Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

From blueberries to brassicas… now is the time to take stock after the harsh winter frost

© Shutterstock / Maria DryfhoutBlueberries are pretty easy to grow and they are delicious, too
Blueberries are pretty easy to grow and they are delicious, too

Blueberries are a popular choice for gardens of all sizes, thanks to their willingness to grow happily in containers or in the soil. They are tough plants but they can be damaged by frost, so it is a good idea to check them over now and to cut out any branches that are showing signs of dieback.

Remove these below the point where the branch has died and new shoots will appear from the lower nodes.

If you have a cold frame then sow some beetroot seeds in modules, ready for planting out early next month. These can go into the soil in clumps and, if you start harvesting some of them while they are still small, then those that remain will grow larger as the season goes on.

If any vegetable sowings have failed, then resow now and cover them with fleece, even under cover, to give them an extra layer of protection. Seed quality along with temperature and moisture levels can all affect germination and not everything will work and sometimes a later sowing, when light levels and temperatures have risen, can produce better results.

If your soil is very heavy, then sowing cabbage, cauliflowers and other brassicas in trays makes sense as it gives the roots a chance to develop and you may even want to move them into individual pots to allow them to mature a little before they go into the ground.

Just make sure that these, and anything else grown under cover, is hardened off properly before it gets turned out. This involves putting them outdoors during the day and bringing them back inside at night for up to 10 days to prevent them from being checked by the cold.

Some plants need a long growing season, so if you haven’t already sown tomatoes and chillis then it is worth getting hold of some young plants to ensure an earlier crop. You don’t get such a great choice of variety this way as you do when growing from seed, but these vigorous young plants will get away quickly while your seed-sown plants can catch up later.

And, while you are waiting for these to grow, sow some pea shoots, radishes and trays of salad leaves that will be ready to eat next month and will provide you with the delicious taste of spring.


What’s in bloom

Flowering cherries are beginning to appear now in shades from pure white to dark pink. Amongst the most spectacular is Prunus Tai-haku, the Great White Cherry, which spreads its branches very wide.