March 17th 2026

Another up and down time with the weather in the past week, weeding, raking and planting will be full on in some gardens, so rewards will be real. Leaves are turning, and some have begun to fall with the weather in the past week. Silver birch is always the first, along with prolific flowering bougainvillea, dropping a crimson carpet. Cutting back and deadheading has stepped up with me as there is still a lot of flowering ahead before things come to an end before winter's chill. Now is a good time to repot pots and baskets that have been flowering and filling containers with roots. At this time of the year, everything planted will settle in well and put on growth before the colder months slow growth down. It is best to pull all out to see how root-bound a pot or basket is; then, a spade is usually needed to chop through two-thirds of the root ball. Soak potted shrubs with reduced roots in a bucket of water until bubbles stop before replanting them into a new mix. I water plants at this time of the year with comfrey tea. A brewed fertiliser with more potash and nitrogen than commercial feeds, and comfrey leaves are plentiful right now for picking and making plant tea. Comfrey as a Fertilizer has three major nutrients plus high levels of calcium applied as a liquid soil drench or as a foliar spray. Making comfrey tea: A generous bundle of comfrey leaves, A bucket of water. Place chopped comfrey leaves at the bottom of a bucket. Weigh down with a brick, fill the bucket with water, and cover for three weeks before diluting, one part 'tea' to 10 parts water. Keep deadheading roses in the hope of more blooms to make a last vibrant show before they will be left to harden for winter. Rust is always a problem on roses in autumn. Try to eradicate affected leaves from the bushes as well as those on the ground and burn them to reduce this problem for next year. Don't feed roses now; soft growth needs to make a start at hardening. Lawns. As days become cooler and heavy dew is happening again, grass will start to recover from dryness, and if lawns have no spring in them, there will probably be a high content of clay restricting roots. Gypsum applied before a good shower of rain will help, and if applied at intervals over a couple of years, there will be a spring in your lawn. Fruit: Late peaches, walnuts, quince and apple trees are dripping with fruit. If you need to store a small amount of apples, the refrigerator is a good option. Place them in the crisper drawer in a plastic bag with holes, or cover the apples with a damp paper towel. Keep boxes of apples in a cool, dark place, and they should stay crisp. Make sure there are no bruised or damaged apples among the stored boxes. Vegetable Gardens will be growing new crops for the cooler seasons. Leaf veg should not bolt so readily now, and will not mind days getting shorter and cooler, and root veg seeds will germinate well while the ground is still warm. Second sowing of peas should be up, corn picked, and the pumpkins outgrown their space. Onions can be lifted once leaves have bent over. Don't bend or damage leaves before they are ready to bend naturally, if you want them to store and keep well. Once dug, lay them out in a warm place to fully ripen, then store in a cool place. Cheers Linda.