Gardening in the Spring. Monthly Guide.
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March ------------ Spring Gardening Tips, Hints, help, info.
March brings breezes loud and shrill! To the keen gardener, March brings the opportunity to get out into the garden and prepare the soil for action.
If the weather is mild the grass will soon be on the way, so it is best now to check over your lawnmower for defects before you begin. Check for blade wear, oil bearings and on electric lawnmowers check the cables for damage.
Remember when working on your mower, always remove the spark plug lead on petrol mowers and always unplug electric tools.
If taking an early spring cut on your lawn it is best to use a rotary mower, set the blades fairly high to avoid pulling the grass out by the roots. This type of damage is more prone to happen with a cylinder mower.
For the really keen gardener this is the time to sow vegatable seed and some varieties of annual flower seeds. The soil in the garden, is often wet and cold at this time of year , so one should always choose a good drying day for seed sowing. Nothing will be gained sowing early if the
seeds rot away in wet soil. So if conditions are not right, it is better to sit in front of the telly rather than waste your time and money. So that you don't lose valuable time due to wet conditions, many early vegetables can be started in boxes in a cold greenhouse. Alternativly, there are many cold frames on the market with which to cover and protect the young plants against the worst of the weather,
if you do choose to sow outside.
March is the last opportunity to prune back unruly growth on your shrubs, before leaf growth begins. In order to retain the flowering buds, do not prune the early flowering rhododendrons magnolias camelias and azaleas until the Autumn. Theses four shrubs along with heathers will benefit from an application of peat around the base of the plant.
The peat not only keeps the ground damp but also makes the soil acid for theses lime hating plants.
April ------------ Spring time showers
With the warming sunshine and the end of the winter winds, April is an ideal time to plant container grown conifers and shrubs. Conifers and evergreen shrubs straight from the crowded nursery bed are often a little tender and will lose water rapidly though the leaves
until established in their new home. Therefore it is essential that you apply water in copious amounts during the first few months after planting. Also peat or wood chippings around the base of the plant will help retain moisture.
If you own a greenhouse, (and you are prepared to use heat), its time to sow half-hardy annuals (Bedding Plants) for planting out after the spring frosts are over. Begonia corms and dahlia tubers can be started off in a shallow tray of compost in the glasshouse, for bedding out later. By the way, I trust that you washed off the winter dirt and moss from the glass,
to give maximum light and clear away any overwintered pests which may have been lurking there.
For more details on seed sowing and how it's done, go to our special
Nowadays if you don't want to sow seeds but still use your greenhouse to make savings on your plant bill, you can buy your summer plants and bedding plants from the Garden Centre as small 'Plug Plants'. These plants are part grown at the nursery in their own individual root cell, You can then grow on theses plants in larger containers and at planting out time you will have much bigger and better plants than those purchased in cramped trays, from retailers.
Outdoors, potatoes can be planted this month, if you like the taste of a freshly harvested spud they are a crop worth growing. But, unless you have lots of garden space, potatoes are not really an economic proposition.
Dwarf Beans and early varieties of Runner Beans can be sown outdoors right at the end of April, but be prepared to cover the plants if frost is forcast. If you are in a frost prone area sowing indoors and planting out after the danger of frosts is past, is probably the safer option.
Magnolias are a magnificent sight in mid april. To keep your magnolias in top form it is advisable to spread some garden peat around the base of the bush to maintain an acid environment which magnolias require. Also magnolias tend to suffer from magnesium deficiancy, a yearly application of epsom salts will correct this.
May Glorious flowers of spring ------------
This is a glorious month in all gardens, with the flowering trees in full spring blossom. Rock plants and herbaceous plants will be showing themselves after winter dormancy. Now is the time to look around your stock of plants and replace any that have expired or perhaps any that no longer take your fancy. At this time of year nurseries and garden centres carry massive stocks in containers all ready to plant.
As the weather warms up aphids can be a problem on roses and various other plants, there are many types of anti aphid sprays on the market. If you feel that you want to be friendly towards the environment, spraying with a weak solution of washing up liquid will have the desired effect but on a less permanent basis. Here on the nursery we have little trouble with aphids, we have encouraged a large population of small birds, which we feed through the winter. Then in spring they repay us by going round all the plants eating the aphids on a regular daily patrol.
