2 minute read
In The Garden – March
from The Dever March 2021
by TheDever
Our WinACC Godsfield Solar Farm webpage looks at the application in detail https://www.winacc.org.uk/
The predicted Beast from the East is roaring outside so what better way of spending a morning than doing a little research for my gardening article.
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The crocuses are up, together with the primroses, and the snowdrops create glorious white drifts under the hedges. Hyacinths too are emerging along with a few tulips.
The fieldfare is still guarding his now rotten apples but they are nearly gone and he will have to soon move on. The blackbirds and song thrush are beginning to sing in the mornings, and the larks are in full throttle over the fields behind us, such an encouraging time.
Repurposing plastic :– something I read this weekend. For used compost bags, use to grow potatoes in and line terracotta pots to prevent them drying out too quickly.
Plastic plant pots can be recycled at some garden centres but not at the council tip. Replace them with biodegradable pots made from bamboo or coir. You can make your own pots from newspaper, which can be planted direct into the garden with sweet peas etc and will slowly decompose.
If you have comfrey growing in your garden, or nettles nearby, pick and soak in a tub of water for a few weeks; it makes a good liquid fertiliser.
Jobs for March (taken from the RHS website) Ή Plant shallots, onion sets and early potatoes Ή Plant summer flowering bulbs Ή Lift and divide overgrown clumps of perennials, pot up surplus for our plant sale! Ή Continue to hoe and mulch weeds to keep them under control Ή Cut back dogwood (cornus) and salix (willow) Ή Sow sweet peas outside and plant out autumn sown ones Ή Pot up dahlia tubers you have saved and keep in a warm light place.
Once a shoot of approx. 3 to 4 inches appears cut off carefully, dip in hormone rooting powder and push into a pot of cuttings compost Ή Continue to deadhead winter flowering pansies, also narcissus but not the leaves. Ή Top dress spring flowering alpines with grit or gravel to help prevent stem rot; it also helps to make them more attractive. Ή Top up pots and containers with
John Innes compost – adding grit to the top will help deter slugs. By the time you read this the weather should have warmed up and we can all spend more time in our gardens. CK
