The Lawn in March
March is often a very important time for lawns. Good maintenance now can make or break your lawn appearance this summer.
You may already be mowing, but if not and the grass is growing, it’s time to ‘bring out the mower!’
Your lawn may be a little pale and the leaf growth be somewhat weak.
Look for a high nitrogen lawn fertiliser in the shops and apply to the lawn, but not too thickly! This will encourage steady green shoots to grow.
Sweep away any ‘worm castes’ when they appear on the surface.
Sowing a new lawn, or thinking of laying turf?
Time then to prepare for sowing with ground preparation.
Next month we really get busy on your April lawn!
The Flower Garden
March is such a busy time in the garden, with sowing annuals for your bedding plants and perennials for the herbaceous border.
By now, you will have sown plants that need a long growing season, such as begonias, geraniums etc. If not, don’t worry, you can buy ‘plug’ plants by post or in the garden centre.
It’s the main season for sowing most bedding plants though, such as petunias, zinnias, lobelias, busy lizzies and many others. Start these in the greenhouse, conservatory, or on a window-sill. The main thing is they must be in a warm atmosphere.
Look for New Lobelia Masterpiece Blue with Eye. Most lobelia tend to fade later in the summer, but this new variety is larger flowered and last to the end of the summer!
Should you have no facilities for growing indoors, don’t worry, many ‘half annuals’ can be sown direct outside next month.
Perennial plants that flower for a number of years can be planted in March.
Existing plants can still be lifted and separated if they have become overcrowded.
Plant surplus plants elsewhere in the garden or maybe ‘swap’ with a neighbour!
Summer flowering tubers e.g. Dahlias and corms, such as gladioli can be planted later in the month.
Trim old leaves from your hellebores to ensure optimum growth.
Trees & Shrubs
March brings an increase in temperatures and subsequent plant growth. Thus now is the time to feed trees and shrubs with a quality, slow release fertiliser, forking it in lightly into the soil.
Prune roses to encourage strong new growth after winter and feed with a quality rose fertiliser.
Prune early flowering shrubs such as early flowering clematis and winter flowering jasmin.
Dead-head hydrangeas before new growth appears.
The Vegetable Plot
You are going to be just as busy in the veg garden as you will be with your flowers, so let’s get busy!
I’ll start with those early sowings for the greenhouse or window sill.
Everybody likes the taste of home grown tomatoes, sweet peppers and chilli and now’s the time to be sowing.
Tomatoes
Everybody has their own favourite for tomatoes. Sadly though, some well-known varieties are not what they once were!
Prepared to try something new?
Then make your choice from a new series of tomatoes with a ‘crimson’ prefix to the name e.g. ‘Crimson Cocktail' (a cherry type size). This series has the added benefit of inbred resistance to tomato blight – a fungal disease that can decimate your summer crop!
Early potatoes may be ‘chitted’ (standing tubers upright in a tray in a light position to encourage shoots and early cropping with a larger total crop.
Outside vegetable seed sowings can begin this month if ground conditions allow. Spreading black polythene across the plot is a great way to warm up the soil prior to sowings.
(Should you have raised beds you will probably find you can start a little earlier.)
Early peas, broad beans, carrots, beetroot, radish, lettuce, parsnips and spring onions may also be sown this month.!
Should you have space and access, then dig in well-rotted farm yard manure. It will improve fertility and help to store moisture in the soil.
The Fruit Patch
Like other parts of the garden, feeding fruit trees and bushes is important in spring.
Use an organic fertilizer like blood, fish and bone, or another slow release type.
