Things Are Starting To Grow
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
Things Are Starting To Grow
A cold start to March held back seed sowing, unless you had some form of heat to help germination. Now with longer days and a little more warmth things are starting to grow and seedlings catch up quickly. Patience is always the best way forward to get things done. With young plants we have to be aware of their needs, by protecting them from cold nights and most importantly, be very careful with watering. Too much and they will rot in the trays or too little and they’ll wilt. Try to check on them each day, it will be worth the effort.
Snowdrops, crocus and daffodils are the first to go over. A few steps now will guarantee a good display next year. As soon as the flowers die back, cut them off or they will try to set seed which will take energy away from the bulb. Do not cut back the foliage until it dies back, the leaves are where the bulb gets its nutrients from to store energy for next year.
Weeds will, without doubt, be growing faster now than anything you’ve planted so keep on top of them, or they will smother any young plants or older ones given the chance. Mulching around the plant is a good way to suppress weeds but only if you put it down at least 3” thick. Old compost is a good mulch, better still, if you see any of the tree surgeons working around our community, ask them for the stuff they are chipping, it’s perfect and they will be glad for you to have it. If you feel that you must buy some, get a few bags of bark from British soil in Wenvoe. Don’t buy that scrulch from garden centres, it’s only straw and an expensive waste of time and money. If you want straw, buy a bale from a local farmer or Arthur Johns in Cowbridge. Honestly, just lay cardboard down on the soil, with some old compost on top and the job is done.
On the allotments, Bernard has put up a tent like the ones you see on crime dramas when a body has been discovered. It must be a new method he has worked out to get a better crop of something and he’s not willing to share it yet. It’s not anything sinister, as you can hear radio 4 being played from inside. The site is looking great with freshly dug ground and gardeners busy planting their young crops. All early potatoes are in and trays of young veg under cloches. Do not even contemplate planting runner beans yet, you need to wait for the ground to warm even more for this tender king of crops to have a fair chance, remember patience is key.
Don’t forget to come along to the Tuckers Wartime Plant Sale on 10 May in the church hall. There will be a good selection of plants, wartime recipes to sample, a good quality raffle. More details can be found elsewhere in this edition of the Wenvoe What’s On.
Happy gardening.