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27.02.2024 - 12:15 / gardenersworld.com
March growing with Rachel
Clumps of crocus provide splashes of colour throughout the garden, daffodils are waking from their slumber and the chickens are even considering laying us eggs for breakfast again. Arguably better still, seed sowing season is upon us and in a few weeks the windowsills will be overflowing. From experience, it’s easy to get carried away and sow the entire contents of your seed tin, but March weather can still provide some cold nights, or even snow, so proceed with caution!
I’ve been growing vegetables and flowers across our garden and allotment for 15 years, and this year I’m growing the free edible seeds that come with Gardeners’ World Magazine. I’ll be sharing my advice and growing notes with you every month.
Homegrown tomatoes plucked straight from the vine are infinitely sweeter than any shop-bought tomato, and ‘Sun Baby’ has just the right amount of acidity, making it a must-grow for summer salads. It’s a bright yellow cherry tomato that the little hands in our family can’t resist picking, and it will grow around 50 fruits per truss. What I love about this variety is that it will happily grow outdoors rather than needing a greenhouse, though it grows well there too. I’ve had a good crop from a pot on our patio, so it’s extremely versatile.
Sow with meTo start the seeds off, I’ll sow around 10 seeds in a 10cm pot which is filled with peat-free multipurpose compost. You could also reuse a clean yoghurt pot or a cardboard cup, so you can write the variety on the side – just make
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For gardeners who love to raise their plants from seed, the beginning of March is not unlike the build-up to Christmas. There’s lots of hustle and bustle, with flurries of intriguing parcels from favourite suppliers arriving in the post, accompanied by the making of wish lists and enthusiastic sorting of essential tools and equipment.
Favorite Vegetables to Grow & Preserve Meg Cowden shares her favorite vegetables to grow, eat & preserve to extend her garden harvest each year. Grow vegetables you can also preserve
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Check out the latestepisode of the SC Grower Exchange Podcast.
We invited guests to celebrate the end of winter at the famous Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, a Belmond Hotel, in February 2024. Guests enjoyed a day of winter fun and luxury with a micro-herb seed-sowing workshop, expert cookery demo, champagne reception, a lavish three-course, Michelin-starred lunch, and a visit from a very special guest.
Irrigation systems can now be turned on to perform annual audits before spring officially arrives.
With the return of BBC Gardeners’ World just around the corner, Monty gives us an update on the recent changes at Longmeadow. He shares some of his favourite areas to spend time in in the garden, reveals which section is the heart and soul of Longmeadow and explains some of the planting and design choices he’s made.
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Britain is famously a nation of wildlife lovers. But with a 68% drop in wild animal populations since 1970, it’s more important than ever to look out for the natural world.
Gustavo Caballero / Getty Images
This is Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens). This native, evergreen vine is just starting to bloom.