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"March is the month of expection" said the poet Emily Dickinson as we enjoy the vivid colours of daffodils and tulips, there is certainly much to look forward to in the garden as well as jobs to be done!
Probably one of the first tasks is to tackle your borders, removing any early weeds and dead-heading where necessary, before applying that all-important layer of mulch. It’s such a lovely word and really captures the wonderful enriching process that it will perform on all of your favourite plants. As well as conditioning the soil, spreading a mulch will also suppress weeds by denying them light plus it really helps to retain moisture as the soil starts to heat up from the sun.
Mulch comes in many different forms but can be basically grouped into biodegradable and non-bio-degradable. Generally, we would always recommend a biodegradable one as it is rich in organic matter and breaks down over time, adding plenty of nutrients to the soil. If you haven’t managed to make your own garden compost or leaf mould to use as a mulch, or indeed purloined some well-rotted manure from your local equestrians, you can always purchase bark mulch or wood chippings from most garden centres. Our favourite though is Strulch Organic Mulch, available at Crocus, which as well as being an attractive bio-degradable straw, even claims to keep slugs and snails at bay as they don’t like the texture. There are many opinions on the correct thickness for a mulch but the rule of thumb is don’t skimp below 5cm and even up to 8cm won’t do any harm. When mulching use a small fork or spade to carefully spread the matter around your plants, being careful not to cover growing perennials or swamp new seedlings.
After mulching, it might be an idea to have a quick pit stop with a cuppa before setting to work again, as there’s plenty more to do in March. We do hope the list below will help you to plan your gardening schedule and put a spring in your step this month as you enjoy the longer daylight hours outdoors!