Don’t Be Fooled By A Couple Of Nice Days
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
Don’t Be Fooled By A Couple Of Nice Days
Let’s not be fooled by a couple of nice days tempting us to believe Spring is here. Things are starting to grow a bit now, but March can be cold and frosty on times so don’t be tempted to put anything tender outside. Plenty to do in the garden though, Winter flowering heathers will benefit from an ericaceous feed after they’ve had a trim.
Hydrangeas are an easy plant to propagate by layering, all you need to do is make a cut in a low-lying branch and pin it to the ground with the cut in the soil. Once it’s rooted snip it off from the mother plant. We still have time to split up large clumps of perennials, not only will you have more plants, but you will have healthier ones as they will have more growing space. Water these in well even if soil is moist. Now that we’re into March please leave hedge cutting until after the nesting season, birds and their songs are as much a part of a garden as the plants.
Local nature groups will be encouraging us to have a wildflower patch. If you’re going to try this, there are a couple of things to consider. The first thing is a weed and grass free space as wildflowers can’t compete. The poorer the soil the better; no need for any sort of feed, all they need is water and some sunshine.
I know I harp on about the quality of compost since they’ve stopped using peat in its makeup, which we know is the way forward. These firms are using recycled material but are not processing it properly and we end up with a lot of wastage. When sieving I have on average found 15% unusable for planting seeds or seedlings, where you need fine material. I have found coir blocks made from coconut husks to be the best material. You just add water to the block in a container leave it to soak then break it up. There is no wastage, it’s easy to keep moist and the plants do well in it.
Up at the allotments the folk there will be champing at the bit to get early crops such as beetroot, peas, early potatoes and salad crops into the ground. Don’t let a bit of sunshine tempt you to plant runner beans until at least the end of April, or they will perish. These allotments at Twyn Yr Odyn are for hardy souls who love their hobby of trying to get their crops to grow while being blown sideways by the wind or gasping for breath in the thin atmosphere at a height of 360 ft above sea level. All this and they still take home the winners’ certificates from the local village show with their produce.
Take care and happy gardening