Photo: March is a good time to clean the outdoor pots.Tomatoes
Tomatoes are one vegetable no garden should be without. Many varieties can be grown outside in summer with mixed results. For the best chance of success try growing them in patio pots or hanging baskets. The earliest crops will develop on plants grown under glass, ideally in a heated greenhouse, but an unheated one will do. I find that tomatoes will start off well on the windowsill but eventually they will get too large, the worst thing about this is that unless you have a very big window, you will be in darkness all summer because they will block off all of the light. Tomatoes are easy to grow from seed. Sow in a heated propagator to encourage quick germination. Don’t be tempted to feed the tomatoes until the first trusses have formed. If you ply them with tomato feed too early you will get loads of green foliage growth but tiny toms.
Strawberries
Home-grown strawberries are a welcome summer treat and runners planted now should flower in order to fruit this year. Choose several different varieties to spread the harvest season from June until late summer. Rooted runners, sometimes called crowns, you can get these off of a friends patch or buy named varieties from specialist fruit nurseries. Plants should be spaced 45cm (18in) apart in rows about 75cm (2.5ft) apart. When working out how much space you will need, remember that you'll need enough room to get between rows for picking. You can plant through a layer of black polythene to control weeds, but this looks rather unsightly. Covering plants with cloches will encourage earlier flowering, but do open cloches during the day to allow insects to pollinate the flowers.
Rhubarb
Cover rhubarb with forcing jars or old buckets to exclude light and encourage long tender stalks.
Celery
Sow seed in pots in the greenhouse during March and April to raise plants that you can plant out from May to June.
Prepare for outdoor sowings
There is no need to dig soil deeply every year unless you want to incorporate more compost, gravel or other soil conditioners. Forking over the surface to remove old crops and weeds should be sufficient for most people. It may be worth getting in a few dozen bags of mushroom compost each year; this can simply be raked over the soil for the worms to work in over the coming weeks.
Clean greenhouses and frames
Wash frames and cloches inside and out with soapy water to clean away any build-up of dirt. This ensures maximum light passes through the glass or plastic to reach seedlings and crops at this dull time of year.
Transplant evergreens
The soil starts to warm up in March, so this is an ideal time to transplant evergreen shrubs and conifers or to plant new ones, including hedges. Planting early means new roots start to grow almost immediately, helping the plants to establish quickly
TOP TIP
On sunny days try to get into the garden and clean up the containers and ornaments, they will brighten your plot for the rest of the year.
Horticultural.
Tomatoes are one vegetable no garden should be without. Many varieties can be grown outside in summer with mixed results. For the best chance of success try growing them in patio pots or hanging baskets. The earliest crops will develop on plants grown under glass, ideally in a heated greenhouse, but an unheated one will do. I find that tomatoes will start off well on the windowsill but eventually they will get too large, the worst thing about this is that unless you have a very big window, you will be in darkness all summer because they will block off all of the light. Tomatoes are easy to grow from seed. Sow in a heated propagator to encourage quick germination. Don’t be tempted to feed the tomatoes until the first trusses have formed. If you ply them with tomato feed too early you will get loads of green foliage growth but tiny toms.
Strawberries
Home-grown strawberries are a welcome summer treat and runners planted now should flower in order to fruit this year. Choose several different varieties to spread the harvest season from June until late summer. Rooted runners, sometimes called crowns, you can get these off of a friends patch or buy named varieties from specialist fruit nurseries. Plants should be spaced 45cm (18in) apart in rows about 75cm (2.5ft) apart. When working out how much space you will need, remember that you'll need enough room to get between rows for picking. You can plant through a layer of black polythene to control weeds, but this looks rather unsightly. Covering plants with cloches will encourage earlier flowering, but do open cloches during the day to allow insects to pollinate the flowers.
Rhubarb
Cover rhubarb with forcing jars or old buckets to exclude light and encourage long tender stalks.
Celery
Sow seed in pots in the greenhouse during March and April to raise plants that you can plant out from May to June.
Prepare for outdoor sowings
There is no need to dig soil deeply every year unless you want to incorporate more compost, gravel or other soil conditioners. Forking over the surface to remove old crops and weeds should be sufficient for most people. It may be worth getting in a few dozen bags of mushroom compost each year; this can simply be raked over the soil for the worms to work in over the coming weeks.
Clean greenhouses and frames
Wash frames and cloches inside and out with soapy water to clean away any build-up of dirt. This ensures maximum light passes through the glass or plastic to reach seedlings and crops at this dull time of year.
Transplant evergreens
The soil starts to warm up in March, so this is an ideal time to transplant evergreen shrubs and conifers or to plant new ones, including hedges. Planting early means new roots start to grow almost immediately, helping the plants to establish quickly
TOP TIP
On sunny days try to get into the garden and clean up the containers and ornaments, they will brighten your plot for the rest of the year.
Horticultural.
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