The days will be longer, the temperatures rise. If it gradually becomes spring, nature awakens out of its hibernation again. The garden season also begins. What are the work now to make the garden and balcony fit for spring? Which plants have to be sown, cut or fertilized? Which natural materials are suitable for this and how do you dispose of the waste in an environmentally friendly manner?
Spring is just around the corner. The time now begins to prepare for the coming season in the garden and balcony. But when is the right time for this? It is best to wait with gardening until the temperatures are constant about about five degrees Celsius and the last frost is over. This is usually the case at the beginning of March, but can vary depending on the year and region. The bloom of forsythia can serve as a rough indication of the optimal time. This shrub usually only blooms when long -lasting deep frost phases can no longer be expected – between March and mid -April.
Which plants are sown particularly early?
Some plants benefit from the still cool and damp weather in spring and should therefore be sown at the beginning of the season. These include, for example, lettuce, spinach, chard, carrots and radishes. Potatoes should initially be left open in March so that they germinate and form drives. Only then can they be sown. Tomatoes and cucumbers should also be sowed at the beginning of spring, but initially preferred in small pots in the greenhouse or indoors. Sensitive and heat -loving varieties should only be outside after the ice saints, from mid -May. Then they can be transplanted into beds or raised beds.
For the sake of the climate and the environment, the best way to use or peat-arms or peat-poor planting or potting soil should be used more often. Because bogs are drained for peat extraction. However, these biotopes are important for biodiversity and as a greenhouse gass storage.
Which plants have to be cut in spring?
In order for the garden to be well prepared for the summer, some plants should also be trimmed in spring. This promotes the growth of new shoots and keeps the plant in shape. First of all, fruit trees and other deciduous trees are: they should be curtailed before the start of the vegetation period. On the one hand, the trees are still in their resting phase and suffer less from their branches. On the other hand, a strong pruning of trees, bushes and hedges is banned between March 1 and September 30 because the birds could disturb. However, the best time depends on the tree species. Fruit trees such as plums and peaches, but also maple, birch, hornbeam and walnut benefit from a cut in spring, shortly before or after the shoot.
It is best to wait for the green section, but at least the strongest frost periods. Woody herbs such as lavender, oregano, sage, thyme and rosemary should be cut back by about a third. With roses and blackberries you should remove all the dead and old branches. In order to thin out the plants and create space for new shoots, you should mainly remove the branches growing. The remaining branches should be shortened to four to five in roses and two buds for blackberries. Shrubs such as lilac and forsythia that bloom in spring, on the other hand, should not be circumcised before the frost but shortly after fading.
Which plants should you fertilize now?
In order to promote healthy growth, to strengthen the plants against drought and pests and to maintain the rich as possible blossom, you should not only criminalize some plants in spring, but also fertilize at the same time. This applies to most spice plants and herbs as well as to flowering shrubs such as roses, lilac and forsythia. Flower and vegetable beads and lawns also benefit from spring fertilization. This is particularly important for vegetables with high nutrient requirements such as zucchini, pumpkin, potatoes, cabbage and tomatoes.
Roses should also be fertilized in summer, according to the main bloom, and most other garden plants are sufficient to fertilize them in spring. But there are also garden plants that grow well in barren soils and therefore do without fertilizer. This includes, for example, primroses and adronis flores. For moor bed plants such as rhododendrons and azaleas, natural fertilizers such as compost is even harmful because it usually contains too much lime.
What is suitable as a natural fertilizer?
When fertilizing, it does not always have to be art fertilizers: organic substances are also ideal as a fertilizer for balcony and garden. Above all, this includes compost, but also animal crap, such as horses, rabbits or chickens. These naturally nutrient -rich materials are not only sustainable, but also provide all vital nutrients for plants, including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. This improves soil quality and stimulate plant growth. This applies in particular to mature compost that is rotted for at least six months. However, some kitchen waste such as banana shells, egg shells, coffee grounds and tar fans do not have to rot first, but can even be used directly as a fertilizer.
If you have a lot of plants with high nitrogen requirements in your garden – for example broccoli, endivia and melons – you can also use horn shavings or horn flour as a fertilizer. These natural fertilizers consist of grated or ground horns and hooves of slaughter animals such as cattle, are rich in nitrogen and slowly release them to the environment. Even self -placed plant naves – such as a fermented brew made of nettles, legwell or onions – provide valuable nitrogen and potassium. To make it, you leave a plant-water mixture in a warm place for about two weeks.
Other organic fertilizers such as lawn cuts or green fuel plants also supply valuable nutrients and, in contrast to compost, can be applied directly to the garden floor. To make compost or animal crap evenly, you should first loosen the floor with a hoe or a calculation. Then you distribute the fertilizer in an even, approximately two centimeter thick layer on the surface of the floor and connect it into the ground. However, it should only be worked into the top layer of soil and not deeper to make the nutrients more accessible to the plants. It also helps to water the floor well after fertilization.
Where to go with the green section and planting material?
If there were more garden waste when cutting back the garden plants than used in compost or mulching, you should dispose of them in the bio bin – if available. Otherwise, garden waste can also be submitted to the local waste stations. The plant remains are then recycled together with other bio -waste. A part is processed into compost in industrial plants, which is used, for example, in agriculture. Some of the organic garden waste end up in biogas plants that gain energy from them.
However, other waste that occurs during gardening in spring are not allowed to go to the biotonne. Empty plant pots, packaging or foils made of plastic, such as potting soil, belong in the yellow bin or yellow sack so that they can be recycled in an environmentally friendly manner. If these packaging incorrectly ended up in the bio bin, they ultimately end over the compost in the form of microplastics in arable soils or in new garden soil. This then contributes to the plastic pollution of our environment and not only harms the plants, but also other gardening.