Meterological spring but don’t be caught out by fluctuating temperatures and cold soils by sowing small precious seeds too soon. Now is the time to warm the soil with a sheet of old black plastic or pane of glass, chit tatties, and think about water catchment (hard to believe), clear sunny windowsills and growing spaces to start sowing from mid to late March.
If you want to try onion sets, garlic or broad beans, you can plant these really hardy crops now.
Garlic
Plant garlic now into sunny, free-draining soil or pots for a summer harvest. For disease-free, big, fat, juicy bulbs, buy garlic specially bred for growing in a garden centre, online, or perhaps from a friend who grows their own. You are effectively cloning your garlic bulb, so choose the biggest, healthiest cloves to plant and keep the biggest bulbs from your summer harvest for your next sowing.
Broad Beans
Broad beans are also tolerant of cool spring soils. You can start beans off on a light windowsill and plant young plants out towards the end of March; this reduces the risk of the seed rotting off or perhaps being nibbled by mice.
Tatties
Tattie Days are taking place up and down the country; if you can find one near you, GO, you won’t be disappointed, though you might be overwhelmed by the sheer quantities of tatties to choose from! It’s a whole other world, and there are always experts on hand; it’s a fantastic day out! Seed tatties- can be ‘chitted’ in a cool, light place. ‘Chitting’ is the process of encouraging early shoots to develop before planting in spring. If you don’t have open ground, you can grow tatties in any deep container– 2 tatties planted in an old compost or a big long-life shopping bag can give you a couple of kilos.
Berries
One of the lowest maintenance food types we can grow, every growing space needs berries, and Scotland is the best place to grow them! You can pick and scoff with no soil to wash off. So, approach neighbours for spare strawberry plants or last-minute rooting of blackcurrants (pencil thickness and length) half covered in water or soil. If you want to plant a few different types to give you fruit all summer, it’s the last call to buy bare root plants online for spring planting. These plants come in the post with no soil, pot or leaf and are the cheapest way to buy a few different fruit plants.
Finally, If you are lucky enough to have a compost heap- turn it! If you haven’t a heap, consider building one, your soil and plants will love it. See our Soil page for more info.
