“Spring is here, everything is looking more green and there is a lot to be done in the garden. It’s still a good time to plant shrubs, trees, perennials and herbaceous plants. Choose wildlife friendly plants to bring the natural wildlife into your garden and support pollinators, birds and other creatures. Plant flowering fruit trees and bushes, flowering perennials and look out for the bee friendly symbol on the labels of your plants.
It’s a great time to get started on your vegetable patch too with things like potatoes, lettuce, cabbages and lots more.
GREENHOUSE
If you have a greenhouse you can plant up your tomatoes, cucumbers and other tender vegetables into larger pots. If you allow your tomatoes to grow quite tall before transplanting you can plant with up to 5cm of the stem below the soil line. This will stabilise the plant, allow it to take in more nutrients and will send out roots from it’s stem.
SEED POTATOES
Potatoes and tomatoes are in the same family and like the tomatoes, potato plants like the soil being mounded up against the stem. This allows more roots to shoot from the stem and therefore will produce more potatoes.
Here is a guide for planting your seed potatoes:
First earlies (such as International Kidney, Rocket)
Plant: late March – early April
Harvest: June/July
Second Earlies (such as Charlotte, Kestrel)
Plant: early – mid April
Harvest: July/August
Maincrop (such as Maris Piper, King Edward)
Plant: late April
Harvest: August-October
Putting a layer of soil improver and mulch on your vegetable bed will help you get the best results. It will help with water retention and feed the bed for longer during Summer.
Enjoy the start of the true gardening season and please get in touch if you need any more advice about your plants and garden. “