The sweet smell of success
Sweet peas
Prepare the ground for sowing sweet peas – March really is the best month to sow them. Choose a sunny spot with moist, rich, freedraining soil. At least a fortnight before sowing, dig soil over deeply, adding plenty of well-rotted manure, compost and lime.
Although there are dwarf varieties, which grow in mounds between 25cm and 60cm high, most are climbers, and as such provide a spectacular display and many more blooms to fill the air with their heavenly fragrance.
Sweet peas’ hard seed coat can make germination difficult, so encourage them by placing on moist paper towels in an airtight container in a warm room until they begin to swell and sprout or soak overnight.
To sow, bury seeds about 5mm deep about 15cm apart. Water well and watch out for slugs and snails that will nibble on emerging seedlings.
Once the seedlings are about 5-10cm high, pinch the tips to encourage strong side shoots.
Edibles
Sweetcorn is ready to pick when the tassels turn dark brown.
Sow parsley and coriander in rich, moist, welldrained soil.
Sow rocket to add pep to your salads, or make into easy pesto by blending it with parmesan, oil, salt and sunflower seeds.
Dig up any potatoes left in the ground and store in shallow boxes lined with paper in a cool, Some of the new colours now available in sweet peas.
dry place out of direct sunlight. Sow a green manure crop where they have been, or use the space for winter greens such as silver beet or brassicas.
Should mildew infect courgettes, grapes, tomatoes and the like, spray with a solution of baking soda – one teaspoon per litre of water.
Mulch winter vegetables, such as silverbeet and brassicas, with compost or pea straw and feed with a liquid fertiliser.
Blackcurrants
Prune blackcurrants, removing spindly, crossingover or dead canes. About one-third of all canes should be removed each year.
To propagate blackcurrants, cut healthy looking stems, 20cm-25cm long and about as thick as a pencil, from the base of the bush. Make sure there is a bud at the top and at the bottom and, remembering which way up it goes, insert in the soil. Press down firmly and water.
Ornamentals
Tidy up native grasses by combing through with fingers or a rake, removing loose litter.
Sow hardy annuals for next season, such as alyssum, calendula, cornflower, godetia, larkspur, nigella and viscaria. Rake soil to fine tilth, water well then sow finely. Thin seedlings.