After what has seemed like one of the longest and deepest winters in memory, I bet many of you are itching to get back into your gardens!
As the weather begins to improve, here are some tips & ideas for things to consider when venturing back out into our gardens:
March Garden Tips – Things to consider this month...
1. Plant onion and shallots
Shallots and onions can be planted from here onwards, both will thrive if planted twelve inches and eight inches apart respectively. Make sure they are pushed into well worked soft soil, the tips should just show above the surface of the soil. This should ensure they thrive, however, birds can lift the sets so it may be worth considering some netting above to prevent any casualties.
2. Protect new spring shoots from slugs
Slugs are a real pain to most gardens and gardeners. Rather than rely on pellets or chemicals, slugs love beer/lager, so any beer-baited traps offer a kinder way to eliminate the problem! Take the bottom few inches of a normal 2 or 3 litre plastic drinks bottle, dig into the soil, fill with beer and then cover leaving a small gap for slugs to enter. The cover prevents rain from washing the beer away – check every day or so and remove the ‘well oiled’ slugs, replenishing the beer for maximum effect. If this is done early enough, and is undertaken for two years running, then their population growth will be severely stunted.
3. Preventing weeds
Although difficult to list all of the ways you can prevent weeds, by following these few tips, you should be able to keep them to a small number and certainly under control. Spread a thick mulch over your soil and cover large areas with plastic, this will prevent germination and spreading. For those annual weeds which can live dormant in the soil waiting for the correct conditions, regular turning over the soil will help destroy them so long as you find the roots as well. Try to avoid herbicides if possible, or use carefully if you do decide to use them.
4. Plant summer-flowering bulbs
For best results wait until the soil has warmed slightly before planting outdoors. If you wish to make an early start then some can be planted indoors. Good quality potting soil and warm conditions should do the trick, they won’t require any light until they have shoots above the surface. Once they are established you can transfer outdoors.
5. Tend to overgrown perennials
It’s easiest to divide a perennial plant by digging and then lifting around the entire plant. Slice down around the outer perimeter of the plant, a few inches away from the foliage and dig down at least several inches deep, a minimum of 6 inches for most plants and more for well-rooted plants. You really want to dig as much of the root ball as possible so that the division is less of a shock to the plant. Once divided, the two plants can be lowered into holes which give them as much space to grow as possible.
6. Mow the lawn on dry days
Lawns will require special attention at various stages of the year, as with many plants, lawns will begin to grow faster again as the weather turns warmer. You should start by leaving the grass as long as possible and then gradually shorten the length each time you mow. By the time late spring early summer rolls around you are mowing weekly and have reverted to a summer cutting length.
7. Pruning Dogwood and Salix
Pruning the dogwoods in early spring, gives the shrub plenty of time to generate masses of long straight cane-like stems for stunning colour effect in the following winter months.
Prune the Cornus down to - or near ground level. Prune every stem down to this level. This hard pruning of the Dogwood removes all of the stems that we the attraction through the previous winter, but do not worry, for where you have carried out the pruning, many more stems will grow from the stumps left behind. These new young stems will produce brightly coloured stems throughout the following dormant season. If left un-pruned, then the Dogwood would lose vigour, and the stem colour would fade year after year.
Hard pruning is the way forward for this, and make sure that you prune early enough in the spring. Salix should be pruned to approximately 1ft off the ground every spring so as to keep it healthy.
8. Fresh compost in containers
To give your plants the best chance this year, it is advisable to replace the top few inches of soil in your containers with new compost. This will help to boost the plants’ growth, improving their general health and maintain their development.
9. Planting Peas
Peas are traditionally sown on St. Patrick's Day, March 17th. They need a minimum temperature of 7C (46F) to germinate. If you’re like me and unsure what the weather will be doing from one day to the next, it is wiser to sow them in modules and harden them off before planting them out next month.
10. Open the greenhouse doors on warm days
If we experience a particularly warm day this spring, don’t forget to air your greenhouse or conservatory. Not only will the plants benefit from the fresh air, it is also an opportune time to tend to any plants and provide them with a boost before summer. This may also be a good opportunity to identify any bugs or diseases that may have started over the winter.
Come back and see us again soon for more garden tips and ideas to help you.
