown directly in the ground.

Why does my courgette plant have flowers but no fruit?

Almost always poor pollination. Hand-pollinate using the method above, particularly during cool or wet weather when bees are less active.

Is it too late to sow courgettes in June in Ireland?

Early June is still workable for a slightly later harvest, particularly with a fast variety, but anything sown after mid-June is racing the first autumn frosts.

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Related Reading

• The Irish Kitchen Garden Calendar: Month by Month
• What to Sow in May in Ireland
• What to Sow in April in Ireland
• Slug Control for Irish Gardeners: The Complete Organic Guide

Want more growing guides like this? Join the BloomySeeds newsletter for monthly sowing reminders, seasonal tips and first access to new seed varieties as they land.

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Conclusion

Growing courgettes in Ireland comes down to a handful of decisions done at the right time: sow indoors with warmth, harden off properly, give the plant room and food, and step in with hand-pollination if the bees are not doing their job. Get those right and a single plant will keep you, and probably your neighbours, in courgettes from July through to the first frosts.

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The post How to Grow Courgettes in Ireland (and What to Do When They Take Over) appeared first on BloomySeeds.

This calendar is written for the Irish midlands. Add one week for the west and north. Subtract one week for Wexford and Cork. Adjust for your own microclimate once you have a season or two behind you.

January

What to do. Order seeds. January is the month to do it, before the good varieties sell out. The ones that run out first: San Marzano tomato, Costoluto Genovese, Cuore di Bue, Radicchio di Treviso.

Clean and sterilise seed trays and pots. Scrub with diluted washing-up liquid, rinse thoroughly, allow to dry. Old compost left in pots carries disease. Start clean every year.

Check stored root vegetables and squash. Remove anything rotting before it spreads. Harvest whatever is still growing: cavolo nero, leeks, stored garlic, any overwintering spinach under fleece.

February

What to sow indoors. San Marzano tomato, Costoluto Genovese, Cuore di Bue, Roma VF. These need 10 to 12 weeks indoors before planting out in May. Also indoors: peppers and chillies if you grow them. These need even longer than tomatoes.

What to do. Prepare raised beds if the ground is workable. Add compost. Do not dig clay soil when it is wet. You will compact it and create problems that take years to fix.

March

Sow indoors. Parsley Vintage Common Flat Leaf (slow to germinate, needs 3 to 4 weeks). Leeks. Onions.

Direct outdoors under cloche or in polytunnel. Broad beans if you did not sow in autumn. Peas. Spinach. Carrots in a sheltered raised bed.

Direct outdoors, no protection needed. Beetroot Chioggia from mid-March in the south and east. Wait until April elsewhere.

Apply copper slug tape to raised beds now, before the slug season begins in earnest. Order slug nematodes (Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita) for April application.

April

Sow indoors. Courgette Striato d’Italia (one seed per 9cm pot, on its side). Basil Classico Italiano on the warmest windowsill you have (18 degrees minimum overnight). Cavolo Nero for an early autumn harvest.

Direct outdoors. Beetroot Chioggia, second sowing. Carrot Autumn King or Nantaise. Lettuce. More spinach.

Polytunnel. First cucumber sowing if you have a polytunnel. Lettuce and salad leaves for May harvesting.

Begin hardening off tomato seedlings. Take them outside for one hour the first day, two hours the second, increasing gradually over two weeks. Bring back inside on cold nights. Do not rush this. A tomato plant setback by cold in May loses two weeks of growth.

Plant out onion sets.

May

Sow indoors. Cavolo Nero (second sowing for succession). Fennel Mantovano.

Direct outdoors from late May. S. Anna Climbing French Bean. One seed every 20cm up a 1.5 metre cane frame. Sweetcorn in blocks of at least 16 plants (it is wind-pollinated and needs to be in a block, not a line). Cucumber outdoors in sheltered spots from late May.

Plant out after last frost (mid to late May). Courgette Striato d’Italia. One or two plants maximum. At 90cm spacing. They will fill the space you give them.

Polytunnel (mid May). San Marzano and other tomatoes into their final positions. Minimum 45cm spacing. Feed weekly from first flower. Install supports immediately.

June

Direct outdoors. Beetroot Chioggia, third sowing for autumn harvest. More salad. More spinach. Fennel Mantovano if not yet done.

Polytunnel. Cucumbers into final positions. Basil alongside polytunnel tomatoes (companion planting: the aromatic oils from basil deter some tomato pests).

July

Sow indoors. Radicchio di Treviso or Radicchio Castelfranco. Sow now for October to December harvest. Spring onions for autumn.

Direct outdoors. More salad, more spinach, more beetroot. These are the succession sowings that keep the garden producing through September.

