March 29th 2009 jobs

From Sonairte

March 26th 2009

Spring is really springing at last and the garden is a busy place.

In the flower garden we are tidying up and lifting and dividing the perennial plants - some will be replanted and others will be potted up to grow on for sale. When we've finished we will cover all the soil with a nice layer of compost to feed the plants for the next growing season.

We've almost finished pruning the fruit trees and bushes - should have all been done by now but at Sonairte it's a big job. Too late to do any more pruning of grape vines - they can bleed to death if you prune them once the air begins to warm up.

And we are sowing seeds, and more seeds, and even more seeds. All the cabbage family need sowing - not just the cabbages but the Brussels sprouts, the kales, the cauliflowers and broccoli. And the chard and spinach. Parsnips and carrots need sowing too - parsnips are slow to come up so a few radishes in the rows will help to mark where they are. Carrots benefit from scallions sown along the row - the scent will confuse carrot root fly later.

Early potatoes are traditionally planted by St Patrick's Day - but you can go on planting later varieties right up to the middle of May. After the last two wet summers our late varieties are the blight resistant Sarpo strains - they should be safe whatever the weather does this year,

Indoors we've sown tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, peppers and all the other more unusual tender plants we go in for here. We already have tomato and courgette plants available for sale for people with greenhouses or polytunnels. They can't go out of doors for at least six weeks.