Gardening in a wintry March
- patrickwiltshire3
- Mar 11, 2023
- 2 min read
Tips from a gardening expert to keep your gardening plans on track
There are few things more frustrating to gardeners in Yorkshire than sensing spring's just around the corner, only to come face-to-face with a week's worth of blizzards and winter temperatures. But don't let the wintry weather hold you back from gardening in March! Here are some tips from a gardening expert to keep your gardening plans on track:
Chit potato tubers indoors
Chitting means preparing and sprouting seed potatoes before planting them out so that they become the strongest, most productive potato plants.
In March, you can get hold of seed potatoes and pop them into containers like eggboxes with as many of the potatoes' darker bumps or "eyes" on show as possible. Exposed to light, these bumps become short and stubby with the potential to sprout into thick, robust stems once planted.
Sow seeds undercover
Even if you can't (or have no intention to!) go outside in the cold, you can still prepare for gardening by sowing seeds indoors.
Flowers like dahlias, lupins, sweet peas, chocolate cosmos, and cleome, as well as crops like chilli peppers, sweet peppers, chives, tomatoes, and lettuce, can all be sown indoors before transplanting the seedlings outside once spring truly begins.
Wash plant pots and trays
Cleaning plant pots and seed trays with hot water and a brush is not only a satisfying job but vital to create a healthy and hygienic environment for young plants. When seeds first germinate, they're very vulnerable to plant diseases which can be fatal for them.
Cleaning pots and trays eliminates fungal spores that can infect seedlings, giving your seed-sowing season a great start.
Do a garden-tool check
It's the perfect time of year to check your tools, from your trusty trowel to your much-loved secateurs. Make sure your tools are in top-notch condition in preparation for the gardening year ahead. You could even check out your local Neighbourhood website to see if a local artisan and/or professional's happy to give your garden tools a sharpen, a clean, or a revamp.
Tidy up outdoors
If the weather permits, go outdoors and do a bit of tidying up. A hoe will see to the surface weeds, but a trowel or garden fork are best to get out the long thick roots of dandelions. You can also use your hoe to incorporate the last of the autumn leaves into the soil to improve the soil texture and add nutrients to it. The local population of earthworms will give you a hand pulling leaves into the soil too. The local robins will be happy when they spy a worm or two at the soil surface.
By following these tips, you can keep your gardening plans on track even during wintry March weather in Yorkshire.
