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Gardening
Tips
March,
Week One
This is a busy time in the garden. The weather
is becoming springlike and the evenings are
brighter. All the jobs you put off since Christmas
need to be tackled. Deciduous shrubs and trees
are bursting into growth along with the weeds
and the lawn.
| 1. |
Time-saving
tip:
Eliminate grass corners.Curve the edges
to remove awkward bits of lawn which are
difficult to cut. Plant up or hard surface
where the turf is lifted.
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| 2. |
Money-saving
tip:
This is a good time to apply a mulch of
composted bark. A two inch (5 cm) deep
layer spread on the surface, before the
soil dries out, will deter weeds.Spreading
newspapers between the soil and the mulch
will slow down the rate the bark decomposes.
It should last for an extra two years.
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| 3. |
As
soon as possible start cutting the grass.
If it has not been cut since last autumn
it will be long and tufted and hard work.Choose
a dry day, cut it to three inches and
remove the cuttings. The same day, or
soon after, cut it again to half its height.
Don鈥檛 put it out of your mind. It will
be easier to cut when short in about 10
days.
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| 4. |
It鈥檚
useful to make early outdoor sowings of
salad vegetables such as scallions (spring
onions), lettuce, radish and rocket. Providing
the soil is not wet and sticky, cultivate
and rake over the surface. Cover the area
with clear polythene for a week before
sowing. This will warm the soil up and
get the seed off to a good start. Next
week we will start sowing.
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| 5. |
This
is the best time to move snowdrops. It is
called 鈥渕oving in the green鈥. Once the flowers
have faded dig up the plants. Take care
not to damage the bulb or the foliage. Tease
out the clumps and transplant straight away
at the same depth. Water to settle the soil
around the roots. |
| 6. |
Cut
back Buddleia davidii, the butterfly bush,
to within six inches of the older wood.
Plants which have been neglected for years
may be cut to waist height. They will
be rejuvenated, probably flowering this
summer.
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| 7. |
If
you have recently bought a camellia with
flower buds you may, for your enjoyment,
keep it in the conservatory or porch until
after it has flowered. Don鈥檛 allow the
compost to dry out.
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| 8. |
Keep
an eye on your favourite hostas which
will be starting into growth. Slugs and
snails love them, removing the shoots
before the leaves can open.Use beer or
citrus skins on a daily basis to trap
enemy number 1.
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March, Week two
There is no shortage of jobs that need to be
started.These should keep you busy but try to
find time for a stroll in the garden to admire
the results of your past labours.
| 1. |
Time
Saving Tip: Sow carrots thinly in rows
to avoid spending time (and getting a sore
back) removing surplus seedlings. The smell
of the crushed foliage attracts the carrot
fly pest. |
| 2. |
Money
Saving Tip: Allow crocus growing in
the lawn to produce seed before cutting
that area of grass. They will quickly multiply. |
| 3. |
St.Patrick鈥檚
Day or the Ides of March, two days won鈥檛
make any difference but now is the time
to prune your bush roses. Cut out the old
branches as close to ground level as possible.
Remove thin shoots. Cut the younger growths
back to 6-8 inches above an outward pointing
bud. Remove the prunings. |
| 4. |
The
showy winter shrubs with their coloured
bark are starting to leaf up. Cut all the
stems of Cornus alba, red dogwood and Cornus
stolonifera Flaviramea, yellow stemmed dogwood,
to within a few inches of the ground. The
new stems will be a much brighter colour
for next winter. |
| 5. |
Fruit
trees and bushes will benefit from a high
potash feed. Potato manure fertilizer at
a handful to each plant in the area of the
roots will guarantee better fruit. A liquid
feed of tomato fertilizer on the strawberries
will work wonders) |
| 6. |
Don鈥檛
be tempted to use freshly cut willow or
poplar branches for pea or bean supports.
They root like weeds. It is embarrassing
to end up with a garden full of pussy willow! |
| 7. |
Edge
the lawn and repair any bald or damaged
areas. Loosen the soil and sow grass seed.
Protect the patch with clear polythene or
cling film. Hold it in place with pegs until
the seed has germinated. |
March,
Week Three
Hopefully grass cutting is well under control.
