A time of growth
Spring is a time of intense activity in both your decorative garden and veggie patch, says horticulturist and apple farmer Talitha Cherry, who presents workshops and manages a nursery on Cheverells Farm.
What’s on the programme at the Spring Workshop? Tell us about the topics you’ll be discussing.
Spring is a time of growth. That’s when you need to be sowing and making cuttings for summer crops, but it’s also when snails and insects increase in number. So we’ll be talking mainly about how you can ensure you – and not the bugs – get the most out of your summer harvest.
Typically, a workshop starts at 9:00, with coffee at the Country Café in the old apple shed. We make introductions and chat about a few basic gardening principles. There are usually about six to 12 people at a workshop.
After coffee, we head to the garden, where activities include making cuttings to take home. Afterwards, we enjoy a healthy lunch together.
What are the most important gardening tasks in spring, including in the veggie garden?
Plant, plant and replant! If you have a bare patch, weeds will grow, so preempt that by planting something.
Spring is the best time to remove bulb plants such as agapanthus, day lilies and wild garlic, separate the new bulbs and replant them in smaller clusters. It’s also a good time to make cuttings of herbaceous plants such as sage, lavender, plectranthus and geraniums. Bulbs such as gladioli, amaryllis and dahlias are ready for planting too, and it’s a good time to plant summer crops.
Cover garden paths with a thick layer of surface material to limit weed growth, and check that your sprinkler system is in good working order before the heat of summer arrives.
What kind of vegetables can be planted in spring?
Sow seeds and plant seedlings of lettuce, brinjal, tomatoes, chillies and spinach. Plant pumpkin, baby marrow, gem squash, butternut and cucumber further apart in the spaces where they’ll be growing this season. Runner and bush beans will thrive. It’s also a good time to sow marigolds to deter insects in summer. Buy a six-pack of herb seedlings such as thyme, mint, origanum and rosemary to give them a chance to grow a little bigger before transplanting them in late spring.
What’s your motivation for presenting these gardening workshops?
I enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience. And I think all of us crave a bit of nature, healthy food and the reward of a good harvest. During the Covid-19 pandemic, nurseries were among the few businesses that showed growth. More people now want to be involved in producing the food they eat.
Tell us about the nursery in the glass greenhouse on the farm.
It gets cold and wet in this area. The glass greenhouse makes it possible to plant tropical species such as hoya and all kinds of succulents. We don’t currently sell any of the plants – we give them away at the workshops. The café also uses a lot of the herbs and vegetables that we cultivate. >