What a cold wet March it has been, not many days have encouraged me to do the garden, but still the beautiful forsythia is out in bloom along with the daffodils giving a wonderful yellow lift on even the most overcast days. Fingers crossed the weather will improve as in April there will be plenty to keep us busy outside.
Pruning
Prune the spring flowering shrubs, wait until the flowers begin to fade on the forsythia and ribes and cut back to strong shoots lower down. It is worth removing a few of the older stems at their base to encourage new growth.
Perennials
April is the best month for planting perennials, the risk of frost is decreasing, and the soil is warming up. These type of plants will last for years so it is worth spending time to check you have the right conditions for a plant to give it the best opportunity to thrive. If it says they like a sunny border ensure that the planting area gets the right amount of sun.
Prepare the hole by forking garden compost or well-rotted manure into the base. If the plant is pot bound loosen the roots gently so they will grow out into the soil. Put the plant in making sure it sits at the same depth as in the original pot. Firm the soil in around the plant to get rid of air pockets and water well.
Summer flowering bulbs
There is still time to plant summer flowering bulbs such as camassia, alliums, crocosmia, gladioli and dahlias.
Lawn Maintenance
Mow lawns when necessary whenever the grass is growing. The aim is to maintain a constant height throughout the year.
If you have grown bulbs such as daffodils you will have to wait probably about 6 weeks after flowering before you mow. This allows the leaves to feed energy back into the bulbs for a good display next spring.
Repair bumps and hollows by peeling back the turf, removing or adding soil, then replacing the turf.
To create a neat and professional look using a half-moon edging spade, create a 7.5cm ‘gutter’ around the lawn. This will prevent grass creeping from the lawn into your borders.
If your grass needs a boost, apply a spring lawn fertiliser, follow the amount carefully on the box. This nitrogen-rich feed will increase the lawn’s vigour and help prevent weeds and moss from establishing. Use the minimum amount necessary, to reduce the environmental impact.
Weeds
Weeds will take off at speed from this month and need controlling so act now. It is best to avoid using chemicals to rid the garden of weeds, much better to do it by hand.
- For maximum effectiveness, choose a dry day, so that the seedlings will dry out on the surface of the bed rather than re-rooting into moist soil. Run a hoe over a bed or between rows to kill most weed seedlings.
- Hand-pulling or hand-weeding with a fork: Pull up annual weeds by hand before they set seed. Perennial weeds should be dug out with as much root (or bulb) as possible, using a hand or border fork.
- Various hooked, narrow-bladed or spiral-type tools are available for specific weeding jobs such as digging out dandelions on a lawn.
- For paved areas such as driveways I have found white vinegar mixed with liquid soap poured into a spray bottle and sprayed onto weeds is really effective and you will see results within 24 hours. The recipe is 1 gallon vinegar to 1oz dish soap, but you do not have to be critical on the amounts to get a good effect. This does have to be done regularly as airborne seeds constantly take root and need to be dealt with swiftly.
- Mulching: Use deep organic mulches such as bark or wood chip to smother weeds around plants. To be effective, keep them topped up to a minimum depth of 10-15cm (4-6in) to smother established annual weeds.
Cucumbers
Cucumbers are easy to grow from seed, they need warmth to germinate so find a warm windowsill. I am growing Cucumber Delistar F1, which is a small cucumber, this variety grows to about 15cms.
They germinate quickly and can be planted out in pots, bags or a greenhouse border. They are crunchy with a sweet taste.
This month feels like so many things to do and so little time. Happy Gardening.