Start of Spring (after the shock)

Spring arrived with a shock on March 1st. With temperatures below zero and biting cold winds it was a dramatic start to the growing year. Snow by itself is generally not a big problem for over-wintering crops but the freezing temperatures, especially overnight, have frozen the ground solid. With rain forecast for most of March it will be several months before planting out can begin.

Broad beans are winter hardy and benefit from autumn planting for an early summer harvest. The beans planted in the raised bed suffered badly in the cold with about 50% lost. The broad beans planted in containers died. Fortunately there is time to start new beans in the house for April planting. Garlic and onions planted in containers did well through the hard conditions.

Of more concern was the situation for the local bird population. These extreme conditions can devastate small bird groups with food and water frozen out of reach. This time of year is difficult for native birds anyway so any contributions of food and fresh water are well received. It is a good time of year for identifying just which birds live locally ( see natagora.be ).

With the mild weather this week it is worth grabbing the chance to organise the garden, turning out old pots, turning over soils and compost, and clearing away winter debris. The weather for March looks warm enough to plant out crops such as potatoes, onions and garlic in containers. However even containers contain ice blocks which need to be broken up and heated in the sun.

The temperatures for March look lower than average, with lots of rain. This cold weather can be useful for preparing projects for later in the year. In this case, the lawn area of the garden has been covered over for the winter (following building work last year). In the next few weeks this newly exposed ground will be scarified and prepared for restarting a lawn, probably in May.

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