Jobs to do in March

March is usually when the weather begins to get warmer, and your garden starts to spring into life again. Unfortunately, it’s not just the plants and parts of your garden that you want to grow, that grow. Most of it does, that is why you should get in there early to reduce your workload over the coming months. 

Deal with weeds

Pull up the weeds in your garden as soon as possible - don’t let them grow and begin spreading. Try and pull them up by their roots and in areas where it is safe to do so. Lay sufficient weed killer to ensure that they do not come back again, ensuring that you apply the weed killer in accordance with the instructions. Always try and avoid applying weed killer if it has is likely to rain, as this will dilute the application. Go around your flowerbeds and your lawn, to help ensure you are weed free this summer. 

Remove moss

Moss is a common problem and is usually a sign of poor garden health. Unlike plants, moss doesn’t need roots to survive, meaning it can grow almost anywhere. To stop moss growing across your lawn, you need to first apply moss killer to affected areas. Allow the moss to die, and in a week or two go round and take out the blackened dead moss.

If you rake the moss before it has fully died and the moss is sporing, then by removing it you may inadvertently be helping spread the moss around the garden. In practice, totally removing moss from your garden may be impossible, but by over seeding the area and encouraging healthy grass growth in its place, it will help prevent moss from returning.

De-thatch your lawn

Thatch is a layer of dead organic matter between the grass and the sun. This layer of thatch prevents sunlight, moisture and nutrients from reaching the grass roots, which in turn weakens it -and in extreme cases, causes it die.

You can remove moss and thatch from your lawn with a garden rake, however this can be quite physical work. Alternatively an electric lawn rake like the Flymo Lawnrake Compact 3400 will remove any excess thatch and moss from your lawn quickly and easily, and promote healthy grass growth. You should only scarify your lawn in good grass growing conditions. 

Sow vegetable seeds

If you haven’t already, begin getting together all the seeds you need for the coming year. Prepare any vegetable beds, and dig in a good quality compost. Many varieties of vegetables require planting in March if you go by the packet. Remember to only begin planting your seeds if the conditions are correct, and the weather has begun getting warm enough for them to grow. Vegetables like brussel sprouts and cauliflowers can be planted outside under cover, while tomatoes and cucumbers can be started off in seed trays and kept in the greenhouse where it is warmer.

Mow the lawn

As the temperature rises above 6 degrees Celsius, the grass begins to grow again. When needed, cut the grass.

When cutting it for the first time in the year, make sure your lawn mower is on its highest cutting height. You should never cut more than a third of the blade of grass off in one go, or risk harming the grass.