About now you may give one cut leaving the clippings
on the grass. They will soon disappear putting
some nutrients back into the soil.
| 1. |
Time
Saving Tip: When the soil is wet or
heavy rain is expected don鈥檛 use the hoe
to weed. It tends to pull small weeds out
by the root. If they are not lifted they
will reroot. You will be guilty of transplanting
weeds! |
| 2. |
Money
Saving Tip: Dissolve washing soda crystals
in hot water and brush over paths and patios
to remove green algae. It is cheaper than
chemicals off the garden centre shelf. |
| 3. |
A
new lawn may be sown anytime in the next
8 weeks. Cultivate and level the ground,
removing debris and stones. If there is
time allow a crop of weeds to germinate.Spray
them with a contact weedkiller or rake them
off immediately before sowing the grass
seed. The lawn will get a head start before
more weeds germinate.
***Next week I will tell you how to sow
and what else to add.*** |
| 4. |
Herbaceous
plants are starting to grow and this is
a good time to take an 鈥淚rish man鈥檚 cutting鈥.
Pulling pieces of rooted stem off the side
of the clump works with Michaelmas daisy,
Golden rod and Day lily. Pot them up or
plant out in the flower bed. |
| 5. |
Weeds
are manic at the moment. Perennials such
as bindweed,goutweed, nettles, buttercup
and thistles are growing strongly. Control
them by digging out and burning the roots.
Glyphosate weed killer will eventually kill
most weeds but it may take more than one
application. Spray on a dry, calm day taking
all the recommended safety precautions. |
| 6. |
Winter
flowering heathers are looking a bit sad
with the dead flower heads becoming tatty.
Clip them over with hedge clippers removing
most of the old flower stalks. This encourages
new growths from low on the branches, keeping
the heathers compact. If they are not removed,
eventually the plants become straggly and
bare along the stems. |
| 7. |
Planting
onion sets is fraught with problems. Don鈥檛
鈥渟crew鈥 them into hard soil. If the soil
is loose they may be pushed in leaving half
of the bulb exposed.Birds have a habit of
pulling them out as fast as you push them
back in. Try covering each onion with a
small mound of sand. This will keep them
in place until they root into the soil.
The sand is then removed. |
| 8. |
Clematis
tangutica, commonly known as the orange
peel clematis will be throwing new shoots
from the base. The old growth from last
year should be cut away to tidy the plant
ready for this year鈥檚 bloom. |
March, Week Four
There
is good news and,naturally,there is bad news.Easter
is at the end of this week.British Summer Time
starts so there is an extra hour of daylight
in the evening and the children are off school
for Easter holidays.You can decide which is
the good news!
| 1. |
Time
Saving Tip: Remove a circle of grass
from the base of trees in the lawn and mulch
with chopped bark. It will take less time
to cut round the trees. There will be less
collision damage to the tree trunk. |
| 2. |
Money
Saving Tip:Leather jackets are grubs
which eat the roots of grass resulting in
a patchy and yellow lawn. If there are birds,
especially starlings, on your lawn every
morning it is a sign of this pest. The easiest
way to get rid of them is to lay black polythene
on the lawn in the evening and remove it
early next morning. The grubs will have
come to the surface where the birds can
see and dispose of them. |
| 3. |
Last
week I promised to tell you how to sow grass
seed.Sow it at a rate of 45 grams (1.5 ozs)
to the square metre. Rake it into the soil
surface using short strokes to prevent moving
the seed. If the soil is loose roll the
surface after sowing. An application of
lime is useful if the soil is acid. A general
purpose granular fertilizer at 60 grams
(2 ozs) per square metre, raked in before
or at the same time as seeding, will get
the seed growing strongly. |
| 4. |
Sweet
pea loves a deep, rich soil which allows
its roots to go deep in search of water
and nutrients. Dig a 3 ft deep trench where
the sweet peas will be planted. Separate
and dump the sub soil. Fill the bottom of
the trench with old wet newspapers and rotted
farmyard manure to retain moisture. Back
fill the trench with layers of topsoil and
compost. Allow to settle ready for planting
at the end of April when the plants have
been hardened off. |
| 5. |
Japanese
acers, Acer palmatum varieties, suffer from
wind scorch and frost.The new foliage and
shoots are already showing and protection
should be given by forming a wigwam frame
with a temporary cover of horticultural
fleece. |
| 6. |
Shrubs
such as camellia, bay, rhododendron and
holly which are grown in containers as specimen
plants will enjoy a feed. Carefully remove
the top inch of compost without disturbing
the surface roots. Replace with fresh compost
and a slow release fertilizer. Water well. |
| 7. |
Prune
forsythia and flowering currant (ribes)
which have finished flowering. These shrubs
flower on the previous year鈥檚 growth so
cut off all of the branches which flowered. |
| 8. |
Ponds
are coming to life and water plants are
starting to grow. Check the submersible
pump and clean the filters. Thin out the
oxygenating plants. |
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