August

Tomatoes. First polytunnel tomatoes ripen in early to mid August. Make passata immediately. A San Marzano glut waits for no one.

Climbing beans. At absolute peak. Pick daily, eat the same day, freeze what you cannot eat.

Courgettes. Still producing. Make courgette soup and freeze it in portions. August courgette soup in November tastes like summer.

September

Harvest. The last of the tomatoes. The last climbing beans. The first cavolo nero leaves (pick outer leaves; the plant continues producing). Radicchio beginning to heart up.

Clear bean frames and polytunnel tomatoes. Compost all healthy material. Do not compost blighted tomato plants.

October

Harvest. Radicchio. Harvest entire heads when firm. Bitter, beautiful, and extraordinary in a salad with pear and walnut.

Green tomatoes from any remaining outdoor plants. They ripen indoors in a warm, dark place over one to three weeks. Or make green tomato chutney. One kilogram of green tomatoes, three apples, two onions, malt vinegar, brown sugar. Ready for Christmas.

November

Harvest. Cavolo nero. Leeks. Overwintering spinach under cloche. That is it. And it is enough. A plate of cavolo nero with garlic and chilli olive oil, or a leek and potato soup, or spinach wilted with butter and lemon, is good food.

December

Harvest. Cavolo nero. Leeks. Whatever is left in the polytunnel salad bed. The stored passata, dried tomatoes, frozen pesto, green tomato chutney.

Review the year. What worked. What failed. What you want to grow again. What you will not bother with. Make notes while it is fresh. By February you will have forgotten the details.

Order seeds. The cycle begins again.

The One Rule That Covers All of It

Not every Sunday. Not perfectly. Just most of them, most of the time, doing whatever that particular Sunday requires.

In February that is sowing tomatoes on a warm windowsill. In May it is planting courgettes and checking for slugs. In August it is picking beans and making passata. In October it is harvesting cavolo nero and adding compost to the beds.

The calendar tells you what that Sunday requires. The rest is just doing it.

All Italian seed varieties in this calendar are available from BloomySeeds. Every variety is sourced directly from Franchi Sementi, Bergamo, and DAFM registered for sale in Ireland.

The post The Irish Kitchen Garden Calendar: Month by Month appeared first on BloomySeeds.

Ireland has one of the highest slug densities in Europe. This is not a gardening problem. It is a geographical and climatic fact: mild winters that keep populations alive year-round, wet summers that create perfect feeding and breeding conditions, and heavy soils with the kind of crevices that slugs use for shelter and egg-laying. Understanding this is the first step. The second step is stopping the approaches that do not work in Irish conditions and starting the ones that do.

I have grown food in Longford for several years. The slugs here are not the polite, occasional visitors you read about in British gardening books. They are a constant, year-round presence that will eat a tray of basil seedlings overnight and leave nothing but stems by morning. You cannot defeat them. But with the right approach, you can manage them to a point where your garden produces abundantly despite them.

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Know What You Are Dealing With

95%of slug damage happens between 10pm and 6am

There are around thirty slug species in Ireland, but four cause most of the damage worth understanding.

The Spanish slug, Arion vulgaris, arrived in Ireland around 2010 and spread rapidly. It is the large brown-orange slug you see crossing the path at dusk. Larger than native species, a more aggressive feeder, and more resistant to standard controls. If you see one, there are hundreds you are not seeing.

The grey field slug, Deroceras reticulatum, is smaller, faster-breeding, and lives partly underground. It damages roots as well as leaves, which means it attacks things you cannot see until the plant collapses. Standard surface barriers do not stop it.

The jet slug, Milax gagates, is entirely subterranean. It attacks root vegetables, potatoes and bulbs from below. By the time you discover the damage, the slug is long gone.

The important point: Irish slugs are active year-round. They do not die in winter. They go underground, and a warm February brings them back to the surface before most gardeners have noticed spring has started. There is no off season.

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The Approach That Actually Works

Go out after dark with a torch. You will learn more about slug behaviour in 15 minutes than in a year of reading about it.

No single method manages Irish slugs adequately. The gardening books that tell you to put down eggshells or beer traps and call it done were not written for Irish conditions. What works here is a layered system: four or five methods working together, each covering the weaknesses of the others.

Physical Barriers: Copper Tape

Copper creates a mild reaction when a slug’s mucus contacts it, which they find sufficiently unpleasant to avoid. Applied around the outside of raised beds and containers, it is the most reliable permanent barrier available. Use a minimum width of four centimetres, narrower tape loses effectiveness quickly. Form a complete, unbroken ring, because a single gap of one centimetre is all a determined slug needs. Check after heavy rain that the tape has not lifted at the join.

