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| Layham Garden Centre and Nursery | ||||
Gardening Calendar
| March 2010 |
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Gardening is excellent all-round
exercise, utilizing all the major muscle groups of the body. It tones muscle,
protects your heart and is good for your bones. Being exposed to moderate
sunlight while gardening strengthens bones by helping us to produce Vitamin D
which slows osteoporosis. Gardening is also an excellent
‘fat burner’.
For instance, 30 minutes of digging will burn 250 calories or 30 minutes of
weeding 105 calories. Gardening can also help to ease the symptoms of SAD
(Seasonally Affective Disorder) a form of depression caused by low levels of
natural sunlight.
Strong winds can be a regular feature during March, Check all tree stakes and ties and make any necessary repairs as quickly as possible. Remember, a stake snapped off in the ground will do more harm than no stake at all. The remaining stump may rub against the tree, damaging the bark. Roses: Watch out for some exciting new rose varieties available. Rose of the Year 2000 is Lucky, a wonderful new floribunda with true disease resistance. It produces large trusses of fragrant lilac-pink flowers adorned on glossy green foliage. If you are buying containerised roses make sure they are well rooted before taking out of the pot. If the rose is taken out before it has formed a root ball in the pot, there is a risk that the soil will drop away and damage the little white roots thus setting back the growth of the plant. Many roses are coming into leaf so now is the time to apply that all important first protection against the dreaded blackspot. Systhane, sprayed every three weeks, should keep the disease at bay throughout the growing season. All pruning should now be completed but if the plants were pruned during the autumn check that the buds under the pruning have started to grow. If there is no sign of growth you can take the pruning back to the bud below, providing the bud is facing the right way – remember always to prune on a bud facing outwards.Get weeding: The herbaceous border should be showing signs of new growth, so get forking over the soil to remove any chickweed and grass, otherwise you ’ll find the weeds will take over and smother the plants.Moss alert: Moss growth on lawns seems to be on the increase. If you take action now you stand a good chance of putting an end to the problem. The harder (but most effective) method of combating moss is to rake over the lawn in both directions with a springbok (a rake with a flexible curved tine). Any moss that is gathered should be burnt and any resulting bald patches of lawn can be rectified by putting down some grass seed. If it is not only moss that is affecting the overall appearance of the lawn, try applying a feed and weed solution. Know your soil: Simply guessing whether the soil in your garden is acid or alkaline can lead to serious (not to mention expensive) mistakes. Diagnosing your soil is easy. Simple, inexpensive soil kits will provide you with a nitrogen, potash and phosphate reading |