March Tips
MARCH
NOW IS THE TIME TO…………
start sowing and growing broad beans, early peas, potatoes.
The winter has been long, cold and wet, so the soil is still too cold and seeds will rot in the soil. But with increasing day length and some drying winds and sunshine, you will be able to sow the larger seeds, such as early potatoes, broad beans and peas this month. You can try radishes, too. You may wish to start off the broad beans and peas in small pots/ modules in a sheltered spot in the garden or cold greenhouse, away from slugs and snails.
It is a good time to sow early lettuce, such as May Queen, and rocket in trays for transplanting soon into the garden. You will be eating home grown salads in May!
As the month progresses, the soil should be ready for the smaller seeds.
Early spring bulbs, snowdrops, winter aconites and crocuses are looking cheerfully unconcerned about the weather and are putting on a long display. When the weather warms up, they will quickly finish flowering. It will then be the optimum time to divide big clumps of snowdrops and aconites and plant elsewhere whilst they are still ‘in the green’.
Old Wives Tales
Taken from the Guardian Weekend who took it from Which.
Coffee grounds keep slugs at bay
The theory Caffeine is toxic to slugs and snails, and mulching with coffee grounds therefore deters these garden pests.
The evidence US researchers have shown that spraying plants with a caffeine solution equivalent to a strong cup of coffee does kill slugs, but there is currently no direct evidence that coffee grounds have the same effect. Most of the caffeine in coffee grounds is removed when it's brewed, so the amount of caffeine in spent coffee grounds is much lower than the amount needed to kill slugs. The granular texture of coffee grounds may deter slugs, but in an earlier Which? Gardening trial of granular slug barriers, they weren't found to be particularly effective, not least because they are time-consuming to apply and have to be topped up every time it rains.
The verdict False: coffee grounds may not deter slugs, but they are high in nitrogen, so put them on your compost heap instead.
Pea and bean roots left in the ground improve the soil
The theory Nodules on the roots of peas and beans (legumes) harness nitrogen from the air and make it available to plants.
The evidence Research has shown that almost all the nitrogen gathered by bacteria in the root nodules of legumes is passed straight into the plant. By the time legumes are in flower, most of the nitrogen is in the leaves and developing pods. So the only way nitrogen will benefit future crops is if the whole plant – including seeds, pods, leaves, stems and roots – is allowed to rot back into the soil.
The verdict False: picking peas and beans removes most of the nitrogen that was gathered by bacteria in root nodules. Put spent plants on your compost heap to harness any nitrogen left in the leaves.