Copper tape is not a complete solution on its own. Subterranean species like the grey field slug can arrive through the soil regardless of what is on the surface. But as part of the layered system, it is an essential component.

Biological Control: Nematodes

Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita is a microscopic parasitic worm that infects and kills slugs underground. Applied as a liquid drench to moist soil, it is extraordinarily effective against the subterranean species that physical barriers cannot reach. The grey field slug, the jet slug, and overwintering slug eggs are all killed by nematodes in ways that no physical barrier can achieve.

In Ireland, apply in April, July and September, when soil temperature is above five degrees and conditions are moist. This is almost always the case in Ireland, which means the application window is reliably available. They are not a one-time fix. Reapply each season. The results, particularly if applied consistently for two or three years, are cumulative.

Remove the Habitat They Need

Slugs need three things: moisture, darkness and shelter during daylight hours. Every board, pot, pile of leaves or piece of netting on the ground is potential daytime cover. Regular clearing of debris around your beds is not tidiness for its own sake. It removes the shelter slugs depend on.

Evening watering is a gift to slugs. They are most active in the first hour after darkness, and watered soil provides perfect conditions for them. Water in the morning instead. By evening the surface will have dried enough to make conditions slightly less favourable.

Mulch is excellent for soil health and moisture retention, but it also provides perfect slug habitat. Use gravel mulch around slug-vulnerable plants like basil, lettuce and seedlings. Save the organic mulch for slug-resistant plants like courgettes, beans and cavolo nero.

Companion Planting That Actually Works

Calendula, the pot marigold, attracts slugs preferentially. Plant it as a sacrificial border around your main beds and slugs will tend to eat it rather than your vegetables. The bonus: calendula is also one of the most valuable beneficial insect plants you can grow, attracting hoverflies and other predatory insects that eat aphids.

Sage and rosemary genuinely repel slugs with their aromatic oils. Interplanting these herbs near vulnerable crops creates a zone that slugs avoid. Plant sage near basil. It will not eliminate the problem but it measurably reduces it.

Get Calendula Seeds  Get Sage Seeds

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When to Act Through the Irish Year

Nematodes work. Biological slug control using nematodes is the single most effective organic method. Apply in April and September when soil is above 5 degrees.

Month	Slug Activity	What to Do
January to February	Low, underground	Order copper tape and nematodes. Clear winter debris from beds.
March	Rising as soil warms	First nematode application. Protect all seedling trays off the ground.
April to May	High, egg-hatching season	Maximum vigilance. Copper tape on every bed. Second nematode drench.
June	High but more manageable	Hand-picking at dusk. Companion planting established by now.
July	Moderate, heat reduces activity slightly	Third nematode application.
August to September	Rising again, second egg cycle	Hand-picking resumes. Protect any autumn seedlings with cloches.
October to November	High in cool damp conditions	Clear all debris before slugs go underground for winter.
December	Low but present in mild spells	Final tidy. Remove every potential overwintering site you can find.

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Italian Varieties That Help Themselves

One of the strongest practical arguments for Italian heirloom varieties in Irish gardens is their natural slug resistance. Many were developed in mountain conditions where slug pressure is significant, and centuries of selection have produced varieties with tougher skins, more aromatic foliage and bitter compounds that slugs genuinely avoid.

Variety	Slug Resistance	Why
Courgette Striato d’Italia	High	Ribbed skin, aromatic leaves, stems are tough to penetrate
Cavolo Nero	High	Waxy, textured leaves with bitter compounds that deter feeding
S. Anna Climbing French Bean	Medium to high	Climbing form keeps most foliage above ground level
Sage, Rosemary, Fennel	Very high	Aromatic oils actively repel slugs; rarely touched
Radicchio	Medium	Bitter compounds reduce feeding, though not immune as seedlings
Basil	Low	Highly vulnerable at all stages; always protect with physical barrier
Lettuce	Very low	Grow under cloche or with copper barrier; treat as a protected crop

Browse Slug-Resistant Italian Varieties

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What Does Not Work in Ireland

Eggshells have no reliable scientific evidence of effectiveness and Irish slugs are entirely unimpressed. Salt damages soil chemistry and kills nearby plants. Do not use it.

Beer traps alone will not manage an Irish slug population. They work as part of a larger strategy, and they will tell you how bad the pressure is, which is useful. But you will empty the trap every morning through May and June without making a measurable dent in the population.

Standard metaldehyde slug pellets are effective for one generation of slugs and harmful to every hedgehog, ground beetle and song thrush that would otherwise have eaten the next generation. The net effect over a full season is negative. Organic ferric phosphate pellets are a better option if you need a chemical intervention, but they are a supplement to the layered system, not a replacement for it.

