10 jobs for a fresh start in your garden

Winter is coming to an end it’s time to start preparing for the growing season and summer months ahead. There are a number of jobs that need to be done to get ready for the growing season. Put in the hard work now to make it easier on yourself later on.

Cleaning

It’s time to clean your shed and greenhouse. Scrub the tables and floors to get rid of the pests and diseases.

Check if your gardening tools need to be cleaned and sharpened. It’s also a good time to service your lawnmower, this way you will avoid spring rush.

Cut back

Remove any frost damaged branches from trees and shrubs by cutting them back to the healthy branch or the trunk.

Improve the soil

First you need to remove weeds from your beds. Make sure to dig deep to get rid of the roots.

When the soil is weed free you can use compost or manure to spread on the beds and dig it in.

Mulch

Put plenty of mulch around tender shrubs to keep their roots from freezing.

Check the vegetables

The vegetables which you stored over winter need to be checked for rot and get rid of the ones showing the signs of rot.

Recycle your Christmas tree

Nearly every local authority in the country has a recycling service, but before you bring yours make sure that you have taken off all decorations and tinsel as well as any screwed in stands as these can destroy the blades of the chipper.

Your Christmas tree will be chipped into mulch which is used in local landscaping projects which helps to conserve soil and keep plants healthy.

Keep feeding birds but beware of pigeons!

They are after your winter greens so make sure that your horticultural netting is secure to protect new plants.

Fat balls are an excellent feed during the Winter months as fat is an excellent source of high energy nutrition.

Always use a suitable feeder for fat balls like the one pictured here. Don’t hang them up in netting as this can pose a danger to small birds if they get entangled in it.

Clean paths

If you are using salt to clean your paths of ice be careful and try to keep it to minimum as the salt might damage leaves and roots of plants surrounding the path.

Firm loose soil

Check if the high winds haven’t loosened soil around your newly planted trees. Adjust the tie or stake and firm the soil.

Wrap up

Ensure that the tender plants are protected by straw or fleece. Make sure that you’ve wrapped non frost proof containers and pots with bubble wrap or fleece.

Don’t overwater your house plants

They don’t need as much water during winter months. Also don’t water them with cold water as this might bring shock to the root system and damage the plant. Let the water sit and let it reach the room temperature before you water the plants.

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We’re here to help

If you have any questions about looking after your garden in January talk to any of our horticulturists in store and if you bring in a picture of your garden it would help our horticulturists. We’d love to help.

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SHOP PRODUCTS

All products mentioned in the above blog can be bought on countrylife.ie or in you local CountryLife branch. To find your nearest store click here.

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