Although it is a bit artic out there, there are still a few jobs that need to be done in the garden. Use it as an excuse to get outdoors and get some vitamin D.
Clean your garden tools - Use natural cleaners or make up your own using vinegar and sodium bicarbonate, to wash down shovels and forks. Ensure your pruners or secateurs are clean and sharp.
Prune your roses – Prune by at least one third. Ensure you remove any diseased, damaged or dead wood. It is too early to feed your roses, so hold off until the weather is a little warmer.
Gather any rubbish and leaves. - With all the winds we have had, many items have been blown into different areas of the garden. When they build it can be a cause for mould and disease. Removing these will prevent black spot re-appearing
Remove all newly formed galls form your citrus trees - especially lemon trees by pruning if
there are only a few or slicing the galls to dry out the lava if there are many galls. In spring the female gall wasp lays her eggs under the bark of new shoots. The larvae hatch after 2 – 4 weeks and start to grow within the soft stem tissue for 9 to 12 months creating the gall. So this needs to be removed before the Spring arrives, when the adults usually emerge. Bag or burn the infected stems that have been pruned.
Apply fresh mulch thinly around plants.
Aerate your lawn – in preparation for spring spike your lawn with a garden fork or hire a powered aerator to do the job. Then top dress with a fine layer of coarse sand or loam.
Check your compost pile – cover old canvas to prevent it getting too wet.
By doing a bit of hard work in the garden this month it will prevent any problems and prepare your garden for Spring.
Have you any gardening tips? We would love to hear from you. Just comment below.
Be earthly passionate,
Attracta & the earthly passion team.