And the most important thing that does not work: any single-method approach. In Ireland, you need layers. One method alone will not be enough.

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Common Questions

What is the most effective organic slug control for Ireland?

Nematodes combined with copper tape and habitat reduction. These three working together eliminate sixty to eighty percent of slug damage in most Irish gardens. Add companion planting and the result improves further.

When should I apply slug nematodes in Ireland?

When soil temperature is above five degrees and conditions are moist. In Ireland that means April, July and September in most years. You can apply outside those windows in mild, wet weather if conditions suit.

Does copper tape work in heavy Irish rain?

Yes, but check the join regularly. Heavy rain can lift adhesive on cheap or narrow tape. Use four centimetre minimum width and check after storms, especially in spring when slug pressure and rainfall are both at their highest.

Do coffee grounds work against slugs?

There is some evidence of mild deterrence but the effect is too weak and too short-lived to be useful in an Irish garden. Use the coffee grounds for soil conditioning and spend your energy on methods that actually work.

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The right variety choice reduces slug pressure significantly. Browse our full range of Italian varieties, many of which have naturally higher slug resistance than standard commercial seeds, adapted through centuries of growing in conditions not unlike our own.

Get the Vegetable Seeds Bundle

The post Slug Control for Irish Gardeners: The Complete Organic Guide appeared first on BloomySeeds.

Something is wrong with the food. You already know it.

You have eaten a tomato in Italy on holiday. You remember it. You brought it up in conversation when you got home. “The tomatoes there, they taste like actual tomatoes.”

That was not the weather, the wine, or the holiday mood. That was a tomato grown within thirty kilometres of where it was eaten, harvested two days before you ate it, from a variety selected over generations for flavour rather than shelf life.

By the time that tomato reaches you, it has lost most of what made it worth eating. The University of California found that broccoli: same principle: loses around 80% of its glucosinolates within a week of harvest. The clock does not start at the use-by date.

The tomato in your garden is six metres from your kitchen. You pick it the evening you need it. You slice it onto pasta five minutes later. It is a different object entirely.

The gardening industry sold you three lies.

The idea that growing food is complicated, time-consuming, or requires special talent is one of the most profitable myths ever invented. It sells courses. It sells expensive kits. It sells magazines.

When people say they killed every plant they ever owned, they usually mean: they overwatered a houseplant once. Or they bought a tomato variety bred for a Spanish greenhouse, not an Irish summer. Houseplants are a different skill. Irish tomatoes are not.

It is already happening. And it stuck.

2020 changed things. People who had never grown anything started growing things. Window boxes went up. Raised beds appeared in back gardens across the country. Seed companies sold out in ways nobody had seen before.

Some of that faded. A lot of it did not. People who started growing food that year are still growing food now. They found out what gardeners already knew: it is not a hobby like collecting stamps. It changes how you think about food. And that change does not reverse itself.

Why Italian seeds. Why Ireland. Why now.

I moved to Ireland from Italy years ago. Spent a long time running restaurants and coffee shops in Dublin. Learned one thing that changed how I think about food, cooking, and everything that comes after it:

In Italy, behind every village house there is an orto: a small vegetable garden, tended by whoever in the family has the most time, harvested by everyone. Tomatoes in August. Beans drying in October. Radicchio appearing as everything else dies back. Kale and parsley through winter. Then back to spring, and the cycle starts again.

It was not gardening as a hobby. It was just food. The default relationship between people and what they ate.

When I came to Ireland, I noticed two things that do not sit together comfortably. The first was the land. Ireland has extraordinary soil, reliable rainfall, and a growing climate that produces some of the finest grass-fed beef in the world. The second was that almost nobody was using that land to grow vegetables at home.

Five things Welly to Belly actually means in practice.

What Welly to Belly is not.

It is not self sufficiency in the prepper sense. That is a different, more anxious conversation, and we are not having it here.

It is not about perfection. Gardens fail. Whole crops fail. Slugs happen on a scale that will surprise you if you have never gardened in Ireland before. You learn, you adjust, you try again next year with a bit more copper tape and a bit less faith in the forecast.

It is not expensive. A packet of seeds costs around three euros fifty. One courgette plant gives you fifteen to twenty courgettes. Do the maths yourself.

This is for Mary from Mullingar.

The complete list of everything you need.

No polytunnel. No raised bed kit from a garden centre at €180. No course. No subscription. No green thumb. Just a pot, some seeds, water, and half an hour you already have.

And then something grows.

This is still, even after you have done it many times, quietly astonishing. You put a small flat thing in soil. You add water. Six weeks later you have a plant that did not exist before.

Your children will be more interested in eating food they grew than food that appeared in a bag. This is not guaranteed. But it happens far more often than you would expect.

