Page 34 - ALG Issue 1 2017

Regulars
Seasonal jobs to do...
March, April & May
The timing for the tasks is general and will have to be adjusted to the prevailing weather conditions for the particular area where you garden. In the south you may be able to make an early start, but if you are gardening above the River Trent you may be two weeks behind and further north in Scotland it could be up to a full month to six weeks later.
34
General
On dry days get on with the preparation of the seed beds for making the rst outdoor sowings. Beforehand, cover the soil with plastic to warm it up and dry it out. You can return the plastic covering to keep the soil dry and friable until you
need it for sowing. Keep on tiding the plot and make an early
start with the hoe to control weed seeds and to bring slug eggs and grubs up to the surface for birds to feed on. Cut down green manures and leave on the surface of the soil to wilt before digging into the soil. After digging in, allow three weeks before sowing
or planting. Top dress overwintering vegetables with a general fertiliser. Apply a top dressing of general fertiliser over all of the areas required for the early crops. Prepare beds for asparagus and globe artichokes.
Sow
Outdoors – Early cultivars of beetroot, broad beans, carrots, lettuce, peas, radish, round-seeded spinach, parsnips and turnips. If the weather is mild try sowing a white form of kohlrabi towards the end of the month.
Greenhouse – Ventilate the greenhouse on sunny days to prevent soaring temperatures. Close up by mid-afternoon and keep plenty of newspapers or eece handy to cover the seedlings if a frost
is forecast. Try to water in the morning to make sure that the greenhouse has dried out by the afternoon.
Sow tomato seeds to grow in the unheated greenhouse. (See February)
Start herbs from seed. Sow dill, fennel, parsley and sorrel to grow in pots or transplant later.
If the soil conditions won’t allow, sow seeds of celery, celeriac, early cultivars of broad beans, summer and autumn cabbage, lettuce, leeks, onions and peas in the greenhouse.
Plant
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In milder areas, plant onion sets and early potatoes towards the end of the month. If the soil is too cold, wait until next month to complete the task. If you force the issue and plant onions into cold soil they will be chilled and will certainly run to seed in
the summer.
Still time to plant shallots in the northern areas of the country.
Fruit
Last opportunity to plant top and soft fruit. Mulch around all fruit and give a heavy covering to rhubarb plants. Just time to complete the pruning of blackcurrant bushes. Cut out to soil level all of the darker, fruited branches from last summer. Leave between ve and seven healthy, new, lighter branches to fruit this summer.
Spray top fruit with liquid garlic product to control scab.
Harvest
Broccoli, cabbage, leeks, parsnips and Brussel sprouts. Regularly check the condition of produce in store. Remove any that is decaying or past its best.
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