March Gardening News
Another month gone already, nothing particularly dramatic about it, no stormy punctuations, just a very mild grey block of time, a chilly wind and just enough rain to disrupt. Whilst there have been a few cold nights, it’s been the mildness that has brought the greatest confusion. The squirrels have kept busy, the magpies have been ripping twigs from trees for nesting and buds everywhere are swelling. This week when the sun smiled on us for a few hours, folk were starting their lawn mowers. As we move into March and the days lengthen gardening can start in earnest. I am busily trying to finish off pruning and have one or two bigger plants to try and move. Any day soon the sap will surge and plants will want to get going, so I cut and move in the knowledge that nature will swiftly bring repair to my disturbances. I may even find space for a few more bare root raspberry bushes too. (if you are buying anything bare rooted then you do need to get it into the ground smartly). This week I will be getting some more seed underway and last months sowing of lettuce and cabbage has already been transplanted. Keep the sowing light and regular especially with salad items, you just don’t want fifty ready on the same day. If you want to try celeriac then get it sown or you’ll finish the season with golf balls. Hold off with tender vegetables unless you have good, protected space. If you have that protection, then Tomatoes and Chilli’s can be started but it is too early for the cucumber and marrow families. As the days advance and towards the end of the month you can be getting some potatoes into the ground. At this stage don’t worry too much about the chitting, once in the ground un-chitted stock will soon catch up. If none of that appeals then you can be sowing a few flower seeds. It’s a good month for broadcasting some of the hardier annuals straight into the border, if the ground is clean. All of the cottage garden favourites can be scattered, cornflower, love in the mist, larkspur, candytuft and linaria will all take a hold quickly. And finally I am introducing a few more summer bulbs to the border. For sentiments sake I have some gladioli to put some bold height in and have eucomis and tigridia to bring a bit of exotic splendour. Check out bulbs. Happy gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
March Gardening News
The spiteful wind, that has been a feature of this month has dented the enthusiasm of the keenest of gardeners. It has scythed through every fibre, whilst nature has chosen to just bash on. Encouraged by the stubborn defiance of the dormant world to get back to business, I did sow seed in February and it has germinated. The first lettuce and cabbage are pricked out to trays. The days will race now, with the light extending and in just three weeks we will have our evenings released by the change of clocks. I am back to at the seed sowing and have set out a few early annuals in trays. Some subjects like Poppies, Californian Poppies and Nigella can be sown straight into the ground. Pansies, Sweet William, Calendula and Antirrhinums (which I’ve started) will cope with minimal protection, but subjects like Impatiens, Begonias and even Petunias will require a bit of warmth to get them going. Germination can be slow, so be patient and keep your compost damp. The vegetables are a bit more straight forward, even root vegetables can be started in pots or trays and most will grow in cool conditions. Don’t allow your enthusiasm to draw you in to planting Runner Beans, Marrows or Cucumbers though, all of these will perish quickly once chilled. Late April is soon enough to sow these subjects or you can wait until mid May for the plants which will be offered in most nurseries. Whilst I have potted a few early seed potatoes, I am going to set a few more and as the month draws on (probably in the third week), will look to get some into the ground. It won’t matter if (for your convenience) they all go in, as the varieties all tend to grow at different speeds, with second early and maincrop potatoes taking longer to mature. On the flower front you can also be planting summer bulbs, Liles and Dahlias will all benefit from a late March start and can be put straight into the ground or raised in patio pots. More broadly, finish pruning in the coming days and you can be quite brutal with some vigorous subjects like willow, hazel and cornus. And finally, Celeriac has become a very popular vegetable in recent years. It is easy from seed, but has a long growing season and needs sowing soon for best results. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
March Gardening News
Wet, wet and a bit more for luck. My goodness we have had some rain. The ground is saturated, tough enough for gardeners, it must be a nightmare for farmers. It is very frustrating; you’ve really had to seize your moments to get out. Thankfully I did. I shifted a couple of shrubs, did some serious pruning and managed to sow a bit of seed. In the days ahead I will hope to finish pruning an apple tree and then I will hang out a Codling Moth trap. I had quite a bit of moth trouble last year, so a trap hung for two or three months will help to knock out adults ahead of mating. The beast is impossible to spray for and once the eggs are laid, trouble will follow, with emerging grubs diving into the bottom of young fruit and then eating their way out. I have some pricking out to do too, with cabbage and lettuce needing space. I will transfer them into a couple of seed trays for a few weeks and will hopefully have something fit for the ground around Easter. March is a really good month for sowing seed if you have space, you’ll need to be selective according to the space and protection that you can