Digging...
Digging is really only something I do with ground that is being cultivated for the first time. Mostly I use a fork and work in fertiliser as I go along.
I like to use an organic fertiliser and tend to go for poultry manure pellets. I sprinkle them round shrubs, roses and perennials. The application instructions will vary but generally it’s about three handfuls to the square metre.
It’s magical stuff when lightly forked in. It gives the plants a boost and builds up the levels of beneficial soil bacteria.
Now is the time I dig up my overcrowded border plants and split them into smaller clumps. These can be used to plug the gaps elsewhere in my garden, or given to friends to help plug the gaps in theirs!
Make sure you use a bit of fertiliser and water them in if the ground is dry.
I spread a good 3 inch / 8cm layer of mulch around my border, between the plants. Choose from well- rotted manure or garden compost, chipped bark or cocoa shells. This seals in moisture and keeps the weeds down, essential at this time of year when they start growing like...well...weeds!
If you haven’t already done so give your roses a prune taking care to remove any dead or diseased stems completely.
30 To advertise in thewire t. 07720 429 613 e.
fiona@thewireweb.co.uk
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How to… Plant a container-grown shrub
1. Soak the compost for an hour before planting.
2. Make sure the rootball of the shrub is sufficiently moist.
3. Check to shrub is suitable for the site. 4. Dig a hole that is larger than the rootball
5. Work well-rotted garden-compost or planting mixture into the bottom of the hole and mix it with the soil you removed when you dug the hole.
6. Plant the shrub o that the top of the rootball is just fractionally below the finished soil level.
7. Firm the earth around with your boot.
8. Water the plant in and spread an organic mulch on top.
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