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March normally means the arrival of spring and it looks as if it will come early this year unless the weather has a surprise for us. I normally write these articles about two weeks before they are published and distributed so plenty of room for an Ooops, but at the moment the forecast remains mild. The list of gardening jobs goes stratospheric in March and normally doesn’t ease off until June.
One of the main tasks that will be facing most gardeners this spring will be lawn recovery following last years hot summer. This has resulted in a lot of bare patches which may have allowed weeds to get established. I will tackle the bare patches first and then get rid of the weeds when the new grass is established.
Dig over the bare patches with a handfork and go at least 2” deep, 4” if you can manage it. This will remove the weeds but fresh weed will get established as the new grass grows. Break up the soil so that it is nice and friable and firm it down by foot and rake over. The next task is to select a suitable mix of grass seed which can be an adventure in itself. Grass seed used to fall into 3 basic categories, Ryegrass which is hard wearing and vigorous and ideal for a sports pitch. Fescue, which makes a good utility lawn without looking like a sheep meadow. Bent, which is a fine quality grass which can be found on a bowling green. The proportion of grass seed will be shown on the box and will be largely Ryegrass, but look for a mix which has a high Fescue content. This seed is rhyzomous and spreads to fill gaps and also does well in shade. Other types of seed have also become available like Bluegrass and Bermuda but these are almost certainly not present in your lawn and introducing them will create patches, so best to avoid them. Spread the seed generously over the prepared soil and lightly rake in, gently firm and lightly water. Now let the grass and the weeds grow together.
Finish off tidying the borders and prune roses fuchsia and clematis when you see signs of growth. Deadhead hydrangeas by cutting back stems by about two thirds otherwise they quickly get very large. Use a general fertiliser (7-7-7) or just dig in some compost to help get things started. Fertilise fruit trees and shrubs and similarly tidy up the vegetable patch and fertilise. Keep filling up the runner bean trench with leaves, weeds, prunings and kitchen cuttings. I also empty the fire pan into the trench as wood ash is a good fertiliser. Top dress your containers with 2” of compost lightly turned in with a handfork.
One of the main tasks in the vegetable patch is to get the early potatoes in by the end of March. I will use Rocket again this year as it lives up to its reputation as being the earliest of earlies. I lift mine after 13 weeks to get some size, but they are easily ready in 11 weeks. In the Telegraph last week Monty Don has been looking at the benefits of chitting potatoes and his conclusion is that it only benefits early potatoes and has little effect on Maincrop. He also said that only 4 new shoots are required and the others shouldbe rubbed off. So I will follow Monty’s advise and plant my potatoes with 4 new shoots, if possible, at the rose end, facing upwards. Dig over the potato patch so the soil is friable, dig a generous hole and line it with a fine mix of sieved soil and compost with a general fertiliser. I use 6X which is a dried concentrated poultry manure and available on the internet. Place the seed potato about 8” deep and cover with the soil/compost mix until 2” from the surface, then add a generous fistful of manure on top, above the seed potato, which will soak down over time. Level off with soil and water in.
It is also time to get the seedlings going so check the packets for sowing times and line them up in order. The first sowing will be a tray of Little Gem lettuce followed by a second tray a month later and so on until July to keep a succession of lettuce coming through the summer. Also try for a second sowing of beetroot in May which can be planted out after the first sowing has been lifted in June/July.
That will be plenty to keep us busy through March, but never lose sight of the fact that we do this for fun and there is still time in April and plenty of beers in the fridge.
We are always looking for new members and try to encourage a fun attitude towards friendly competition. So if you want to grow your own fruit, vegetables and flowers or even enter any of the 3 shows we hold each year, then please get in touch, we would be happy to hear from you.
If you are interested in becoming a new member, (all ages are welcome), please contact Rosey on: 01634 377812 (evenings) or Email: rosemary@ringwoodaccounting.co.uk
Sean Barry - Upchurch Horticultural Society
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