Gardener’s Diary – Top Tips for March 2019

Enjoy our monthly Gardener’s diary for some fantastic tips on how to keep your garden going through all of the seasons.

Plant summer flowering bulbs

Now is the time to get those bulbs in for the wonderful summer display. Plants such as Lilies, Iris, Dahlias, Agapanthus and Begonias will provide you with some lovely summer colour. Choose from our range of bulbs, priced from £1.99 a pack.

Plant your early potatoes

If you prepared your seed potatoes last month, now is the time to get them in. Before planting, rub off any weak chits leaving 3/4 of the strongest – you will end up with lots of small potatoes. Dig a trench around 10cm deep and place the potatoes into the soil with the rose end and chits pointing up. Place them around 30 cm apart then fill the trench with soil to cover the potatoes. The approximate harvest time is around 10 weeks from planting.

Know your onions

Growing onions from sets is generally easier and the crop will mature earlier, but you can also raise a crop from seed (although this can be more challenging) Plant onion sets in early to mid-spring 5-10cm apart leaving 25-30cm between the rows. Plant about 2cm (¾in) deep in drills, or merely push the sets into loose earth. Only the tips of sets should show. Make sure you cover with fleece to prevent birds uprooting the sets. Remove the fleece once established in the soil.

Deal with the weeds

During spring, weeds come back into growth. Deal with them before they get out of hand with some tumbleweed treatment. All weeds can be controlled without weed killers, but persistent or deep rooted weeds may be very difficult to get rid of. Ongoing control is likely to be necessary.

Start Feeding Fish

For those with a pond, start feeding the fish using a low temperature Wheatgerm food for easy digestion.