By September, if you plant tomatoes in April, you will have more than you know what to do with. You will make sauce. You will make salad. You will give some away. You will remember what a tomato is supposed to taste like: which is an experience that is very difficult to describe to someone who has only eaten the refrigerated kind.

BloomySeeds is the Irish stockist of Franchi Sementi seed, Bergamo, established 1783. Seven generations. 500+ varieties. Delivered to your door from County Longford.

The post Welly to Belly: The Complete Manifesto appeared first on BloomySeeds.

It is not a radical idea. It is actually one of the oldest ones. This article will not tell you to panic. It will tell you to plant. Whether you have a full garden, a narrow balcony, a sunny windowsill, or just a few pots on a doorstep, there is something you can grow, starting right now, that will save you money and feed your family better.

The Economic Reality

Ireland, like much of Europe, is navigating a period of genuine economic pressure. Inflation has pushed up the cost of basic groceries. Supply chains that were disrupted during the pandemic years have never fully recovered. Climate volatility is affecting harvests globally.

The most vulnerable products are exactly the ones you might expect: fresh vegetables, salads, herbs, tomatoes, courgettes. The everyday ingredients that form the backbone of a healthy, affordable diet. Here is the good news: these are also among the easiest things to grow yourself, even in a small space, even with no previous gardening experience.

Practical Urban Gardening: What You Can Grow and Where

Container Gardening

Containers are the starting point for most urban growers, and for good reason. They are portable, controllable, and scalable. A single large pot on a balcony can produce an impressive amount of food.

Raised Beds

If you have access to a garden, raised beds are the most efficient growing method for Irish conditions. They warm up faster in spring, drain better in our wet climate, and can be filled with good compost regardless of the quality of the soil beneath.

Indoor and Windowsill Growing

Even without any outdoor space, you can grow meaningful amounts of food on a bright windowsill. Herbs are the obvious choice and by far the most cost-effective. A packet of basil seeds costs less than a single supermarket herb pot, and produces fresh leaves for months instead of days.

What to Grow First

Getting Started This Week

Fill a pot with compost. Sow seeds according to the packet instructions. Water. Put it somewhere sunny. That is the entire process. The plant does the rest.

Growing your own food is not a solution to everything. It will not replace your weekly shop. But it will take pressure off the parts of the bill that are rising fastest, it will improve the quality of what your family eats, and it will give you something that no amount of money can buy: the quiet satisfaction of walking outside and picking your own dinner.

All Italian heritage seed varieties mentioned in this article are available from BloomySeeds, sourced directly from Franchi Sementi (Est. 1783). DAFM registered for sale in Ireland.

The post How to Grow Your Own Food in Difficult Economic Times: Gardening Tips for Small Spaces and Balconies appeared first on BloomySeeds.

Temperatures are climbing, the soil is finally warm enough to welcome a full range of seeds and transplants. If you have been raising seedlings indoors since February or March, this is the month when they finally go out into the world.

What to Sow Outdoors in May

With frost risk behind us, the range of what you can sow directly into the ground expands dramatically.

What to Transplant Outdoors in May

Italian Heritage Varieties to Sow in May

Our Franchi Sementi catalogue includes several varieties that are particularly well-suited to May sowing in Irish conditions. These open-pollinated heritage selections have been grown in Italy for generations and perform beautifully in a warm Irish May.

All varieties available at BloomySeeds. Sourced directly from Franchi Sementi, Bergamo. DAFM registered for sale in Ireland.

The post What to Sow in May in Ireland appeared first on BloomySeeds.

April is the most exciting month in the Irish garden. The days are lengthening, the soil is slowly warming, and the window to get seeds started is wide open. But Ireland’s spring is unpredictable. A cold snap in mid-April can undo weeks of work. This guide tells you exactly what to sow now, what to start indoors, and what to hold off on until the risk of frost has passed.

Every variety listed below is in stock at BloomySeeds, the Irish stockist of Franchi Sementi seed (Est. 1783), and available to order today, shipped from Ireland.

Vegetables to Sow in April in Ireland

Tomatoes (Start Indoors)

Tomatoes need a long growing season and should be started indoors in April. Sow in small pots or trays on a warm windowsill. A south-facing window is ideal. They need consistent warmth (at least 18°C) to germinate well.

Keep seedlings indoors until after the May Bank Holiday weekend, when frost risk in most of Ireland has passed. Harden off gradually over a week before moving outside or into a polytunnel.

