Some photo's taken on 25 march 2012

Some of the flowers making their presents felt in the community garden in the month of March 2012.

Rocket salad gone to flower,we left them as they are so the bumble bees and other inects can benifit from them,in this early March flowering.

Some more flowering Primrose which were saved from the compost bin in one of the local council parks,they never fail to impress.

Regards

Willie and fellow community workers.

Month of April in the Community garden

Hi all,

Allotment & Vegetable Gardening in April
April is great, the soil is warming up and spring should be here. Do keep an eye on the weather forecast though, even in the Dublin a cold snap and snow are not unknown in April. Keeping horticultural fleece on standby in case of cold weather is a good idea.
Harvest
We're in the 'Hungry Gap' between the last of the winter crops and start of the early crops but there are still a few things available, late sprouting and chards for example plus you may have some early salad crops from the greenhouse border. Do re-check your stored crops. On a fine day, empty out the potato sacks and check for any rotten potatoes. If you've strung onions, watch out for the odd rotten one and remove it before it spreads,
General Gardening Tip
If you have any horticultural fleece, you can peg that onto the ground a week or so before you plant. The small rise in temperature of the soil can make a big difference
Sowing, Planting and Cultivating
There's quite a list to sow and plant outside,especially if March has not been suitable. Do remember the weeds are springing into action, so keep the hoe going. Don't forget, a sharp hoe is the best friend a gardener can have. Just slide it back and forth slightly below the surface of the soil and you'll stop the weed seedlings in their tracks. Hoeing
is also good in the event of drought as the disturbed soil surface stops the water being sucked to the surface by capillary action and evaporating in dry winds.

Things to sow
•Beetroot •Peas•Broad Beans•Broccoli•Brussels Sprouts•Cabbage•Cauliflower•Kale•Chard•Kohl Rabi•Leeks
•Spinach•Beet spinach•Rocket•Lettuce•Radish

With your carrots, covering with a fleece and ensuring the edges are buried will stop the carrot root fly from gaining entry to lay eggs by your carrots. The eggs hatch in larvae that burrow into the carrot root, killing the plant or at least
ruining the crop.

Plant Outdoors
Globe and Jerusalem Artichokes,Onion & Shallot Sets,Asparagus.
Paddy,s day or after it is the traditional potato planting time. If you have a comfrey bed and it has sprung back, the first cut laid in the trench under the potatoes will provide nutrition to get them off to a good start. On the subject of comfrey, if you make a comfrey tea it will help you to a great crop to use it on your potatoes. Many novice growers wonder why they have small crops of potatoes and most often this is just down to lack of food for this hungry crop.
Sow in Heat (Greenhouse or Windowstill)
•Aubergine•Celery•Outdoor Cucumbers•Tomatoes (if you've not already done so)
A good tip in a windowsill is to stick some silver cooking foil onto cardboard and place on the inside to reflect light
back onto the seedlings. This will help revent them being drawn.
Sow Outdoors Under Cloche
•French beans•Lettuce•Sweetcorn
Alternative Method for Sweetcorn like to pre-chit sweetcorn, lay the seeds on a layer of damp kitchen paper
and then place a layer of paper over in an airtight box. An old ice-cream carton or a Tupperware type box is ideal. Check carefully each day and as soon as the small white sprout appears, plant the seed about half to a 20.5mm deep
in a 70.5mm pot of general purpose compost in the greenhouse. When the shoots appear about a 20.5mm high, plant out under cloche being careful not to disturb the root (sweetcorn hates root disturbance) under a cloche. Sweetcorn needs a lot of nitrogen and a teaspoon of dried blood per plant or water. Many of the crops you can sow directly will also benefit from cloching, especially as you started off in modules in a cool greenhouse or coldframe and then planted out later.

Fruit
Strawberries can be planted out now, it's best to remove flowers in the first year as you conserve strength for growth and gain larger crops in subsequent years. An easy way to gain strawberry plants is to plant the runners into pots and when rooted cut the runner. The plants don't last forever so you need to rotate them ever three to five years.

A good layer of compost around the base of fruit trees will ensure they have the nutrition to provide another good crop for you.

GardenersPests
I've mentioned the carrot root fly but the gardener's worst enemy is awakening. The evil slugs and snails are coming out to eat entire rows of succulent young seedlings overnight so take action now.

March in the Community garden

Hi all,

Please note what can be started in the month of March in the Community garden.

Vegetable Gardening in March

March is the month when things really start to move in the growing season.

Harvest
Any leeks left standing should come up now – you can freeze them for use in soups and stews.
Parsnips too should come up in early March before they try and re-grow.You may have spinach beet and chards available, the last of the late Brussels sprouts, winter cauliflowers, kale, swedes, salsify. Don't forget to keep checking the purple sprouting .

General Jobs in the Garden

Have a good tidy up and finish those odd construction jobs because you are going to be busier still later in the year.If you have any horticultural fleece, you can peg that onto the ground a
week or so before you plant. The small rise in temperature of the soil can make a big difference

Sowing Planting and Cultivating.

If the weather permits you can plant your onion and shallot sets. March is usually the right time to establish an asparagus bed if you are starting from crowns. Mid March should let you start planting those early potatoes you've had chitting and talking of root crops, you can plant
Jerusalem artichoke tubers now.

Things to Sow

Beetroot
Broad Beans
Early Peas (but they may do best started in a gutter in the greenhouse then slipped into a trench)
Brussels sprouts – early varieties like Peer Gynt will be ready in September
Kohl Rabi
Leeks
Lettuce
Radish
Parsnips
Spinach Beet
Early Turnips


Sow in Heat Windowsill or a propagator in the greenhouse will come into use now to start off your tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and cucumbers.


Under Cloche

Summer cabbages and early cauliflowers, early carrots will get away best under a cloche. If you set your cloche up a week or two beforehand, it will warm up the soil so you will get even better results. Many of the crops you can sow directly will also benefit from cloching, especially as you move northwards or started off in modules in a cool greenhouse or cold frame and then planted
out later.

Fruit

Planting & Pruning
There is still time to finish planting bare rooted fruit trees and bushes, especially raspberries and
other cane fruits. Early this month you can still prune apple and pear trees while they are still dormant. It's also time to prune gooseberries and currants. With currants shorten the sideshoots to just one bud and remove old stems from the centre of the bushes. They'll benefit from some
compost spread around the base as well .

Enjoy
Willie