4255-3 Buck March 2011 - The Community of Bucklebury WIKI

are most vulnerable – on the principle
that to save a couple of branches and
have fruit on is better than losing the lot.
Seed sowing at this time of year can
be very hit or miss. The essential thing
is to make certain that the soil is warm
and not too wet. It needs to be friable
and easily ‘moved’ by your rake. If you
have a garden frame you should have
no problem in getting seedlings going,
but if you are trying to get some early
‘roots’ (parsnips and carrots) to germinate,
try to cover the ground before you
sow the seeds either with a cloche or
black plastic (though I have found that
mice seem to enjoy running around
under the plastic!).
I was reading the other day that one
of the commonest failures of seeds to
germinate is sowing them too deep;
while they may make the initial effort to
germinate the shoots run out of energy
before they reach the surface. Read the
guide on the packet; if it says sow to ? of
an inch deep it means just cover the
seeds. I also read that the ground
should not be too wet; while the seed
does need moisture to germinate, if the
ground is saturated there is no air and a
living thing needs air to breath.
I am reminded that with the warmer
weather (we hope) weeds seem to be
the first things to get going; give your
self a task to visit a different bit of the
garden each day and remove the first
signs of weed growth – if you don’t they
will be the first into flower and the first to
go to seed making it even harder to get
on top of your garden.
As the daffodils start to go over, feed
them with a foliar feed or sprinkle some
Growmore around the base of the leaves
as this will put goodness back into the
bulb with the added advantage making
the leaves die back more quickly.
If the weather is warm, March is the
right time to plant shallots; don’t push
them into soil as you may damage the
growing ‘plate’ out of which the roots
emerge, just use a trowel and plant them
in good soil so that the top of the shallot
is just poking through the surface and
cover with wire netting or something
similar as the blackbirds will otherwise
remove them thinking they are worms.
Back to sowing seeds – most of us
are impatient gardeners and we want
instant results; remember that it takes
weeks, not days, from sowing the seed
to harvest – for instance it will take at
least eight weeks (two months!) to harvest
a lettuce; so sow and grow your
seeds to a set plan, use a diary and
record when you sow and when you
harvest – it will be an interesting guide
for next year. John Tennant
Temporary Post Office
in All Saints’ Church
As you may know, the Parish
Council approached the churchwardens
and myself to see if we would host
8 MARCH 2010