Gardeners Monthly – New beginnings!
Welcome to the New Year and the start of the next gardening season!
Hopefully, many of you will be thinking up some gardening resolutions, if you are - let the first be maintenance! Much like December, maintenance is the most important thing this month. Your garden is at its most dormant so there’s plenty of time to plan for spring.
It is time to say goodbye to Christmas by finding a suitable way to dispose of our xmas trees. Taking your tree to the nearest recycling centre has become part of the festive season! If you’ve had one with roots and want to plant it in the garden, get it out of the house and into the ground as soon as the opportunity arises.
Remove dead, diseased or damaged wood in deciduous trees and shrubs. Avoid pruning Birches, Acers and vines, which are liable to bleed profusely if pruned after midwinter. Prune Wisteria this or next month (cut all stems coming off the main framework to 2 or 3 buds of the previous years’ growth). Leave evergreens and tender plants until spring or summer.
If we suffer heavy snowfall, gently brush snow off conifers and hedges to stop the weight forcing them apart. If you have a chance, pack the branches of tender trees and shrubs with straw and secure with fleece to protect them from the cold; thick dry mulches will also protect roots from freezing conditions.
If you haven't already done this, lay old carpeting or something similar over cold frames to protect them and check the insulation in greenhouses and that heaters are working properly.
Weeds - sadly many will survive the cold weather so once the soil is workable, hoe away before they leap into action in the spring.
Check all recently planted trees and shrubs - if they have been lifted by frost, firm them down.
Harvest leeks, Brussels sprouts (from the bottom upwards), carrots, parsnips and winter cabbages. Sow early crops (radishes, beetroot, spinach, lettuce) in seed trays or modules in a greenhouse or tunnel, or on a windowsill inside in light and airy conditions. .
Finally, summer bulbs will soon appear in the garden centers - think ahead to the blaze of colour that dahlias, begonias, lilies and gladioli will provide in your garden and remember that the days are now getting longer - hurray!
Spotlight Magazine Column.