23/02/2009

March

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Early Spring is the time when the sowing starts in earnest. The careful preparation of the past few months will serve you well as the busiest time of year approaches.

Indoor sowings of Tomatoes, Aubergines and Peppers should be carried out, and leave them on windows sills to germinate. If we have a cold snap this month it could be disastrous in the garden. Keep you eyes open for any sign of severe weather forecasts and then cover everything in fleece to stop the worst of the damage. With warmer, and hopefully dryer days becoming more common, it's going to be less of a chore to be in the garden this month.

The Vegetable Garden in March

• Finish any digging
• Force Rhubarb
• Sow early crops under cloches
• Warm soil using cloches

In the fruit garden in March

• Prune Apple trees and other hardy fruit trees

• Plant container grown trees and mulch well

• Get ready to do any grafting

• Dig in manure around the base of fruit trees

• Prepare strawberry beds

Check the grease bands around fruit trees and renew as required.

If not already done, prune Raspberry canes to 6 inches. Keep the canes for supports for peas or similar

Check the fruit stores for rotting fruit, or attacks by rodents

Plant fruit trees, fruit canes and fruit bushes.

Prepare strawberry beds.

The Flower garden in March

• Order seeds

• Prepair borders with manure

• Train Climbers

• Prune Roses

• Divide herbacious plants

 

Normally in late winter it is time to dig the lawn mower out of the garage from under the empty christmas present boxes. But the chances are this year that you may have already used the mower. Either way, it is time to get it serviced, and ready for the job.

Other jobs to do include checking your seeds and ordering any you are missing

Make sure you have enough fleece insulating your coldframes.

Tidy up the beds and finish any digging.

The Greenhouse in March

• Time to sow the bedding plants

  Prick out any seedlings that are ready

  Keep the greenhouse glass clean to maximise the light

  Start any tubers off.

• Whitefly in the greenhouse - treat it with a parasitic wasp and bacterial soap.