Lawn Care: Questions & Answers

Q. I have been given some granular ferrous sulphate and told that it will help to kill the moss in our lawn, is this so and how do I apply it please?

This Month in Your Garden - March

‘Loveliest of trees, the cherry now is hung with bloom, along the bough.’
A.E. Houseman, Shropshire Lad

One of the loveliest and earliest of cherries, Prunus incisa Kojo-no-mai, usually begins to blossom in February and is in full bloom in March. It’s a dwarf, growing to about five feet high and lending an oriental touch to the garden. Following the wettest February in six years and lamentable flooding in many parts of the country, we hope this month will turn the corner to the start of spring and drier weather.

The Lawncare Guide - March

The first cut is the weakest

For many of us, the first cut of the lawn will be in March and it’s all too easy to want to shave off all of that sudden growth spurt. Don’t. Set the mower or garden tractor cutting deck at a high height of cut. We only want to tip off the top part of the leaf. Mowing to achieve award-winning stripes comes later in the season.

Lawn Care: Questions & Answers

Q. When can I over-sow, I have been told it’s good for the lawn.

The Vegetable Plot - March

The old sow and sow

Maincrop onions sown in drills with plenty of farmyard manure. A main sowing of celery for a ready supply from October onwards. Broad beans, brassicas, cauliflowers, Brussels sprouts and broccoli and midsummer cabbages.

Doesn’t that sound tasty and all can be sown now together with cucumbers and summer spinach, the latter in a sheltered border with a southern aspect? Here’s a tip if you have a wood-burning stove and you’re sowing onions.

The Big Glut Recipe - March

Leek and greens lasagne

Mouthwatering family-sized lasagne from BBC Good Food Magazine.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for the tin
• 50g butter
• 1 bay leaf
• Rosemary sprig, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• 3 leeks, cleaned and rough green ends discarded, 1 finely sliced and 2 cut into medium slices
• 40g plain flour
• 500ml milk
• fresh nutmeg, for grating
• 100g cheddar, grated
• 30g parmesan, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½ green chilli, sliced
• 400g mixed green leaves, such as kale, chard and spinach, roughly chopped
• 100ml dry white wine
• 100g walnuts
• 280g jar preserved artichoke hearts in oil, drained
• 100g ricotta
• 6 dried lasagne sheets