The days are getting longer, the birds are getting louder and gardeners are getting restless. Spring is arriving and this is the season to plan and be prepared in the garden. Getting some essential tasks done now will give you a great head start for the year ahead and reward you for all the effort in Summer and Autumn.
General tasks
Firstly, take stock of your tools and equipment. Get your lawnmower serviced now including the blade sharpened. Ensure you have a spade, fork and shovel in good working order, as well as a good brush, shears and rake. I always advise investing in a good pair of secateurs. It makes easy work of pruning and will last a lifetime. I have a Felco No.2 for the last 21 years and it's still going strong!
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Take a walk around your garden to take note of any tasks that need tending to and any plants that you want to move. A good list means nothing will be forgotten. Start with tidying up beds and borders, cutting back any decaying perennials as well as weeding and mulching.
Take care not to damage any spring flowering bulbs that may be emerging. Prune roses and deciduous shrubs as required and apply a fertiliser such as our Homeland SuperGro Rose and Shrub fertiliser. Remember not to prune spring flowering shrubs until after they flower. We all make mistakes when planting, so if plants need to be moved, early spring is the time to do it as well as dividing herbaceous perennials. Check over trees for any damage over the winter, cutting out any damaged branches and firming or replacing stakes and ties if needed.
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Lawn Care
As long as the ground is firm underfoot, mid to late March is a great time to give winter weary lawns a pick me up. Set the mower blades to the highest setting for the first few cuts, gradually lowering the height of the cut over a few weeks. Take care not to mow any foliage of spring flowering bulbs, these need to be allowed to die back naturally. Apply LawnGold Classic to eliminate moss and feed your lawn, or wait until the air temperature is 12 degrees or above to use MoBacter. Neither of these organic based products will require you to scarify your lawn to remove moss after application saving you time and effort. Clip and edge lawn borders. Evaluate if weeds really need to be eliminated. As much as dandelions are hated by many a gardener, they are invaluable to bees and other pollinating insects and indeed have been valued by human civilisations for millennia for their medicinal properties. These and other lawn weeds can be unsightly but remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder so maybe think twice before getting the herbicides out.
Vegetables
Early potatoes should be chitted before planting out in mid to late March. Hardy vegetables such as garlic, onions and shallots can be sown directly outdoors. Many vegetable seeds can be started off as seed sown under cover in pots or trays and placed on windowsills or poly tunnels. These can then be transplanted out later when the chance of frost has passed, or indeed grown in poly tunnels for earlier crops. If you are a novice gardener, I always encourage to start small when growing. It can be tempting to fill the baskets full of packets of seeds when browsing the seed stands. Firstly, think about vegetables you eat. Not much good sowing Pak Choi if no one eats it! Secondly sowing too much can become overwhelming and therefore disheartening if crops begin to fail or go unused. Sow little and often of salad crops, and only what you know will be eaten in root crops. As the years move on, your confidence and ability to grow will increase and so will the number of crops you will be able to sow and manage.
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Seeds
In late March and early April many hardy annuals can be sown directly outdoors. However, starting them under cover in cell trays can often yield better results. Garden centres are stacked full of seeds for sowing directly outdoors or starting undercover, from perennials to annuals so have a plan when shopping for them as it always tempting to buy more than you can grow. Remember a good windowsill can be as good as anywhere to start seeds off so don’t feel too bad if you don’t have a greenhouse or poly tunnel. When transplanting outside be sure to have organic slug pellets at the ready. New seedlings are a magnet for slugs and snails and all your good work can be undone in one night.
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Finally, the last advice I will give is have a roll or two or horticultural fleece at the ready. Late frosts are not uncommon and having some fleece at the ready can be a plant saver.
Happy gardening!
Brendan
Garden Centre Manager - Homeland Ballyhaunis
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