In the greenhouse, now is the time to plant your tomato plants, these are best grown in grow bags, which are readily available. The advantage of the grow bag is that the feed is incorporated and no Tomato disease is carried over from last year in old soil. For the home grower 'Shirley' is the best cropping variety, but if you are not too confident of your growing abilities, 'Moneymaker' 'Alicanti' or 'Ailsa Craig' are your best bet.
An enjoyable greenhouse job and a way to demonstrate your skills, is planting up your hanging baskets. Use a good quality compost and put plenty of plants into each basket, nothing looks worse than a basket or tub with only three or four bedding plants in it. For more on FILLING HANGING BASKETS see (More Q&A) page
QUESTION.
Could you give me advice on PLANTING HANGING BASKETS
ANSWER.
First you must choose your basket, traditional wire hanging baskets are still in evidence but take skill and hard work to fill. The plastic pots now in vogue are easy to fill but do have some drawbacks. Also the location of the basket has to be taken into consideration. On a windy or hot site wire hanging baskets soon dry out, in a secluded or dark area plastic hanging baskets or pots can become waterlogged.
It is best to use top quality compost, the plants have limited room to find nourishment and just any old soil will not do. Moss is the traditional liner for wire hanging baskets, but today there are many commercial produced liners available or if you wish to be really economical, a green plastic shopping bag will surfice.
The plants for hanging baskets come in three categories, Accent plants to take centre stage and give the arrangement height, Filler plants to bulk up the arrangement and trailing plants to flow over the side. In a wire hanging basket theses trailers can be planted into the sides of the basket. There are various brands of slow release fertiliser pellets, which you mix into the compost when planting, a definite must.
Geraniums, Fuchsias and double Begonias make excellent center, spot plants; for the filling use standard spring bedding plants, you can introduce a colour theme if you wish.
As for the trailing plants, today there are many specialist-trailing plants available both with attractive foliage and flowers, also trailing Fuchsias and trailing Begonias give a lovely show. One trailing plant that is really popular today is the 'Surfinia' a hybrid form of petunia with a rampant growth and masses of flowers, this is best grown in its own pot. If you are away at work during the hot summer days, it may be worth your while investing in an automatic watering system for your patio tubs and hanging baskets. These are readily available at garden outlets, and very cheap to buy.
Please note there can be spring frosts in May, so it is always best to have a source of heat in your greenhouse, set the thermostat to keep the temperature a few degrees above freezing at nights.
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Now is the time to split that large bog of snowdrops, snowdrops are best replanted straight after flowering. Do not allow the bulbs to dry out before planting them in their new location..
Also see MARCH GARDENING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS page.
Also see PAGE TWO MARCH GARDENING Q & A
Also see PAGE THREE MARCH GARDENING Q & A
PAGE FOUR MARCH GARDENING Q & A
PAGE FIVE MARCH GARDENING QUESTIONS ANSWERED
GO TO MARCH GARDENING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS PAGE 6
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SOWING SEEDS
Also see APRIL GARDENING QUESTION AND ANSWER
and APRIL GARDENING Q&A, PAGE 2.
also APRIL GARDENING Q&A, PAGE 3.
Plus APRIL GARDENING Q&A, PAGE 4.
APRIL GARDENING Q&A, PAGE 5.
APRIL GARDENING PAGE 6.
APRIL GARDENING PAGE 7.
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For your convenience this article on hanging baskets is now featured below.
Question?
I've been told that adding Epson Salts around peppers and tomato plant will increase the yield. Could you tell me if this is so and when and how much?
Thank You
Bill
As a bonus it will also add to the taste. Magnesium in the Epsom Salts is a vital element of chlorophyl the green in the leaves. Applying Epsom Salts also releases other vital trace elements in the soil. Scatter a couple of handfuls around your plants about once a month but don't overdo it.
Also, if you are planting out any early bedding plants, it is wise to cover them overnight with newspaper or garden fleece if frost is forcast.
Also see MAY GARDENING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
PAGE 2, MAY GARDENING Q & A
MAY GARDENING Q & A PAGE 3
MAY GARDENING Q & A PAGE 4
MAY GARDENING Q & A PAGE 5
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Gardening Glossary.
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Aphid. A small winged insect that hatches out in clusters on tender plants and kills the plant by sucking out all the sap from the plant stem. Easily recognised, coloured, green, grey, or black.
Some Aphids overwinter on plants kept in protected conditions, so check early for infestation.
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Gardening Glossary. ANNUALS. Plants which perform all their growing functions in one year, flowering and leaving seed for the following year's generation before dying at the onset of winter. |
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