Finally the weather is on the change and the ground is warming up so it’s time to get  moving!!

First sow all those seeds, which have a particular sensitivity to frost, into containers which can either be housed indoors on windowsills or in the greenhouse propagator. I’m talking runner beans, French beans, courgetts, and pumpkins.The key thing here is not to get ahead of yourself!! A good friend of mine,who will remain nameless other than ‘Bigboy’ of Hereford proudly put his beautiful runner beans out 3 weeks ago and lost the lot to frost damage so remember the story of the tortoise and the hare! The key is to be sure that all risk of frost has gone and if you have planted out and there is a frost warning, get some agricultural fleece, wrap them round your plants and pray!!

I have only just planted out my onion sets , broad beans , potatoes and peas and although they are all a tad late i hope that they will catch up with this lovely weather.You can also start to plant out your salad leaves but remember, only a little at a time, say half a row, and then repeat 3 /4 weeks later…if you don’t you will have a glut of produce and then nothing.

Towards the end of the month, you can start to ‘harden off’! This isn’t some kind of ‘Rambo’ affair, rather it’s when plants such as tomatoes which are intended to be planted outside, are moved outdoors during the day and then brought back in for the night, thus aclimatising them over a 2 to 3 week period.

Fruit trees and canes can be fed and don’t forget to set your slug traps..Do that now and you will negate the ‘second generation’ which is bound to follow.

Hoe and weed as much as you can.The more you do now, the easier it will be in the comming months.

Top tip

Bird scaring tape…..This is coloured silver on one side and red on the other.If you tie it to two sticks either end of a row of produce, the birds will not come near.The theory is that the tape gives the impression of fire and keeps them away. Whatever the reason, I know it works and having experienced the disapointment of pidgeon damage I can  recommend it.

You may find some of the below links useful for getting you started in the garden this Spring.

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Martin’s patch

Part of loving our environment is embracing sustainability and this doesn’t just mean large scale technologies like our wind turbine, growing your own fruit and veg is also a fantastic way of being more sustainable. We love the satisfaction growing your own food brings and many of Henry’s team have their own veg patches. In fact we are so passionate about the delights of ‘growing your own’ that we are planning to develop a vegetable patch at the Sun Inn, our latest Hobsons pub. The Sun Inn patch will be run by members of the loacl community and not only used to grow food but also inform local school children about the produce we can grow in our own back gardens.

Whether you already have your own veg patch or you’re thinking of delving into the world of home grown fruit and veg for the first time, we would like to share some of our know how. So please take it away Martin.

Why bother?

A question I normally ask myself at least a dozen times throughout the year!

However, after spending an hour in the veg garden weeding, planting or watering, away from the madding crowd, radio on, listening to test match special, I normally answer the question for myself, especially when you taste your ‘first early’ potatoes, cooked with mint and smothered in butter, which have been dug just 30 minutes earlier. And whilst I can’t tell the difference between organic and non organic produce, I know for a fact, that almost everything I have produced in the garden has tasted sweeter, sharper, crunchier and more satisfying .

OK,  your still with me, so I’m assuming you want to bother….So what next??

The basics

Guys….Good news…Size (of plot) doesn’t matter…What does matter is sunshine and water.

If at all possible, position your patch running lengthways east  to west to take  fullest advantage of the days sunshine, and get your water as close to your patch as possible. Believe me, you will soon appreciate distance once you’ve carried your 10^th two gallon watering can from A to B.

Don’t panic if you havn’t a tap nearby, there are a plethora of waterbutts available from the garden centres or even better, recycle an old bath, steel drum or similar (I used to use plastic tubs from a jam factory) with which you can catch rain water or run a hose pipe to.

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Must do jobs

• Complete winter digging of vegetable beds
• Prepare ground for sowing and planting. Fork over, remove weeds and apply a general purpose fetiliser, remove stones and rubbish and rake until you have a look of bread crumbs.
• Complete any fruit pruning and planting before the middle of the month.
• Protect early blossom from cold and wind with horticultural fleece.
• Chit your seed potatoes. I do mine in old egg boxes, standing them up and storing them in cold conditions away from light. The potatoe then grows ‘tubers’ which ultimately swell to become next season potato.

Sow indoor in the warmth

Greenhouse tomatoes, sweet peppers, mangetout, peas, lettuce, celeriac, celery, chillies, cauliflowers, brussel sprouts, french beans, broad beans and aubergines.

Sow outside in greenhouse or under glass

Turnips, outdoor tomatoes, spinach (SV), sorrel, globe artichokes, mixed salad leaves, rocket, radish, mangetout, peas, lambs lettuce, brocoli (SV) and calabrese.

Helpful tip

I plant my peas and mixed salad in lengths of plastic guttering (6ft long) which are filled with potting compost. They are brought on indoors and then planted out (I will show you how later) when they are strong enough to cope with the warmer climates.

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