March is just around the corner with so much to look forward to in the spring. January and february always seem the hardest months of the year, and this year with so much torrential rain and floods, the winter has been mild but no less difficult to cope with for many. March and April can be dry and sunny months and lets hope this is the case to dry out the ground .

It's the start of the gardening year, time when seeds can be sown under glass both flowers and veg. Some veg seeds are easy to grow and a good time to start if you want to germinate your own from seed. To get a decent crop of peas or beans you need plenty of plants and the cheapest way to do this is from seeds. Fortunately Peas, Broad Beans Runner Beans and french Beans are all easy to grow from seed and for more advise and tips, and a video on germination check out growing vegetables 

It is too cold to plant out at this stage so you do need space indoors, conservatory or porch or a green house/lean-to/under glass to grow the plants on until later in the year.

There are lots of tips and advise on what to do and grow in March in the Sunday Gardeners Calender for March

How to Winter Prune Wisteria

I Love Wisteria but it is definitely a labour of love to grow it, a red wheelbarrow  of a plant . I was up the ladders yesterday pruning it, giving the Wisteria its very necessary Winter Prune which is not a job I enjoy, pruning yes, ladders no. Come the late spring I will think it is worth it to see, and smell, the lovely blooms but to get Wisteria to flower it must be pruned every year, not once but twice.

Wisteria is a really vigorous plant and if you are planting bear in mind in 5 years, if planted against a wall, it will reach the upper stories of the house, which is why ladders are needed. The big pruning worry, will I kill it ? Very unlikely unless you cut hard right down in the old wood. Will I stop it flowering? Again not likely, unless you cut off all the flowering spurs. Below left is the video of Winter pruning wisteria which should make it easier and clearly shows the flowering spurs. 

Failure to prune regularly is one of the common causes why Wisteria fails to flower so you can be sure if you don't prune it the flowers will get less and less over the years.

Just pruning it makes me long for spring. Sowing sweet peas today and it will be interesting to see how the sweet peas I sow now compare with the sweet peas sown last autumn.

Sowing seeds and germination

February is a good time to start germinating seeds especially for the vegetable plot. Some veg are just more economical to grow from seeds, such as peas and beans, where you need a lot of plants to get a decent crop, as compared with tomatoes or courgettes where you need far fewer plants. To germinate seeds need a good growing medium, warmth, light and moisture.

To be successfully in germinating seeds its helpful to start with compost which is especially designed for sowing seeds. Pick the right sized pot, as in smaller the seed the smaller the pot, and water gently. Use a propagator to create a good growing atmosphere. There are more tips and advice on how to germinate seeds in the short video.

Best tips start with the easy to germinate vegetables, all the bean, french, broad runners and pea family, tomatoes, courgettes and cucumbers are all green wheelbarrow easy.

Are small plug plants value for money?

This image shows some bargain plants I bought for about £5.00 and they were a mixed bunch of Lavender, Delphiniums, Heuchera, Penstemon and the oriental poppy, Papaver. The plants were tiny when they arrived as the image shows, and there were 60 small plants all of which were potted up into small pots and watered.

I have kept them in the greenhouse through late summer and over winter and the Heurcheras (image bottom left) are now small plants which I expect to have grown enough by early spring to plant out in around May of this year. If you have a bit of time and patience, these plants are  good value to fill the gaps in  borders, although they need a bit of growing on time. As with all small plants the tip is to pot them up into small pots and if necessary, pot them on again into a slightly larger pot. If you put a small plant in a large pot it will not like it, sulk and not grow on well. Small plants small pots is the key. This is well demonstrated when growing on tomatoes which start of as tiny seedlings in small pots, then into a large pot, into a large pot and finally a grow bag, or very large pot for the rest of the summer. This is an essential part of growing tomatoes successfully and check out growing tomatoes for more tips

They are often sold at give away prices are  good value for money. Later in the year we can take a look at them in the borders and see how they are doing and if they flower.