Gardeners who understand and respect the natural rhythms of plant life have already begun to anticipate the excitement that accompanies spring.  What am I talking about?   Look around.  Do you see the buds swelling on the poui tree, just waiting for the first March showers to put on their glorious display?  See the wide array of shrubs in bloom, and the deep, vibrant colours?    Ah yes, spring is in the air, a time when gardeners get really busy.   Here are some of the things that I’ll be doing.  How about you?

Things to Do

• Prune overgrown hedges - for me, this includes ficus, plumbago, murraya, allamanda and dieffenbachia.
• Prune and fertilize roses to increase the number and size of blooms in time for the JHS flower show.
• Set cuttings  of softer plants such as coleus, impatiens, begonia, and shrimps to root to replenish existing beds.
• Circumpose others, such as mussaenda, hibiscus, poor man’s orchid, croton.
• Pull out weeds from the lawn, roots and all.
• Prune and fertilize fruit trees.
• Turn compost bin, and start a new one.
• Make sure I have enough vegetable seedlings to plant out in a few weeks time.
• Prepare plants for exhibition in at least one of the several flower shows being held in spring.

Growing Vegetable Seedlings

You will need seeds – preferably varieties that are known to do well under our conditions; containers with drainage holes – these could be trays, flats, pots or cups;  moistened, sterile, preferably inert, potting mix.    Separate seeds according to size and number of days each variety takes to germinate.   This is especially important if  different types of seeds are being sown in one container.  Seed size determines how deep to sow the seed.   Check the label for the recommended depth of sowing.   If there is no recommendation, a rule of thumb is to plant seeds no deeper than twice their width.  Apply sufficient water under very low pressure to thoroughly moisten seeds and mix.  Place in a clean, well ventilated  area that gets sufficient light.  Partial shade or full sun outdoors is fine, just check daily to make sure the mix does not dry out. 

Once seeds germinate, apply a  dilute concentration of water- soluble fertilizer when watering, at the rate of half teaspoon per gallon of water in the first two weeks or so after germination,  gradually increasing  to 1 teaspoon per gallon of water by the fourth week.  Harden off seedlings prior to planting out.  This involves gradually reducing water and fertilizer, and increasing light over a period of a week or so.  Seedlings grown in bright sunlight or full sun, in individual containers or as plugs, do not require a hardening-off period, as their roots are not disturbed during transplanting.