Rita and Elizabeth’s Advice
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
This month Rita Edwards and Elizabeth Jones give us the benefit of their gardening knowledge.
Rita
- Separate clumps of snowdrops while in the green as they will naturalise better.
- Prune hedges before the birds start nesting.
- Check fences for broken posts and loose panels.
- Prune wisteria back to 2 or 3 buds.
- Cut back perennials that were left protecting the crown of the plant.
Elizabeth
- Make sure that the mower is serviced before mowing begins in earnest.
- Do repairs to paths on dry days.
- Sow sweet peas.
- Strimmer line will keep its strength if stored in water, honestly.
- Seaweed is a brilliant fertiliser, just make sure you wash the salt off first.
Right then gardeners, you can be sure that plants are going to cost quite a bit more this Spring due to high heating and fertiliser costs which the nurseries have to pass on to the garden centres, who in turn pass this on to customers. So, start saving by sowing seeds. We have to heat our homes, and windowsills make an ideal spot to produce seedlings. Cosmos, sweet peas, kale and tomatoes will thrive on a warm sill. Just cover at night to keep the chill off. This is the one time you need to use properly prepared fresh compost with a bit of perlite added for drainage. This will help prevent damping off which is a fungal disease that can wipe out trays of seedlings. The main causes of damping off spreading are low light and poor air flow.
Outside, the garden seems to need attention everywhere you look. Now is a good time to move deciduous shrubs that this year, with fresh eyes, seem to be in the wrong place. Prune mahonia and winter flowering heathers. Cut back buddleia and elder down to the base. This will help keep them a reasonable size. Cut back the overwintered fuchsias, check on any plants that may have become dislodged in the inclement weather. There is still time to purchase bare root shrubs. This month is the latest you should be pruning apple trees. Most apple trees produce fruit on short stems that sprout on old wood, while a few fruit on long shoots produced just the year before. Check to see which type you have before pruning or you may end up with no fruit at all. The important thing is to have an open aspect by thinning out the middle to allow a good air flow and increase light. This will help to keep disease at bay.
Keep deadheading the pansies to prolong the flowering. The one thing that needs to be done every time you go into the garden besides weeding is to look in crevices and under pots for slugs and snails as everyone you deal with now is going to increase the number of buds that will develop in Spring.
Take care and happy gardening