Weekly jobs

Help the war on plastic and make simple little paper pots for seed sowing from newspaper.

Wrap the paper several times around a cylindrical object such as a bottle and then tuck in at the end.

You can also use cardboard egg cartons, toilet rolls or ready-to-purchase biodegradable pots in garden centres.

Weeds are emerging – the more you tackle them now, the less problems you’ll have later in the season. If you’ve been busy cutting back and pruning, give these shrubs a boost with some compost/ manure or fertiliser to help them recover. If you took hardwood cuttings last year, check on them now – they should be ready for potting on or planting in the ground.

Have you got your veg seeds ready for planting out? Soil will be warm enough in many areas in the next few weeks for sowing in the ground.

Get ready for the new season – garden centres are full of flowering bulbs which will look great in pots and containers or bare gaps in the borders.

Lightly clip heathers as their flowers turn brown.

Acid-loving plants such as rhodos and camellias will always benefit from an ericaceous feed.