Spring is here! It’s time to sow vegetable seeds in your garden
There are two dates that herald the beginning of spring. The one determined by astronomy is the vernal equinox, when the sun is exactly over the Equator and day and night are of equal length – that falls on 20 March this year. But I’m more of a fan of the meteorological calendar, which marks spring’s return sooner, on 1 March – today. As auspicious as the equinox can feel, I’ll always opt for calling in spring as early as reasonably possible.
No matter when you mark the return of spring, the long, dark months of winter will soon be behind us and sunlight hours will increase day by day. With the light comes more warmth, signalling to dormant trees, bushes and seeds that it’s time to consider waking from their winter slumber. It’s the arrival of these optimal conditions that means many seeds can be sown around now – lettuce, radishes, chard, spring onions, beetroot, kale and more – to be harvested come summer.
After such a wet winter, the clay soil in my veg patch is holding an unwieldy amount of water, which means the ground will be slow to warm. So I’ll be cautious and start my growing season in the greenhouse where the seeds I’m sowing will get a protected start before braving life outdoors.
Resist the urge to go on an over-zealous spring clean in your garden – nectar-rich weeds are a source of early food for emerging pollinators
Having said that, I look forward to seeing which of the self-seeders – calendula, california poppy, poached-egg plant – start to appear as they heed spring’s call to germinate. There’s still the threat of frost, so don’t pack away the fleece just yet as newly emerging plants might need some protection should the night temperature drop.
Alongside the plants I’m happy to see return, inevitably there will be some so-called weeds germinating. Nonetheless, try to resist the urge to go on an overzealous spring clean in your garden, as any nectar-rich plant will be a welcome source of early food for emerging pollinators. Dandelions are particularly valuable, given their flowers’ early appearance and their abundance.
If your garden is as chaotic as mine is at the moment, I wouldn’t blame you for doing a bit of tidying on a sunny day. I tend to leave most of my winter cutting back until now, but I’ll tuck the detritus in a corner – especially the hollow stems – until the days are warmer, to be absolutely certain that any creatures overwintering in them have emerged.
As I’ve shared in past columns, I see spring as the best time to be making new resolutions in the garden. I’m hoping to mulch more generously, to be more judicious when choosing what seeds to sow, and to leave fewer of my garden jobs until the last minute this season. How about you?
