Jobs to do in your garden in March
As advised by the gardening experts at Secretts Garden Centre, Milford

Spring is firmly on its way and by mid March the longer, sunnier days mean that we can get on with plenty of jobs in our garden. Watch out for the emergence of pests as the weather gets warmer!

• Plant summer flowering bulbs, ensuring that your soil has sufficient drainage to prevent the bulbs from rotting.
• Any bulbs that were forced for indoor winter displays can be planted outside when they
have finished flowering.
• Sow hardy annuals to provide colour in your garden.
In mild conditions they can be sown directly outside.
• Any shrubs or ornamental grasses that were left for colour or winter interest should be cut back now
to allow for new growth.
• Continue to deadhead winter flowering pansies and other winter bedding as they can carry on well
into the spring with care and attention.
• Deadhead daffodils when the flowers fade but
leave foliage to die down.
• Divide any herbaceous perennials that have
become too big, have lost their shape or have
poor flowering quality.
• Top up pots and containers with fresh compost.
• Feed your borders with a good general purpose fertilizer, as directed.
• If the weather becomes continuously mild, remove winter coverings from tender plants but make sure
the risk of frost has passed.
• Feed roses with a good granular rose fertilizer
as they come into growth
• Mulch and feed shrubs, trees and climbers
after pruning to prepare them for the
new growth.

Grown Your Own

• Prepare your seedbeds and cover with fleece or clear polythene to warm up the soil before sowing.
• Start regular hoeing to keep weeds under control.
• Many vegetables can be sown now – check the advice on your seed packets for broad beans, carrots, parsnips, beetroot, radish, lettuce, spinach, summer cabbage, peas, leeks, Swiss chard, turnips and salad leaves
to name a few!
• Sow tomatoes, cucumbers, salads, sweet peppers, celery, globe artichokes and aubergines in a
frost-free greenhouse.
• Use spare space in the greenhouse to warm up growing-bags for use in your vegetable garden.
• Continue to harvest your winter vegetables and salads.
• When harvesting your spring cabbages, cut them off the stem. Cut a cross in the top of the stem left in the ground as you may get mini cabbages or ‘spring greens’ to grow from the cut stems.
• Watch out for slugs and use controls – seek advice if necessary. Protect against pigeons and rabbits with netting, frames, cloches etc.
• Apply a mulch around fruit frees and bushes.
• Plant container grown fruit trees and any bare
root fruit trees not yet planted.

If you need any help or advice,
please call our team at Secretts
on 01483 520500
and we will be delighted to help you.