We carry eleven tomato varieties:

• San Marzano, the classic Italian plum tomato for sauces and passata
• Redorta, giant San Marzano type, one of Italy’s most prized sauce tomatoes
• Cuor di Bue, heirloom beefsteak of Liguria, extraordinary flavour
• Principe Borghese, the traditional hanging tomato, excellent for drying
• Rio Grande Toboga, determinate outdoor variety, excellent for preserving
• Zloty Ozarowski, Polish heirloom yellow tomato with superb sweet flavour
• Red Pear Tomato, Italian heirloom cherry, distinctive pear shape, great for containers
• Yellow Pear-Shaped Tomato, early, vigorous, sweet yellow cherry
• Black Cherry Tomato, early sweet dark cherry with rich flavour
• Red Cherry Tomato, early indeterminate cherry, reliable in Irish summers
• Tomato Marasca F1, early sweet mini bush tomato, compact and productive

Courgettes, Squash and Marrow (Start Indoors)

Sow on their side in individual 9cm pots indoors in April. They germinate fast and grow quickly, so do not sow too early or they will outgrow their pots before it is safe to plant out. Plan to transplant in late May or early June.

• Courgette Striato d’Italia, the classic Italian striped zucchini, excellent flavour
• Courgette Gold Rush F1, bright yellow zucchini, very productive
• Zucchetta Tromba d’Albenga, climbing Italian heirloom squash, stunning in the garden
• Delica F1 Squash, dark green kabocha-type pumpkin, excellent for storage
• Uchiki Kuri Squash, Japanese Red Kuri heirloom, beautiful and delicious
• Marrow Dwarf of Italy, compact Italian bush marrow, ideal for smaller gardens

Beans and Peas (Direct Outdoors or Indoors)

French beans and runner beans can be started indoors in April and planted out in late May. Peas can be direct sown outdoors from mid-April.

Peas to sow now:

• Desiree Purple-Podded Pea, striking purple pods, early and half-tall
• Dwarf Pea Piccolo Provenzale, compact heritage variety, great for small plots
• Pea Dark Skin Perfection, a classic heritage variety with excellent yield
• Climbing Pea Telefono, tall climber, heavy cropper, traditional Italian variety

Broad beans to sow or support now:

• Broad Bean Aguadulce Supersimonia, extra-long pods, up to 9 beans each. Give existing plants support with canes and string as they reach 30 to 40cm tall.

French beans to start indoors for late May planting:

• S. Anna Climbing French Bean, early stringless green pods
• Neckargold Climbing French Bean, long stringless yellow pods
• Purple-Podded Climbing French Bean, beautiful purple pods that turn green when cooked
• Dwarf French Bean Boby Bianco, heritage dwarf variety, excellent yield

Cucumbers and Gherkins (Start Indoors)

Frost-tender. Start indoors in April, transplant outside after mid-May into a sheltered spot.

• Cucumber Sakamari F1, Japanese English-type, reliable and productive
• Cucumber Vintage Marketmore, outdoor ridge cucumber in heritage Vintage format
• Cetriolino Piccolo Verde di Parigi, the classic Italian gherkin for pickling

Peppers and Chillies (Start Indoors)

Peppers and chillies need a long warm season. Start indoors in April on a sunny windowsill or in a heated propagator. Grow on in a polytunnel for best results in Ireland.

• Peperone Dulce Italiano, sweet Italian bull’s horn pepper, superb roasted
• Padron Chilli, the Spanish tapas pepper, mainly mild with the occasional hot one
• Jalapeño, classic Mexican hot pepper, reliable in a polytunnel
• Chilli Red Cherry Small, hot Calabrian heritage chilli
• Ciliegia Piccante, Satan’s Kiss cherry chilli, intensely hot and visually stunning

Lettuce and Salad Leaves (Direct Outdoors)

Lettuce is one of the easiest crops to direct sow in April. Rake a fine seedbed and sow thinly in shallow drills. Sow little and often, a short row every two to three weeks, for a continuous harvest rather than a glut.

• Bis di Lattughe, early cutting lettuce mix, cut-and-come-again
• Mixed Lettuces, heritage blend of Italian varieties
• Lettuce Romana Bionda, blond-green Romaine, slow to bolt
• Organic Lettuce Bionda Ricciolina, frilly blond cut-and-come-again
• Iceberg Lettuce Regina dei Ghiacci, crisp heirloom iceberg, slow to bolt
• Lettuce Vintage Blond, slow-bolting crisphead, well suited to Irish springs
• Escarole Scarola Verde, Italian classic for braising or salads
• Cultivated Rocket, classic peppery Italian arugula
• Rocket Vintage Cultivated, Italian wild rocket in heritage Vintage format

Beetroot (Direct Outdoors)

Beetroot is one of the most forgiving vegetables and does very well in Irish conditions. Sow direct from mid-April, 2cm deep in rows 30cm apart. Soak the seeds overnight before sowing to speed up germination.

