Thursday 18 March 2021

Growing blueberries

Growing blueberries in garden soil, add plenty of bulky, acidic organic matter such as pine needles, leaf-mould or composted conifer clippings. 

Avoid well-rotted farmyard manure as this is too rich and alkaline.

Plants That Need Lime

If you've decided to grow a vegetable patch, then the kind of plants that will benefit from lime include legumes such as peas and broad beans

Other popular homegrown vegetables that benefit from lime include onions, garlic, parsnips, asparagus, and English spinach.

Saturday 6 March 2021

What to do monthly.

- http://www.nsalg.org.uk/growing-advice/monthly-advice/march/

- https://www.allotment-garden.org/garden-advice-month/

- http://www.paddocks-allotments.org.uk/month-by-month/march/sow-or-plant.htm

- http://www.trapgroundallotments.org.uk/calendar.html

- http://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/vegetable/asparagus-grow.php

What to do monthly.

We use five date zones for gardeners, your town is in zone 2 - Bournemouth, Dorset.
February
Celery - sow seeds indoors
Peas / mangetout - sow early types under cloches
start sowing parsnip seed, but it may be too cold to germinate
Start successional sowing of radishes
Sow your first peas in pots in the cold frame or under fleece direct into the ground
Cover your strawberry patch with fleece or a cloche to warm up the ground
Prune blackcurrant bushes

March
Peas / mangetout - start to sow seeds of early types outdoors
Squash / pumpkins - prepare soil
Asparagus - apply spring fertiliser
Beetroot - sow seeds under cloches
Potatoes - plant out sprouted sets
Radish - sow seed under cloches
Beetroot - sow seed in pots indoors
Squash / pumpkins - sow seed indoors
Swiss Chard - sow outdoors with cloche protection
Turnip - start to sow seed outdoors
It should be safe to plant parsnip seeds
Start successional sowing of chard, beetroot and spinach
Cover rhubarb crowns to "force" them
Cut back autumn raspberries to the ground
Sow cauliflower, summer cabbage and sprouts for summer transplanting

Jan - Mar Gooseberries - prune
Jan - Mar Red / whitecurrant - prune

Sowing timeline.

Undercover, sow
broad beans,
spinach,
lettuce,
peas for shoots,
onion,
salad onion,
early brassicas (cabbage, calabrese, kohlrabi, cauliflower),
radish,
parsley,
coriander,
dill.

Giving some warmth helps germination, such as heating mats: this is the most worthwhile time of plants’ lives to invest in heat, to germinate their seeds.

Assemble a heap (hotbed) of fresh horse manure, to provide heat for new sowings.
In 25C warmth sow aubergine, pepper, chilli – they must have warmth or it’s a waste of time.
Outside, the only sowings now are broad beans, and garlic if you have not already.
You can sow parsnips but seedlings may be stronger from March sowings, even April.

If you have no way of warming seeds, seeds still germinate but more slowly and sometimes unevenly.
Undercover without heat its fine to germinate lettuce, brassicas, peas, broad beans, onions, spinach.
Sowing timeline for vegetables:

A year on the plot.

March
It should be safe to plant parsnip seeds
Start successional sowing of chard, beetroot and spinach
Plant strawberries and raspberries
If you've sown early lettuce, they probably need thinning now
Lift all remaining leeks from last year to give you time to dig over the land for new planting
Plant sunflower seeds in pots in your cold frame
Cover rhubarb crowns to "force" them
Cut back autumn raspberries to the ground
Plant out onion sets
Sow cauliflower, summer cabbage and sprouts for summer transplanting
If warm enough, sow leeks in a seed bed or in pots
Dig, dig, dig to get your plot ready for spring planting