Glads to see you
Ornamentals
Spring is officially here, but gladioli, dahlias and tuberous begonias may still be planted.
Feed trees, shrubs and hedges with a balanced fertiliser. Generally, this is best sprinkled over the plant’s root zone, then hoed in lightly. Weak, sickly, or heavily pruned plants will especially thank you for a good feed.
Now is also a good time to mulch these plants with compost, perhaps topped off with pea straw. In parts of the country where it is not readily available and expensive, oat and barley straw, or composted bark or woodchips can be a good alternative.
Feed roses with a proprietal rose fertiliser – or homemade compost tea – as they start to leaf up. Water well after feeding.
Plants growing in containers will benefit from a topdressing of compost.
Protect tender new spring shoots of perennials such as delphiniums from slugs.
Repair gaps in lawn by lightly raking over to roughen up soil then scattering grass seed. Keep moist.
Edibles
Sow beetroot, carrots, coriander, parsnips, rocket and spinach direct into the soil.
Basil, chillies, courgettes, eggplants, melons, peppers, pumpkins, and tomatoes can be sown under cover. If you do not have a glasshouse or cold frame, then a sunny verandah, porch or window ledge is great. Do not plant these seedlings in the garden until soil and air temperatures rise, the weather becomes more settled and all danger of frost is past.
Obviously, gardeners in the generally warmer northern and coastal regions will be able to plant such vegetables outside before those in southern and inland areas.
Root crops need lighter, finer and deeper soil than leafy ones. Heavy soil with large lumps of clay may result in forked or stunted root crops. Prepare these beds accordingly by ensuring the tilth is deep enough.
Early potatoes’ sprouts may be pushing up through the soil, cover lightly with peastraw or hoe up soil around them. Maincrop potatoes can go in this month.
Should codling moth be a problem on apple trees, set pheromone codling moth traps. When the numbers caught build up, it is time to spray.
Well-rotted animal manure may be applied as a mulch around fruit trees, citrus, berry fruits and vines. Clear weeds away before mulching.
Prune overgrown or out-ofcontrol passionfruit vines promptly but do not remove main stems, just unwanted twining ones. – Mary Lovell-Smith