00:00Hello I'm Ade and I'm Sophie and we're Agents of Field. Spring is finally here so it's time to
00:06seize your trowel, grab your wellies and get out into your garden. By putting in a little effort now
00:11you could be reaping the rewards of vibrant flowers and delicious vegetables by the summer
00:15and who doesn't want that? So here are five easy jobs to get you started.
00:21It's time to sow some veg. You'll need seed compost, trays or pots, seeds and labels.
00:28Sowing into modules means you can grow healthy plants in your greenhouse or conservatory
00:33then plant them out into their final growing positions once the ground has warmed up.
00:37Today I'm sowing spring onions. I fill a tray with compost, make a hole in each module and sprinkle
00:44in eight to ten seeds. Once they've germinated and are about three inches tall I'll plant the whole
00:50module outside into the ground so when I want to harvest them I can lift them out as a bunch.
00:56Once watered label your seeds and place them somewhere warm and sunny.
01:03Warmer weather would encourage your weeds as well as your plants to grow so make sure you give your
01:08borders a good weeding before giving them a heavy mulch with compost, leaf mould or well-rotted manure.
01:15This will feed them, protect them from cold nights, make your borders look tidy and suppress those pesky weeds.
01:25It's not too late to prune your roses and get them spring ready. Remove any branches that are dead,
01:30damaged or diseased. Shrub roses can be reduced by up to a third and climbing roses can be cut back
01:36by
01:36two-thirds removing dead branches at the base. Ensure you make the cut just above a bud and on an
01:42angle
01:42otherwise moisture could sit on the open wound and encourage rot. Finally finish with a mulch to protect
01:48and feed your rose. Dahlia's are one of the must-have plants for summer so if you've been storing dahlia
01:57tubers over winter it's time to get them out. Check them over and disregard any that are damaged or have
02:03succumbed to the winter weather. Then using a large pot and multi-purpose compost pot them up. Put them
02:11somewhere warm and light. Greenhouse or conservatory is ideal. Ensure you keep the soil moist and by late
02:18spring there'll be healthy bushy plants ready to be planted out into your garden. If you've been chitting
02:25potatoes they should now be ready for planting out. If you're planting them into a trench add a little
02:31compost to the bottom. Tubers should be placed to the depth of 12 centimeters and 30 centimeters apart.
02:39If you don't have the space then consider growing potatoes in grow bags or large containers.
02:44Using soil or compost fill the base to the height of 10 centimeters. Place no more than four seeded tubers
02:51on top of the soil. Then fill the bag a third of the way up covering the potatoes. Water in
02:58and place
02:58the grow bag in a sunny frost-free sheltered spot. In the coming weeks water regularly and keep adding
03:05soil to cover emerging foliage. Once you've reached the top of the bag and potato flowers have withered
03:11it's time to harvest.
03:15So there you go. Five easy jobs to get you going this spring. Couldn't be simpler. Happy growing.
03:22Cheers. See you next time.
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