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MARCH

  • You can sow in your greenhouse: aubergine, kohl rabi, chard, cucumbers, courgettes, marrows, pumpkins, squashes, French beans and tomatoes.

  • You can sow outdoors: beetroot, broad beans, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, celery, leeks, peas, mangetouts, lettuces, parsnip, onions and shallots (sets), turnip and swedes. Plant out seed potatoes at the end of the month.

  • It’s time to spring clean the garden: remove any dead material on perennials and around the plants; cut old stems close to the ground but be careful not to cut freshly emerging shoots. Remove weeds and fork the soil between the plants to loosen it up. Remove slugs and snails.

  • This is a good time to divide perennials. Dig up large clumps and split them into a few pieces, choose the best bits with a large amount of roots for replanting.

  • Prune shrubs including bush and climbing roses, buddlejas, hardy fuchsias and dogwood.

  • Plant pot grown hardy plants and bare root shrubs, trees and fruit bushes. You can order the bare root plants from our nursery from September for delivery in winter months.

  • Prepare your vegetable garden. Prepare suitable tilth for sowing: after digging use a fork or rake to break up large clumps of soil; if needed sprinkle fertiliser at this stage; 1st rake to level the ground and remove course lumps; tread over the surface with your feet to remove large air pockets and then rake it again to create crumbly surface (tilth).

  • Mulch the borders after clearing and forking over. Cover the soil in between plants with a general layer (about 2 inch) of garden compost, manure, spent mushroom compost or bark chippings (organic matter); make sure you keep the mulching material away from the stems. Mulch will help to suppress weeds, hold moisture, raise the soil temperature and add nutrients.

APRIL

  • You can sow: beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbages, carrots, cauliflowers, courgettes, leeks, lettuces, onion and shallot sets, parsnip, peas, turnip and swedes. Sow under glass: aubergines, peppers, cucumbers, melons, French and runner beans, pumpkins and squashes, sweetcorn and tomatoes.  Most vegetables are available at the nursery between March – June.

  • You still can plant first, second early and main crop potatoes (seeds available at the Greenway).

  • Clean and de-weed your borders. Remove any dead material from plants and pull out weeds making sure you remove the roots. Feed or/ and mulch your borders and pots.  

  • To mulch apply organic material such as well rotted / farmyard manure, compost, bark, spent mushroom compost between your plants (avoid touching plant stems and make sure it’s at least 2 inch thick). Mulch will keep moisture in and suppress the weeds.

  • Keep deadheading bulbs, remove any swollen seed pods.

  • Tie climbing plants (roses, clematises).

  • This is good time to plant strawberries and currants.

  • If necessary prune stone fruits such as plums, cherries and apricots (remove any damaged or diseased branches).

  • Look out for slugs! Protect young plants by applying pellets or mechanical barriers (e.g. crushed egg shells, copper tape, used coffee grounds).  Slug control available at the nursery.

MAY

  • You can sow: beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, cabbages, carrot, cauliflowers, celeriac,

    kohl rabi, French and runner beans, leeks, peas, sugar snaps, onion, shallots, courgettes and marrows, pumpkin , winter squashes, lettuces, spinach, sweetcorn, turnip, swedes.

  • Plant out sweet pea, tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines, peppers, chillies, cabbages, cauliflowers, courgettes and marrows, pumpkins, French and runner beans, lettuces, peas, sugar snaps, sweetcorn, potatoes. Most vegetables are available at the nursery from March to June.

  • Prepare beds for sowing. You can create appropriate tilth (fine soil ready for sowing) by digging the soil, removing weeds and breaking large clumps.  After digging level the surface by raking, then tread it with your feet to remove air pockets, rake again to create a final tilth.

  • Keep weeding your borders and pots.

  • Feed and weed your lawns, mow little and often.

  • It’s time to start planting out your summer bedding (from the middle of the month) and plant up hanging baskets. Visit the nursery for inspirations and look out for our basket and pot making workshops!

  • Regularly check and water your vegetable patch, freshly planted plants and pots.

  • Support perennials.

  • Keep earthing up potatoes.

  • Watch out for aphids (greenfy, blackfly) , their presence is often indicated by curling and a change in shape of young shoots.

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