Jobs to do on your veg plot in March-April
March can be a variable month, with quite warm, sunny days followed by frosty nights, or cold Easterly winds with snow. We can start to sow some hardy crops outside if the weather is mild and dry, otherwise wait until things improve. Under glass, however, things should be moving on apace in preparation for the coming season, and in the fruit garden, the sap is rising, plants start to sprout and bloom, and the birds are nesting, bees are buzzing. Spring has arrived at last!
Jobs include the following: –
From mid-March, parsnips, carrots, beetroot, leeks and brassicas such as brussels sprouts and cabbages can be sown direct outside if the weather is mild. Alternatively you may prefer to sow crops indoors and transplant them later to give them a head start against the slugs and weather, but remember that carrots and parsnips can only be sown direct in the ground as they will not transplant (although you can chit them on moist tissue paper and then direct sow the chitted seeds into the soil to get a head start). At this time of year it is a good idea to cover newly sown beds with fleece to warm the soil and insulate it against the cold nights, and only sow when conditions are warm and the soil is not wet and soggy or tiny seeds will rot.
Plant potatoes when conditions allow. Plant them about 5 inches deep, early varieties can go 1 foot apart in soil that has been well prepared with manure or compost, main crop varieties should be 18 inches apart with the rows at least 2 feet apart. The end of the tuber with the ‘eyes’ (or shoots if you have chitted them) should be uppermost in the planting hole. Early potatoes can also be planted in bags or large pots of compost to give delicious new potatoes in June. This is your last chance to buy seed potatoes now if you haven’t already done so.
Plant shallots and onion sets when the soil is dry enough, 6 inches apart, unless you want real whoppers (onions) in which case plant 1 foot apart.
Complete the planting of bare root trees and fruit bushes early in the month if you have not done so previously. Make sure that trees are securely staked against wind;
Clear the remains of winter crops and dig over the ground and add organic matter ready for the new season’s crops. Remember not to add compost or manure to ground destined for carrots and other root crops, or they will grow forked and deformed;
If the weather is very cold and frosty, use cloches to cover any newly transplanted crops;
Broad beans and peas can be sown outdoors in a sunny, sheltered spot under fleece or cloches if the weather is mild;
Many herbs such as thyme, parsley, coriander and chives can be grown from seed at this time of year;
Control slugs and snails to protect young shoots and seedlings;
General Gardening Jobs
Start cutting grass if conditions are dry enough. Start with the blades on a high setting, and gradually lower them at each cut until you reach the desired length;
Put an organic fertiliser such as chicken manure pellets or blood, fish and bone meal around trees and bushes, and around perennials and newly planted crops and plants.
How about sowing some hardy annual flowers to attract pollinating insects this year? They can be wildflowers such as corn cockle, field poppies or corn marigolds, or just attractive non-natives such as cosmos or calendulas, which flower over a long period and look good whilst still attracting a wide range of insect species. Nasturtiums are a good way to cover ground and suppress weeds, and the leaves and flowers are edible, as are calendulas and violas. All you need to do is to rake over an area of soil, removing any weeds, and then broadcast the seed over the soil and rake it into the surface. A sunny spot is best, and try to avoid too much feeding of the plants or you will get plenty of healthy leaves but less flowers.
Spring is a good time to plant shrubs and hardy perennials. Remember to firm them in and water them well to settle the roots into the soil.
March and April are the months to sow bedding plants under glass. These can include zinnias, asters, Tagetes (French and African Marigolds), annual rudbeckias etc, also tender veg such as runner beans and courgettes can be sown under glass towards the end of April, but don’t sow too early as they grow fast and will suffer in their pots and trays. Remember not to plant out tender bedding plants or veg until at least mid-May because of the risk of damage by frost and cold winds. You can harden them off by putting them outside in a sheltered spot on warm days but remember to bring them inside or cover them in at night especially if frost or cold winds are forecast.
This is also the time to start off tubers of dahlias and cannas under glass to get them growing ready for planting when the risk of frost is over.
Gladioli corms can be planted out when conditions allow. If your soil is heavy you can add grit or sand to improve drainage.
Hybrid tea and floribunda roses can be pruned now, removing old, dead, diseased, weak and crossing branches and cutting remaining young shoots back to an outward facing bud. You can mulch with compost or well rotted manure if you didn’t do so in the winter, and scatter a rose fertiliser around the bushes.
Hydrangeas can also be pruned now, removing last year’s dead flower heads, and cutting back to a healthy new shoot, and removing any old, dead or damaged shoots to create a more open bush. Hydrangea paniculata varieties can be cut back hard if you don’t want them to grow too tall, this will also give bigger blooms. Do not cut back mophead or lacecap varieties too hard or you will get few or no blooms (this can be done to renovate old overgrown plants, but you will lose the flowers for a year).
Shrubs and climbers which flower on this year’s new wood such as buddleias, hardy fuchsias and late flowering clematis can be cut hard back in March. Those that flower on last year’s wood should not be pruned until they have finished flowering, and even then do not cut them back too hard unless they have become too big or overgrown.
Evergreens such as euonymus, bay and lavender can be trimmed at this time of year, but don’t cut too hard back into old wood or you could kill them.