Gardening Blog
Allotment Diary
March 4, 2008: mad March roars in
Terry Walton's allotment is springing to life and he explains how to steal a march on nature
March has certainly arrived on the scene like a raging lion! The very strong winds of the past days are not a fitting start to the month which is the gateway to spring. But beware not the 'ides of March' as the whole month can have wide variations of temperature and winds. The old adage of 'if March winds do blow we will have snow' is so true of this fickle month. The one strong wish is that as it has entered like a lion it will leave as a lamb!
This is the time that the latent winter gardeners reappear on their plots having polished up their spades and forks, flexed their muscles and are raring to go.
The major catalyst for this renewed optimism is the changes going on around us. Look carefully at the hedgerows and no longer will you see barren branches of the trees but the faint glow of green as the hawthorns unfurl their tender green buds to bathe the scene with a fresh new look. This is a sure indication that nature has recognised that the good times are beginning.
March is also when colour returns to the garden, albeit with a predominance of yellow. Pale yellow primroses bloom in the shelter of banks and trees. While the daffodils are reaching the perfection of their flowering season and move in unison in the March winds.
Oh! What a time of great expectations is the month of March. Stop, look and admire how nature has come through the long dark days and is bringing a whole new season to life.
This expectation is nowhere more apparent than in the warmer spots in our greenhouses. Mine in particular is currently bulging with seed trays housing the new season’s crops. These have been transplanted from the crowded spot in the tray where they were sown to their individual compartment in yet another tray. These can grow on during the next weeks to larger healthy plants ready to face life on the open plot.
The shelves are full with various varieties of onion seedlings, as every year I try a few different types to get an even larger onion. Lettuce and cabbage are rushing ahead in their lifecycle to form sturdy plants to go out under cloches later in the month.
The tomatoes are forming their first true leaves and are given the warmest spot in the greenhouse so that they can continue to grow on unchecked.
The poor broad beans have been evicted from their cosy home to the cooler climes of the cold frame to toughen them out for their excursion into the open ground at the end of March.
So you see there is much afoot on the plot to stimulate our appetite and rekindle those halcyon days of past summers.
If you are without a greenhouse it is amazing what a march you can steal on nature with a sticks and some polythene. Build a little frame over a patch of ground and leave it for a week or two so that the soil temperature can raise a few degrees. A few seeds of early carrots, lettuce or cabbage sown with this simple type of protection will give you an early start.
There is nothing like seeing a seed leaf appear from the soil to get the spirits high and kick start a whole new chapter in the gardening cycle.
More by Terry Walton
- Feb 27, 2008: why I went organic
- Feb 20, 2008: Topsy-turvy weather keeps the wildlife guessing
- Feb 12, 2008: I don't believe it
Terry Walton is a regular contributor to The Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2 and has written a book called, My Life on a Hillside Allotment, published by Bantam Press at ?12.99. The book is available from Amazon.
