What to do this month...
Start them off early under cover and they’ll burst into bloom by late spring
Late frosts mean it’s still too early to put your summer-flowering baskets outside, but it’s a good idea to plant them up now so the plants can fill out over the coming weeks. By the time the risk of frost has finally passed (around late May), the plants should be just about to flower.
Online and mail-order nurseries will have a good selection of plug plants ready for delivery, and garden centres will be starting to fill their shelves with long-flowering annuals and tender perennials.
● How to plant a basket Use a plastic liner or section of an old compost bag in the bottom to reduce moisture loss, and add some drainage holes if the liner doesn’t already have any.
Pop the basket on top of a bucket, otherwise the curved base will wobble around. Fill with a multipurpose compost mixed with perlite and a handful of slow-release fertiliser pellets.
Plant up your basket and water it thoroughly. Keep it somewhere bright, warm and protected from frost for the next couple of weeks before gradually hardening it off.
Grow comfrey as an organic fertiliser
Devote a patch of soil to growing comfrey – its leaves make a brilliant plant fertiliser. Its long deep roots take up nutrients from the soil that are out of reach of many other plants, then release them when its leaves are composted, used as a mulch or made into a liquid plant feed. They’re rich in potassium, which makes them ideal as a feed for flowering and fruiting plants.
● Buy rooted cuttings. Look for the sterile cultivar ‘Bocking 14’, which won’t self seed. Once established, cut back stems and leaves several times over summer. Add to the compost heap, place around the base of plants such as dahlias, or chop up leaves and put in the bottom of planting holes.
● Steep the foliage in a covered bucket of water. Put the decaying plant matter on the compost heap and dilute the liquid to use as a plant food. Beware though: it’s smelly stuff!
