Garden work in spring: the start of the season

If there is not a lot of work in the garden yet, then in the garden “hot” days for summer residents come almost at the beginning of March. There is so much to do: remove last year's garbage and leaves, cultivate the soil, put trees and shrubs in order. The list of important and necessary work depends on the type of plants that grow on the site.

STAGES OF WOOD TREATMENT

1. Cleaning hollows and wounds from dead dry tissues and rot
2. Disinfection of the surface with a solution of iron or copper sulfate
3. Filling deep holes and wounds with a mixture of cement, sand and lime (1:3:1)

CUTTING THE GARDEN IN THE EARLY SPRING

Start by looking at shrubs and trees. As soon as the average daily air temperature reaches +5 degrees, carry out a sanitary pruning. The essence of the procedure is to remove diseased, damaged shoots that thicken the crown and compete with skeletal branches.

Do not forget that the tools that you use for pruning must be sharpened and disinfected.

Otherwise, you risk not only causing unnecessary injury to the tree, but also infecting the site of damage. After pruning, cover all fresh cuts on the plant with garden pitch.

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See also: Gardener's memo: processing, spraying the garden in early spring

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LICHEN CLEARING

An unpleasant garden phenomenon is lichens on the bark of trees.

What is important to remember: in no case should you rip off lichens from branches! A tree inhabited by lichens is already weakened, and if you begin to make physical efforts and rip off lichens from it, you will also remove part of the bark along with them. Open wounds will become gates through which pests and diseases can easily enter.

How to get rid of lichens on a tree? In warm cloudy weather, spray the affected tree with a solution of iron sulfate (250 g per 10 liters of water). To prevent lichen spores from falling onto the soil, as well as for the convenience of cleaning up residues, lay a film under the tree before processing. After 2 days, some lichens will fall off on their own, and you can easily remove the rest with a medium hard brush without injuring the bark. Burn all lichens after processing, and whitewash the tree with lime with the addition of copper sulfate.

FEED THE STRAWBERRY!

Don't forget to pay attention to garden strawberries! Young plants are especially in need of care. Check: if the bushes protrude from the ground or go too deep, carefully return them to their place.

Remove old leaves from strawberry bushes. It is very important to feed strawberries: scatter dry ammonium nitrate between rows (10 g per 1 sq.m) and loosen slightly.

SHRUBS ON THE AGENDA

First of all, free the branches from frozen snow: it can break the bushes during the thaw. Then prune the plants - remove old, broken branches.

Check blackcurrant bushes for bud mites. Remove thick, swollen buds from branches. If there are several ticks on one branch at once, cut it completely, burn all the problematic buds.

Inspect the raspberry for broken branches, remove dry shoots. Live branches bent to the ground, release and straighten.

Thin out thick honeysuckle bushes, remove dry branches. Remember that honeysuckle is the first to bear fruit in the garden, so do all the work with it as early as possible.

© Author: Oleg BUINOVSKY, agronomist

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START OF THE SEASON: WHAT TO SOW IN FEBRUARY-EARLY MARCH

So, it’s already February outside the window, which means that you can sow the seeds of some tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, leeks and Exhibition for seedlings. How to do this correctly in order to get an excellent harvest as early as possible, says a researcher at the Federal Scientific Center named after. Michurina Irina GURYEVA.

TOMATOES DO NOT LIKE DEEP

Approximate age of tomato seedlings for planting in open ground or greenhouse:

1. early varieties and hybrids - 50 days;
2. everyone else has 70 days. Based on this, plan when to sow.

Pre-soak the seeds not processed by the manufacturer for a couple of hours in melted water at room temperature. The sowing depth of large seeds is 1 cm, small seeds are 0 cm. As soon as shoots appear, spray the sprouts and the ground around them with a spray gun, keep the temperature in the room at about +5 degrees. Illuminate the seedlings with a phytolamp for 23-12 hours.

PEPPER AND EGGPLANTS

The optimal age of seedlings of peppers and eggplants for planting in the garden is about 60-70 days. For sowing seeds, use the most nutritious and moderately moist soil. Sow them immediately in separate cups to a depth of approximately 1 cm (since picking is not tolerated by both peppers and eggplants).

The optimal volume of seedlings for peppers and eggplants is 0 liters. It is important that the containers have drainage holes. Shoots usually appear in - without picking within 5-7 days after sowing. To speed up germination, you can soak the seeds in heated melt water for a couple of hours. Then put to swell in gauze soaked in honey solution (14/1 tsp per 3 tbsp of water).

