* If you are intending to move any large plants this winter, start the wrenching process without delay. This initially involves making cuts to the roots on two sides of the plant. Calculate how large a rootball you can reasonably move (the larger the better) and cut from there. In a couple of weeks, follow up on the other two sides, and underneath if you can and then carry out the removal operation two weeks later. All this is to reduce stress on the plant and to encourage it to start the process of forming new roots where you have cut. You don’t need to bother with small plants.

* As you do the autumn clean-up round in the ornamental garden, get a layer of mulch onto all the garden beds possible. Any mulch suppresses weeds as long as it is thick enough (3cm or so). Our standard mulch here is home made compost which also provides nourishment and texture to the soil. Mulches of bark chip, gravel, stones and the like (fortunately the dreaded scoria seems to have disappeared) do not do anything for the soil. Pea straw is very fashionable and very expensive (so we do not use it) but is ideal as a mulch, if rather intrusive visually. Last year’s calf shed wood shavings are excellent but don’t put it on too thickly. Sawdust can be used if not tanalised but needs considerable caution. Don’t dig it in. Only people of no aesthetic sensibility use weed mat as a mulch and we hope in this day and age that nobody who reads this column would even contemplate using black plastic.

* If you covet a politically incorrect green velvet sward, you can fertilise your lawn at this time of the year. Use a cheap NPK fertiliser or Bioboost.

* Anything planted in the vegetable garden from here on is more likely to be ready for harvest in early spring, rather than the depths of winter. All the usual candidates – brassicas, winter greens, spring onions, carrots, broad beans, beetroot and even leeks (from plants not seed) – can be put in now.

* If you have a favoured warm, frost free position, you can put in an early crop of potatoes. Pick a quick maturing variety such as Swift or Rocket. For some unfathomable reason, being able to dig a very early crop of potatoes earns maximum brownie points amongst serious gardeners. Make sure the potatoes are well sprouted before planting and do not waste your effort unless you can be sure of protecting them from winter frosts.

* Although the potato hails from South America, apparently 90% of the world’s potato production occurs in Europe. In the somewhat harsh climate of much of Britain, it was the prime source of Vitamin C in the two world wars, thereby holding scurvy largely at bay. The modern diet of the very thin potato crisp may not be sufficient to achieve the same outcome.

April 9, 2009 In the Garden

· As predicted, the autumn rains started just prior to Easter but before you relax, have a little delve down in your garden or lawn and see how far the water has penetrated. That said, it should be safe enough to sow new lawns this weekend and to over sow bare patches in existing lawns. If the worst comes to the worst and we get very dry again, you can give the new areas a water but it isn’t likely to be necessary.
· The autumn rains will bring an explosion of freshly germinating weeds. Be vigilant on these varmints. With leaf drop just starting, using fallen leaves as mulch will suppress weed germination and there is a surprising amount of goodness as well as useful humus in rotting leaf litter. Frankly it is no longer acceptable on this planet to burn fallen leaves. Compost them or disperse them through the garden.
· Hellebores (winter roses) will be coming into growth soon. Cutting all the old foliage off means you can see the charmingly understated nodding flowers of helleborus orientalis. Heavy aphid infestations in the spent flowers in spring are a good reason to deadhead these plants (so too is their habit of seeding promiscuously), but we have also found quite heavy aphid occupation on the old foliage this year, which is another reason to cut it off and cart it all away to the compost heap. If the foliage is clean, you can leave it lying as a mulch. If you don’t remove the old foliage, the flowers tend to hide beneath the big leaves. If you leave it any longer, you have to trim around each plant taking care to avoid the new shoots but done this early, you can slash and hack your way through with little precision. Some have even been alleged to use the motor mower (but not here). Hellebores are excellent bedding plants for open woodland conditions but orientalis does not like being lifted and divided (will sulk, sometimes for years) so if you want to build up numbers, do it from seedlings.
· In the vegetable garden, make the autumn clean up round a priority for Easter. Most gardens will have mildew and bug infested crops well past their best now. Don’t leave these to rot where they are. If you make hot compost, bury the diseased crops in the middle of the heap, or feed them to your worm farm. Good hygiene and tidy habits can reduce pest and disease infestations in the future.
· Peas prefer the cooler weather so you can be sowing them now. Inland gardeners may be wanting to sow their first crop of broad beans. While the yield on peas for the home gardener can be disappointingly meagre and the frozen product is actually very good and cheap, the opposite applies to broad beans which can crop extremely well and are infinitely better than the bought product.
· Get any bare areas of the veg garden sown down with a green crop as soon as possible. Oats, lupin, vetch, phaecelia, mustard or even plain rye grass are all options.
· If it rains incessantly over Easter, take heed of John Lubbock, aka Lord Avebury, who wrote: There is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.

· It is countdown to the autumn rains. These will arrive soon; we are just not sure which day but some time around Easter would be a safe bet. As soon as the rains come, it is a sign that you can be out with the grass seed to sow new lawns or to over sow bare patches in existing lawns. In preparation for this, get out again with the push hoe once again to level any weeds on the site.

· Autumn is the better planting time for trees and shrubs than the more usual spring schedule, but you need to wait for the rain to penetrate the soil first and this will take a couple of days of steady precipitation. At this time of the year, you may well be planting last season’s stock and there is nothing wrong with this as long as you handle it properly. Plunge the whole plant, pot and all, into a bucket of water and weight it down. Leave it for several minutes at the very least, and longer if bubbles are still rising. If the plant is very rootbound, cut the pot or bag off and look at the roots. If they are coiled round and round, you need to make about three or four vertical cuts down the sides. If they are folded in like a parcel at the bottom, cut these back. We don’t recommend trying to tease out fine roots, or indeed any roots. You are more likely to cause damage. If the root system looks too small for the top, prune the top. Plant into well cultivated soil with plenty of compost, water and mulch. Plant once and plant well is the rule of thumb here.

· There is still a good month of warm growing weather in April, a little longer for those who live in mild, coastal areas so there is time to get winter vegetables into the garden. But don’t delay or you will get a disappointingly patchy harvest later. If you are a beginner, you are likely to have more success now with leafy greens and brassicas because it is late for slower growing root crops.

· Non gardeners may like to try sowing micro greens or mesclun into trays. You can be cutting salad greens in a matter of a few weeks. You need trays with drainage holes (we are still recycling polystyrene mushroom trays) and about 12cm of depth. Our preference is to use a layer of soil, then the main layer of compost with about 2cm of potting mix on top of the seeds. Or you may find buying seed raising mix is easier. Once planted, keep the trays in full sun, give them a light water each day and keep them up off the ground to escape slugs and snails, let alone cats who may think it is kitty litter. The barbecue table can be a good spot for the trays or a sunroom or conservatory.

· If you are saving your own vegetable or flower seed, save seed from the very best plants only. In the veg garden, this may mean sacrificing the best specimens of crops like carrots and beans so that they can set seed. Others, like tomatoes, melons and capsicums, can be gathered in the kitchen as you prepare the food. Spread the seed to dry on a piece of paper and store in old envelopes. It is only a matter of months before you will be sowing them.

· If your flower borders are looking a little worse for the wear, take heart from Sara Stein: “I appreciate the misunderstanding I have had with Nature over my perennial border. I think it is a flower garden; she thinks it is a meadow lacking grass, and tries to correct the error.”