• Beetroot Detroit, a classic heritage variety, reliable, sweet and perfect for roasting

Carrots (Direct Outdoors)

Carrots need a light, stone-free soil and do not transplant well, so always sow direct. From late April the soil should be warm enough for reliable germination. Sow thinly, 1cm deep, in rows 30cm apart. Do not over-water. Carrots in waterlogged soil fork and split.

• Carrot Nantese di Chioggia, sweet cylindrical Italian variety, reliable in Irish conditions
• Carrot Mix, colourful blend of medium-early varieties
• Cosmic Purple Carrot, deep purple skin with a sweet orange core
• Carrot Flakkee Gigante, large late variety for long-term storage
• Carrot Touchon, fast-growing French heirloom, excellent flavour
• Carrot Berlicum, sweet maincrop heirloom, long cylindrical roots
• Carrot Vintage Half Length, ideal for heavier Irish soils or container growing

Radish and Quick Crops (Direct Outdoors)

• Mixed Colour Radish, red, yellow, white and purple; ready in as little as 25 days
• Radish Vintage Gaudry, early round French radish in Vintage 1928 format
• Spring Onion Cipollotti a Mazzo, bunching allium, harvest when pencil-thin
• Purple Top Milan Turnip, early Italian heirloom, harvest young for tenderness
• Cima di Rapa 40 Days, Italian broccoli raab, ready in just 40 days

Spinach and Swiss Chard (Direct Outdoors)

Both tolerate light frost and grow quickly in cool Irish spring weather.

• Spinach Baby Leaf Emilia F1, fast baby leaf spinach, loves cool weather
• Spinach Vintage Matador, cold-resistant heirloom with giant leaves
• Swiss Chard Colour Mix, vibrant stems, extremely productive
• Swiss Chard Vintage Costa Verde, Italian heritage perpetual spinach
• Cavolo Nero Tuscan Kale, direct sow now for summer and autumn harvest
• Pak Choi, fast-growing Asian greens, ready in 6 to 8 weeks

Leeks (Indoors or Outdoor Seedbed)

April is ideal for leeks. Sow in module trays indoors or in an outdoor seedbed. They will be ready to transplant into their final positions in June or July.

• Porro di Delft, winter-hardy late variety, excellent for Irish conditions

Celery, Artichoke and Other Slower Crops (Indoors)

• Celery Gigante Dorato, sow on the surface of compost without covering, as it needs light to germinate
• Artichoke Green Imperial Star, start indoors now; this Italian heirloom can produce in year one
• Broccolo Ramoso Calabrese, early tender Italian broccoli, transplant outside in May
• Cape Gooseberry, start indoors early for a long productive season
• Wild Strawberry, sow on the surface indoors; a perennial addition to any garden

Herbs to Sow in April in Ireland

Most herbs can be started in April, either on a windowsill or directly outside once night temperatures stay reliably above 5°C.

Basil (Indoors Only in April)

Basil is frost-sensitive and dislikes cold draughts. Sow in April on a warm sunny windowsill. Do not put it outside until June.

• Basil Classico Italiano, classic Genovese basil, the real thing for pesto
• Basil Vintage from Genova, heritage Genovese basil in Vintage 1928 format

Parsley (Direct Outdoors from Mid-April)

• Parsley Vintage Common Flat Leaf, Italian flat-leaf parsley. Slow to germinate, up to 3 to 4 weeks. Soak seeds in warm water overnight to help.

Thyme (Indoors, Slow Germination)

• Timo di Provenza, aromatic perennial herb from Provence. Press seeds lightly onto the surface without covering, as they need light to germinate. Once established, very drought-tolerant in a sunny spot.

Sage and Peppermint (Indoors in April)

• Sage, sow indoors in April; perennial once established
• Peppermint, sow indoors in April; grow in a container to prevent it spreading through the garden

Fennel (Direct Outdoors, Late April)

• Fennel Mantovano, heritage bulbing fennel, sow directly where it is to grow as it dislikes transplanting

Flowers to Sow in April in Ireland

April is perfect for starting annual flowers. Many of our Vintage 1928 collection, the original Franchi Sementi varieties from their 1928 seed catalogue, do beautifully in Ireland.

Calendula (Direct Outdoors, Easiest Flower)

Calendula is almost foolproof. Scatter seeds directly in the border from mid-April. They germinate in 7 to 14 days, flower from June onwards, and self-seed prolifically.

• Calendula a Fiore Semplice Arancio, single open petals beloved by pollinators, edible petals add colour to salads

Marigolds (Indoors in April)

Tagetes are frost-tender. Start indoors in April and plant out after mid-May. Excellent companion plants that deter whitefly near tomatoes.

