Start getting your plants and garden ready for spring

March is just around the corner and this means the anguish of waiting to get your green thumb back out is almost over and you will be able to get back to tending to and enjoying your garden space.

Before doing so though, there a few things you can do to prepare your plants and garden.

Pay attention to your houseplants

Indoor plants should be starting to show some signs of growth by now. You will need to check to see if they are pot-bound by lifting the plant gently from its pot, if the roots are wound up tightly covering the surface then they will need to be transferred to a bigger container.

If your plants aren’t in need of re-potting, then it’s time to mulch the surface of the soil with pebbles or gravel to help rid them of fungus gnats and to reduce surface evaporation. Shiny leaved plants will also benefit from a light cleaning with a damp cloth and don’t be afraid to chuck any plants that are infested with pests, almost dead or any that a looking pretty hopeless on to the compost heap and invest in some new ones.

Don’t throw it away, grow it

Some very cheap window sill plant fun can come from growing plants from vegetable tops, stones, pips and seeds that you have saved from the bin. Onions and garlic cloves that have started to sprout will grow green tops if placed in water and the onion greens can be cut off and added to salads. Why not try growing a plant from the seed pit of an avocado or a mango stone? You can grow a lot of things from the remains of your fruit and veg.

You can do something outside

If you have to do something outside, make it cutting down any deciduous ornamental grass that has been left standing over winter. Don’t be delicate either, cut stems at the base or cut down in sections and let them drop around the surface of the grasses allowing them to act as a mulch, which aids in preventing weeds and enhancing surrounding soil.