What to do in the garden this week
- Once they have been lightly pruned back after flowering, feed azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons with either an all-purpose slow release plant food or a proprietary mix for acid-soil loving plants, plus a mulch of leaf mould and pulverized cow manure.
- Late winter and early spring flowering native plants will also benefit from the trimming back of spent bloom. However, take care not to cut back too hard into old wood as many plants will not respond with new growth. Better a once a year trim than a triennial chop.
- Tackle weeds when you see them – they are the greatest competitors of moisture and nutrients. If there is no time to pull them from the ground, snip of any flowering heads to prevent them setting seed. Alternatively cut them off at the base and leave to rot covered with newspaper and mulch.
- In the vegetable plot, sow or plant seeds of any summer fruiting crops that appeal. Remember to protect seedlings with snail bait.
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