Gardener’s Diary: what seeds to sow in spring
Whether
you follow the meteorological calendar or the astronomical one, March heralds
the start of spring. Even though there’s still a chill in the air at times, the
sun is beginning to find its warmth again. Sap is starting to rise, sunset is drawing
further into the evening and the perennial and overwintered plants have noted
the lengthening days too. To make the most of all that heightened activity,
here’s your guide to what seeds to sow in spring by our resident gardener,
Claire Ratinon.
What to sow indoors
March is the month when I sow the majority of my seeds. Now that the days are getting longer and the temperature is rising, seedlings growing from now on won’t necessarily need the coddling of heat mats and grow lights – unless the space you have for young plants is cold and dark. Lettuce, beetroot, parsley, basil and rocket can all be sown in modules or seed trays (using the same approach described in February’s diary).
I prefer
to sow one lettuce seed per module as I tend to harvest by removing the outer
leaves, leaving the heart to grow on, and that’s far easier when the plants
aren’t growing as a cluster. The other
crops mentioned above can be multi-sown (3-4 seeds per module) as they will grow
happily in a group. Basil – like its ideal growing companion, tomato – needs
warmth to germinate so if you don’t have access to warm airing cupboard then a
heated seedling mat is helpful.
As with
all vegetable seeds, be sure to keep the compost moist to ensure they get the
message that it’s time to start growing.
Seeds need water to activate the enzymes that prompt them to sprout and
once the outside of the seed has swollen with moisture, it will break open, and
the root will emerge.
It’s also
not too late to chit your potatoes. The jury’s out on whether it’s totally
necessary to encourage your potatoes to sprout before putting them in the
ground but I do it anyway, in hope that it will lead to a heftier yield. Put
your seed potatoes in an egg box with their ‘eyes’ pointing up, somewhere
bright (but not in direct sun) and cool (but frost free). In a few weeks, green
shoots will start to appear.
What to sow outdoors
If there are more bright days than wet and gloomy ones, I might chance sowing some peas, dill and radish seeds directly into the soil (or into a pot) but they may require some protection (with fleece or mesh) from unexpected days of bad weather. If mice and slugs munch on the emerging seed leaves, I’ll try and sow seeds again in a few weeks’ time.
Self-seeded
chive plants have started to pop up all over my garden so if you don’t have any
yet, direct sow some seeds in your herb bed or container but be warned, if you
let them produce their beautiful violet flowers then you’ll likely have chives
in your garden forever more!
Gardening tasks
With the improving weather, I’m finally brave enough to face my compost heap after a winter of skulking out into the cold and throwing in vegetable peelings before running back inside. If you’re anything like me, your compost heap is cold and unbalanced after a winter of neglect and has too much smelly, decomposing green matter. So now’s a good time to turn your heap and incorporate some woodchip or shredded cardboard to bring some order and balance to the mix.
Since all
living things are waking up this month and finding new energy to grow, now is a
perfect time to get some early-in-the-season weeding done. If you’ve got a good eye for an unwanted
young plant, you can get rid of the first flush of annual weeds, such as chickweed
or groundsel, as they appear. The first signs of more persistent perennial
weeds – like creeping buttercup or dock – are appearing now too so worth
removing before their roots bore any deeper. Dandelion and nettle leaves are
edible though so, as long as you can confidently identify them, you could
always eat your weeds into submission!
The first
months of spring are often the wettest of the growing season so set up a water
butt now to collect rainwater. This will supplement the mains water you’ll
likely need to keep your plants’ thirst quenched in the height of summer.
March is
an exciting month, as the garden – and the gardeners – start to creak back into
life after a winter spent hiding from the cold. Though I can still see my
breath in the morning, fueled by marmalade on toast and copious amounts of tea,
I’m at last venturing out in the garden and getting carried away imagining all
the possibilities of the growing season ahead.
