In like a lamb, out with a roar, goes the old adage about March. Well it’s certainly come in, in a manner we were all hoping for; without rain!
It’s not only been dry though, the sun has been shining and it’s been relatively warm. The land seems to be drying out quite rapidly up here in Yorkshire. But then we don’t have huge amounts of flat land. When there is heavy rain, flash-floods and landslides are more of an issue than standing water.
But hopefully, the worst is now behind us. This time last year, we had that much snow you couldn’t see the ground. Today I’ve been cutting lawns. So what should we be doing at the minute?
It’s dry, warm and sunny. Make the most of it, get out and garden!
- Scarify and dethatch lawns. With how wet it has been, improving drainage is going to be vital this year.
- Give first cuts to lawns. To give a first cut lift your mower blades to the point where they just about cut the grass. It’s really to start levelling the spiky growth of the lawn. The next time you cut, lower the blades 1 setting. Each time you cut drop the blades until you are at the height of grass you want.
- It’s time to start planting those seeds. Under glass, on windowsills, in unheated green houses. Some even go straight out at this time of year.
- Onions, broad beans, peas and sweet peas can be planted straight out, and should be put in the ground sooner rather than later.
- Go through your seed box/bag/draw. Check the backs, they tell you when to plant… You don’t need me to tell you. If you have missed a date by a month, don’t worry; plant them anyway. It may be the crop/flower is a little late, but it wont be the end of the world.
- It’s a good time to lift, move and split any herbaceous perennials that are too big or in the wrong place. Just lift clumps and split them by cutting them into sections using a good spade, cutting ideally top-to-bottom, making sure each clump has roots and shoots. Where plants have crowns (e.g. peonies) use a knife to carefully cut the crown into sections, making sure each section has intact roots.
- Lay any fresh turf, either as spot repair, new lawns, or edge repairs.
- Plant out any hardy annuals you started last Autumn. These should be ready to be planted out to their final flowering positions.
- If your pot plants seemed a little sad last year, try re-potting them, either into a pot 1″ larger than they were in, with fresh compost around them, or in the same size pot but cut the bottom 1/4 of the old roots and soil away and put fresh compost in the bottom of the pot, then put the plants back into their pot on top of the new soil.
Some things have changed for the better: “Spray for blossom weevil with DDT” says Mr. Hellyer. Thankfully, that’s no longer available. Insecticidal sprays should, I believe, be avoided at all costs. Although none are as environmentally bad as DDT was, still they are not selective enough to just kill 1 species. As a gardener, I understand the need for insects to pollinate our plants: No insects, no food, no people. If I have a few maggoty apples or a lower yield so be it.
Well, enjoy the sun while we have some, and I’ll post some more work for March in a while.