offer, but many things will grow now without extra heat. You can be sowing grass seed too, establishing new space or patching up old. It will germinate quite quickly and will be spurred by the changing of the clock to bring more light. You can continue to plant out onions, garlic, asparagus and rhubarb this month and they will be quick to show life. Towards the end of the month you can also get your potatoes into the ground and direct sow some salad vegetables. If you have any soft fruit or newly pruned roses, then a bit of top dressing with a general feed or even chicken pellets will be beneficial at the turn of the month. As the daffodils and winter pansies fade, you may want to bring some early colour back and many centres will have aubretia, pansies, anemones and violas to brighten the run up to Easter. And finally, consider growing the vegetable that you never have. Supermarkets do get plenty of bad press and certainly have a negative effect on the High Street, but they have created interest in a huge range of vegetables and many of them can be grown from seed at home. Try Celeriac or Kohl Rabi and sow it now. Re-join the adventure. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
March Gardening News
What a treat those bright, full sunlit days through February. The mornings were crisp and there was a positive feel to each new day. The gardens and gardeners were buzzing with the expectation of impending Spring. It was a joy. Many of the jobs shared last month were tackled and many started sowing a few seeds. In the last days, the extension of daylight has become ever more apparent and the buds are so close to bursting. The bulbs have all enjoyed the early warmth too, with snowdrops everywhere and drifts of early daffodils joining the celebration. It is very uplifting. As we move into March we can be brave about many tasks, with the first spuds being set in the ground, onion sets and shallot planting continuing and a wide range of vegetable seed being started. Certainly it is worth getting on with the long term plantings. Many of the late vegetable have slow and extended growing seasons. Celeriac takes forever from seed and early parsnips are worth doing too. Check the packets as you go. Watch out for new introductions. This year, after a successful couple of years, you will see Sweet potato plants, Oca and Yam. None of these things are very expensive and it’s fun just to play. I grew Oca a few years ago. The plant which is a member of the oxalis family produces edible tubers. It’s very big business in the Andes where it is second in popular vegetable list, just below potatoes. The tubers are generally small, but very nutritious. The plant is a perennial and will keep. Anyway just look out for different. The depth of plant material is amazing and everyday there are new things to try. Racks are full and the time is right to play. Pots on window sills, trays in the porch or event pots against a south facing wall can be turned to be seed beds. The plants will all be of use next month. Bits of flowers can also be added to the sowing and some just thrown into the border to make their own way. This is the last call for moving established plants that are where you don’t want them. Quite big things can be relocated with minimal risk, so if you are on for a makeover do it now. And finally, this year I am going to be having a go with an agricultural pest management product range called Grazers. It looks very promising and very friendly. I will let you know. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
May Gardening News
April bounced along, in fact it flew once Easter had arrived. The late Easter was the starting pistol and we had the benefit of a few weeks of light evenings ahead of it to prepare. So many people use it as the start time for gardening, so there were many lined up for the charge and since that weekend trading has been lively. I say late Easter but in fact not as late as it can be, The date is determined by the first Full moon of the spring and in 1943 it didn’t happen until April the 25th in 1943. Anyway, it is all systems go now. The last of the spuds can go in, we can run successions of vegetables, keeping pinches of lettuce, radish, spring onion and beetroot going, pushing in summer cabbage and would you believe even planting sprouts. The real joy these days for me is that the supermarkets have introduced so many new vegetables. Well, not perhaps new but better publicised. Celeriac, Kohl Rabi and Flower Sprouts to name just a few. Celeriac is a long winded grow, but Kohl Rabi is a doddle and quick. As the month advances tomatoes, beans, marrows, courgettes and cucumber can all be put out. In the case of Tomatoes and Cucumbers watch out for late frost and be prepared to cover them with something overnight and if your garden is naturally cold then leave them in until the last week of the month. Beans and Peas in fact can be sown straight to the ground if you haven’t got plants (they germinate very quickly at this time). Try to give all plants space if you can, aphids and white fly are already busy and they are disturbed by the breeze. Of course all the bedding is about too and as with the veg, most things can be planted out. Here too there is a cautionary note, so do watch the night temperatures. Dahlias, Busy Lizzies and Marigolds don’t like frost much. I remember loosing every Marigold I had to a very late frost in the first week of June. And finally, look out for Chillis and heritage tomatoes. There are Chillis everywhere and even if you are not a fan,they are very decorative. The heritage tomatoes take you back to the ‘olden days’ when tomatoes really tasted and they certainly worth a space. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org