Grow something this Easter
Quick projects for the long weekend, from seed to celebration
With a glorious long weekend, and the weather looking pretty good, Easter weekend is naturally a time to spend in the garden, or just outside in nature as leaves unfurl and blossoms pop.
Here are some ideas perfect for now -
Forage for your lunch
There is so much available in the spring - hawthorn leaves are opening - these are known as ‘bread and cheese’. Eat the succulent leaves straight off the tree or save to add to a sandwich! Also, wild garlic is abundant - I love to add this to everything right now and especially make garlic bread. I’ll be making pesto from the ground elder in the garden - it’s like flat leaf parsley. Nettle soup obvs - so good for nourishing the blood. Tulips flower heads are edible too - wouldn’t these be so pretty filled for easter lunch?
Plant summer bulbs
Lillies and late summer scented acidanthera are great planted now and forget.
Pot up dahlias
If you are lucky enough to have had dahlias survive the winter, these will be ready to pot up. Snip off any bits that are soft, rotten and squishy. The good ones will no doubt be budding so have a look for these soft growths around last years stems. Pot up into pots just bigger than the tubers and snuggle in with some compost, leave somewhere frost free to grow on. I rarely water these if at all. At least water sparingly! If like me, most of your tubers rotted argh, there are still tubers for sale on Sarah Raven or sow your own. These will grow and become big plants this summer - no one believes me but they do! Then save your favourites, over winter (ha) and take cuttings - create your own dahlia and become a breeder!
Here are all my mistakes and now top tips on growing dahlias!
Sow some seeds
Almost anything can be sown now but remember to keep anything half hardy under cover or start inside on windowsills. Hardy annuals can be sown direct. This could be a great weekend project, clear the ground today, water and broadcast seeds across it tomorrow. You could make an annual meadow of cut flowers in a spare bed or border, even around existing plants. Cornflowers, corncockle, calendula, scabious and poppies would be perfect for this.
Sow herbs, salads, radishes and spring onions for the summer table in little rows between other plants.
Another seed project would be sowing sweet peas directly.
First soak these for 3-4 hours so they swell and rehydrate. Whilst these are soaking, dig over the ground where they are to grow, add some well rotted manure into the bottom of a pit, as deep as you can dig down easily (a spades depth ideal) or some bokashi composted kitchen waste. Sweet peas are hungry plants and my best ones have grown from rich soil below the roots. Then pile the soil back over and secure hazel poles into a tee pee or run. That reminds me, my friend Alan who manages an ancient coppice has his roadside shop open with hazel poles so if you are local, nip over to Ashdon to collect these (directions on the linked page). Once the seeds are ready, push these into the soil around the base of the poles. I like to put in a couple per pole, push down about a knuckles depth and walk away! Keep well watered now and always. Pinch out when you see five sets of leaves, down to 2 sets and then tie in stems when they grow up. Pick lots, feed and water et voila! I have ordered some of these and these.
Make a pond
One the single projects and garden features is some water. For bees and birds to drink from, amphibians to live and insects to dive into! This will transform your space. \
Dig out today, nip out and get some pond liner, line and fill tomorrow, and plant! The ultimate easter project. I’d make a deep part at least 40cms deep plus a few shelves for planting. But you can also make these in large pots or half barrels. If watertight, plug up holes with cork or silicon, or line for piece of mind. Or even look on free or second hand sites for old preformed ponds to use. Keep your plants in the pots they come in and just set the right planting heights by sitting them on bricks under the water. Add lots of oxygenators and at least one iris (I love irises!)
Make your own liquid feeds
An easy one of this weekend is a nettle feed - chop up leaves into a bucket of rainwater and leave until it’s bubbly and stinky a few weeks later (stick a lid or slab over the top to reduce this!) Or as Suzy told me last week, she makes hers without water like comfrey tea, and it doesn’t smell! More on ‘tea’ recipes for your garden. Never buy feed again and pour back the goodness directly from your own garden.
Sow Green Manures
If you don’t have any spare time this weekend, but have beds or gaps that are about to be over taken by weeds, then the best thing you can do for your soil, is sow some green manures.
Listen to the dawn Chorus
This is the perfect weekend to do this, since birds usually sing about an hour before sunrise and at the moment that’s about 5.30am which is not tooooooo bad especially if you have young children - wrap up, take some warmed hot cross buns for breakie and listen out. It really is quite magical. Then go back to bed!
Pick flowers for your easter table.
Top tip - condition narcissus entirely on their own, in a jar of water, for a few hours. You know that sticky sap that leaks from the stem when you cut them? Well that stuff is toxic and what shortens the life of flowers in water with them. Instead, in a vase of water, the toxic sap will run out and seal. Just don’t cut the stems again otherwise you’ll need to do this again. This way you can arrange any spring flowers together and the narcissus won’t reduce the vase life of every other stem!
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Please send this to anyone you think might like some growing ideas for being outside this weekend.
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Have a lovely Easter weekend,
Happy Easter! So good to be getting out and making bouquets again :)