• Tagete Gigante Multicolor, vivid multicolour marigolds in Vintage 1928 format

Zinnia (Indoors in April)

Zinnias need warmth to thrive. Start indoors in April in 9cm pots. They resent root disturbance, so transplant carefully in late May or June.

• Zinnia Pompon Nana Multicolor, pompom flowers in a mix of colours, one of the best cut flowers you can grow

Sunflowers (Indoors or Direct Outdoors in April)

• Sunflower Red Sun, deep red cut flower variety, dramatic and unusual
• Sunflower Orange Sun, double orange puffball flower, very showy
• Ornamental Sunflower Multicolor, mixed colours for maximum impact

More Vintage 1928 Flowers to Start Indoors

• Scabiosa Multicolor, pincushion flowers, pollinator magnet, excellent for cutting
• Aster Princesse Multicolor, late summer colour, excellent for cutting
• Celosia Cristata Multicolor, architectural blooms from August, dries beautifully
• Gomphrena Globosa Multicolor, globe amaranth, excellent for drying and winter arrangements
• Elicrisio Strawflower Multicolor, everlasting flowers, brilliant dried
• Balsamina a Fior di Camelia, old-fashioned balsam with camellia-like flowers
• Bella di Notte Multicolor, four o’clock flower, opens in the evening
• Ageratum Nano Blu Star, compact blue floss flower for edging and borders
• Margheritina dei Prati, meadow daisy, charming and bee-friendly

Flower Mixes (Indoors or Direct Outdoors)

• Butterfly Flower Mix, colourful annual blend designed to attract butterflies
• Bee-Friendly Flower Mix, annual and perennial blend for pollinators
• Ladybird Flower Mix, annual and biennial blend that attracts beneficial insects
• Pink Summer Flower Mix, soft and deep pink annuals for all-summer colour
• White Summer Flower Mix, elegant white annuals, perfect for a formal look
• Blue Summer Flower Mix, annual blue shades, rare and beautiful in Irish gardens
• Margherita Carinatum Mix, giant multicolour daisies, cheerful and productive
• Perennial Flower Mix, hardy long-blooming blend that comes back every year
• Foxglove Digitale Multicolor, tall biennial spikes, a classic in Irish cottage gardens

Our Vintage Flowers Bundle brings together 12 heritage Italian flower varieties in one order.

What NOT to Sow Outdoors Yet in April

Ireland’s last frost date varies enormously by location. In coastal areas, frost risk often ends in mid-April. In the midlands, high ground and north-facing gardens, frost can arrive well into May.

April Gardening Tips for Irish Weather

April Sowing Checklist

Shop April Seeds at BloomySeeds

All the varieties in this guide are in stock and available to order today. Italian heritage seeds from Franchi Sementi (Est. 1783), delivered across Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Our most popular starting point is the Vintage Vegetable Bundle, 12 heritage Italian vegetable varieties for €40.

Shop Vegetable Seeds
Shop Herb Seeds
Shop Flower Seeds
Shop Vintage 1928 Collection

Happy sowing.
Dario, BloomySeeds

The post What to Sow in April in Ireland: Complete Guide with Every Variety Available Now appeared first on BloomySeeds.

After weeks of looking at seed packets and planning on paper, the soil is finally waking up and there is real work to be done. Miss this window and you spend the rest of the season playing catch-up.

Whether you have a polytunnel, a raised bed or just a few pots on a south-facing patio, there is plenty you can get started right now.

What to sow indoors in March

Tomatoes are the priority. Sow them in a propagator or on your warmest windowsill.

At BloomySeeds we grow San Marzano for sauce and Cuore di Bue as a big beefsteak tomato for salads. Both are Italian classics that do very well in Irish summers, even the grey ones.

Basil wants warmth above everything else. A late March sowing kept on a warm windowsill will give you strong plants by the time it is safe to move them outside in June. The Genovese basil from Franchi Sementi has noticeably larger and more fragrant leaves than anything you will find in a supermarket.

Brassicas including cabbage, broccoli and kale can all be started indoors now for planting out in April and May. Aubergine and peppers started in January or February need potting on now if they have outgrown their seed tray.

What to sow direct in March

From mid-March, once the soil has warmed a little, you can start sowing straight into the ground.

The varieties I recommend for March in Ireland

Not every tomato or courgette variety suits the Irish climate. Short summers and cool nights mean you need varieties that ripen reliably without needing weeks of Mediterranean sun.

All varieties available at BloomySeeds. Sourced directly from Franchi Sementi, Bergamo. DAFM registered for sale in Ireland.

The post What to Sow in March in Ireland appeared first on BloomySeeds.