Seasonal Gardening Checklist / Garden Calendar

MID-WINTER

plan vegetable plot;
order seeds;
make cabbage root fly mats, bottle cloches, lacewing refuges and bird and bat boxes;
wash pots and trays ready for sowing;
remove any damaged or diseased branches from trees and shrubs;
cut down herbaceous plants after birds have taken seeds;
fork over soil where soil pests have been a problem;
winter-prune canes of autumn raspberries;
cover wall-trained peach trees to prevent peach leaf curl.

make up sowing and potting mixtures;
sow early vegetable crops if you have a heated propagator;
put potatoes out to sprout in cool, light, frost-free place;
add organic matter to vegetable beds for early spring planting and put out cloches and polythene to warm soil;
dig up over-wintering brassicas as soon as you have finished harvesting as they can harbour pests and diseases;
check ties on trees.

last opportunity to plant bare-rooted trees, fruit bushes and shrubs;
best time to plant evergreens last chance to prune apples, pears and soft fruit;
sow early vegetable crops in greenhouse and under cloches; only sow outside if the soil is warm enough;
sow early peas to miss pea moth;
sow half-hardy annuals if you have a heated propagator;
plant early potatoes if you can protect tops from late frosts;
mulch over-wintering vegetables such as japanese onions with nutrient-rich mulch or top-dress with fish, blood and bone;
prepare vegetable beds for summer crops;
sow quick-growing green manures on ground that will not be used until mid-summer;
protect fruit blossom from frost if possible;
prune roses prune shrubs, such as buddleia davidii, that flower on new shoots;
cut back shrubby herbs such as lavender, sage and thyme;
give lawn an initial cut if weather is mild, but not too closely; do not cut if the weather is wet but wait until the grass is dry.

sow and plant hardy vegetables outside;
protect newly sown vegetables with barriers where necessary; for example, put cabbage root fly mats on brassicas and fleece on early carrots;
sow hardy annuals like pot marigolds outside (a good choice of plant because they attract hoverfly);
sow tender vegetables such as tomatoes in greenhouse;
plant main crop potatoes and onion sets mulch ornamental borders with materials such as leafmould, bark and shreddings when soil is moist;
top-dress established plants in pots with worm compost or begin liquid feeding;
feed neglected lawns;
start cutting lawn in mid-spring and continue regularly until early autumn;
check regularly from mid-spring onwards for fruit pests, diseases and other problems, in particular, canker, aphids, winter moths and tortrix moths;
inspect gooseberries and currants for sawfly and eggs from mid-spring.

continue sowing vegetables outdoors and plant out early crops sown inside;
keep early-sown crops well weeded;
mulch top and soft fruit with hay or straw;
watch for aphids but do not spray unless damage is severe; predator numbers should be building up by now;
look for first signs of greenhouse whitefly and order biological control;
hang codling moth traps in apple and pear trees from late spring onwards until the end of late summer;
remove covers from wall-trained peaches;
remove tied-on grease bands;
apply shade paint to greenhouse roof and/or walls or fix blinds.

continue sowing and planting vegetables;
sow main crop carrots in early summer to miss first generation of carrot fly;
sow peas late to miss pea moth;
plant out tender crops after the last frost;
prune plums and cherries now until end of late summer to avoid silver leaf disease;
net fruit bushes, raspberries and main crop strawberries; thin plums, pears and apples;
look out for cabbage caterpillars or eggs until early autumn;
water plants as needed until early autumn, especially those that are newly planted.

cut spring wild-flower meadows; move hay;
cover flowering peas with mesh to protect against pea moth;
summer-prune red and white currants and gooseberries to keep bush open and help control disease;
collect immature fallen fruitlets from apples and pears.

start sowing overwintering green manures;
sow winter salad crops such as endive and overwintering vegetables like spring cabbage;
lift onions and dry thoroughly before storing to avoid storage diseases;
prune out old raspberry canes after fruiting;
cut off strawberry leaves after harvest;
plant new strawberries if needed;
cut hedges after birds have finished nesting;
remove and compost early-fallen apples or pears in case they contain pests;
summer-prune cordons, espaliers, fans and other restricted forms of apples and pears.

sow overwintering green manures;
sow new wild-flower meadows;
sow hardy annual attractants to overwinter and flower early;
harvest potatoes early on heavy soils to avoid slug damage;
prune out old canes of hybrid berries;
take nets off fruit after harvesting to allow birds to get at overwintering pests;
cover ponds with netting to keep leaves out;
remove greenhouse shading.

last chance to sow grazing rye;
cover root crops with straw to protect from frost damage and lift and store those that are not frost hardy;
dig a compost trench on next year’s runner bean bed;
insulate worm bins;
cut summer wild-flower meadows and then remove hay;
clean out greenhouse thoroughly;
top-dress neglected lawns;
trim back flowerheads of shrubby herbs and herbaceous plants after birds have eaten seeds;
prune blackcurrant bushes any time from mid- to late autumn;
prune out old canes of blackberries;
apply greasebands to apple, pear and plum trees and to the stakes;
lift, divide and replant herbaceous plants any time from now until early spring if soil conditions permit;
collect up fallen leaves from apple and pear trees to help control scab;
collect leaves from lawns and paths to make leafmould; this will also prevent them from rotting on the ground.

fork-over seed beds on clay soils and leave to weather over winter;
mulch roses after leaf fall to help prevent reinfection with blackspot;
prune red and white currant bushes and gooseberries any time from leaf-fall until early spring;
harvest remaining apples and pears before severe frosts occur.

check for hibernating hedgehogs before having bonfires;
best time to plant any new trees, fruit bushes, shrubs and hedges;
remove any mummified fruit from tree to help prevent spread of disease;
prune apple and pear trees, gooseberry bushes and red and white currants anytime from now until early spring;
check greasebands remain sticky through winter until mid-spring;
feed wild birds from now until spring.