After the emergence of seedlings, it is better to water the seedlings from a spray bottle. The earth should not dry out, but too wet soil is not good for young plants. The seedlings of peppers and eggplants should be illuminated so that the daylight hours for plants are at least 12 hours.

HOW TO GROW BASIL SEEDLINGS

In late February-early March, basil seeds without additional soaking and processing are sown for seedlings in low plastic trays with moist soil. I cover them with a film and put them closer to the battery. I air once a day. Shoots appear in about 12-14 days. A week after germination, I thin out the seedlings so that there is at least 2 cm between them. After each watering, I loosen the soil around the seedlings with a fork. Once a week I water with a solution of one of the following biological products:

1. Biolignin (2 tablespoons per 1 liter of water);
2. Rizoplan (1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water);
3. Trichodermin (1 tsp per 1 liter of water).

This protects basil seedlings from blackleg and other diseases. I plant plants in the garden in May at a distance of at least 15 cm from each other.

© Author: Victoria PONOMARENKO, Desnogorsk

When sowing seeds for seedlings, be guided by the lunar calendar. The next best days for sowing cucumber and other pumpkin seeds are March 1, 2, 3, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, and for sowing tomato and pepper seeds - March 4, 5

FOR TIGHT BOWS - CONTRAST SHOWER

Onions - leek and exhibition - in the middle lane it is better to grow through seedlings. Plants are usually ready for planting in the ground 65-70 days after emergence. But it may take two to three weeks for the seeds to germinate. To speed up this process, you can wrap the seeds in gauze and alternately lower them several times for 3-5 seconds either in ice or in hot water. This will help the cocoon of oils to dissolve, and the seeds will start to sprout sooner. If you make the soil for the onion yourself, then mix the earth in half with humus and add any baking powder (perlite, vermiculite, sand) in a ratio of 5: 1.

Onion seeds should be sown to a depth of less than 1 cm both in a common box and immediately in separate cups with a volume of about 250 ml.

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SPRING IS ON THE THRESHOLD: WHAT YOU SHOULD AND SHOULD NOT DO ON THE SITE

There is still snow outside the window, and the gardeners no longer have peace.

Either they go out into the garden, or at home they conjure at the bowls with seedlings. But what really needs to be done in the spring to significantly increase the yield?

1. ATTENTION TO THE GREENHOUSE

In March, from temperature changes and high humidity, the walls of a polycarbonate greenhouse may begin to crack. This happens because water penetrates into the cracks, then freezes, expands and breaks the cracks. To prevent this from happening, paint over the damage (if any) with thick paint or cover with any special putty sold in hardware stores.

In addition, make drainage channels around the perimeter of the greenhouse so that water melts and flows away from the walls, and does not accumulate there.

Throw more snow into the greenhouse (if you have a high level of groundwater in your area, then you can not do this).

2. TO MELT THE SNOW FASTER

From time to time loosen, scatter snow (packed and dense, it melts very slowly). It is most convenient to do this with a rake. Often summer residents advise each other to sprinkle ash on the snow. I do not recommend doing this. This does not speed up, but, on the contrary, slows down the melting process.

3. WHAT'S WITH THE SHELTER?

As for perennials sheltered for the winter, you should not immediately remove the entire shelter, it is still quite cold. Therefore, we first ventilate them, and only then we remove the shelter completely.

From ordinary beds with winter crops, the mulch should be removed as quickly as possible, the main thing is that the snow melts. If this is not done, the soil under the shelter will warm up for a very long time. And early shoots will not work.

4. SIDERATS IN FOCUS

In early spring, you can also sow a row of green manure. The most interesting thing is that for this it is not at all necessary to wait for all the snow to melt. Seeds can be

throw directly on the still frozen ground. Together with melt water, they will gradually go to the depth. As soon as it gets warm enough outside, shoots will appear. By the way, there are a lot of advantages in such sowing of green manure. For example, saving time and effort: no need to loosen the ground, no need to prepare beds, fertilize. But, alas, there are also disadvantages: the seeds can be pecked by birds, and even in early spring there is often a severe cold snap.

5. SNOW FERTILIZER

Another option that you can spend your free time on is fertilizing in the snow. This will also save time and effort during the sowing season, when there is a lot to be done. Any fertilizer can be scattered over the snow - humus, compost, mineral additives. The advantages are obvious: with melt water, they will penetrate into the soil layers. There is also a minus: snow under organic fertilizers usually melts more slowly. But mineral fertilizers, on the contrary, will speed up this process.

© Author: Nikolai CHROMOV, Cand. of sciences

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Reference by topic: Work in the garden from early to mid-spring

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