March will soon be upon us and it is the time of year when there are lots of jobs to do and the weather is fit to get out into the garden and enjoy doing them.

Fruit and Vegetables need your attention at this time of year and you should be busy preparing the seedbeds for later use by clearing them and maybe covering them with polythene or fleece to warm up the soil in cooler areas to give your seedlings a head start. In milder areas you can certainly start to think about sewing some crops outdoors, at the very least you should be sowing some seeds in the greenhouse for later use. Certainly early potatoes can be planted. Things like Shallots, onions and garlic can be planted along with Asparagus (my favourite!)

In the greenhouse it is time to sow peppers, tomatoes and other salad veges, celery and artichokes can be started off now as well. If you have blossom coming on some of your stoned fruits such as apricots, nectarines and peaches they will need to be protected from stray frosts – like the heavy one we had last night. A good mulch and feed will do them good at this time of year as well. Any pruning of soft fruits needs to be completed as well.

Most of my winter vegetables are coming to an end now but there are still a few parsnips, some Purple Sprouting (my second favourite) and Kale in the garden. I have some spinach that has overwintered quite well too and we are still picking that. I must admit to beginning to crave the fresh new salads of the spring too though we’ll be eating the last of the winter sprouts and cabbages first.

It’s a time of year when I love looking at the nursery catalogues as well, thinking about all the things I want to put in the garden, more and more I find myself looking at the websites as they have such a lot of extra information, like Gardeners Choice. They are an excellent source of ideas and information for any gardener.

From time to time you come across a product that you know is just so good that you have to share it – it is my intention to share them with you when I find them in an occasional series. Gardening is one of those things that is easy when you know how but finding out can be something of a trial. There are many manuals out there which have used up acres of trees in their production. I came across this ebook, Gardening Made Easy, which impressed me a great deal – mainly for the quality of it’s content but also the fact that it is on your pc and you don’t have to sacrifice a forest to be able to read it!

Starting from scratch Gardening Made Easy goes from the basics of panning your garden through mulching and watering to organic insecticides and pest control you will find most of the information you need clearly presented and well laid out.

Even if you have never picked up a garden tool in your life before you will soon be comfortable with pruning and dead heading as if you had been doing it all your life with the help of this useful manual. Almost every different style of gardening is covered, from ornamental to kitchen gardens and if your preference is for organic methods then there is plenty of information for you within it covers. Garden tools are not neglected as they can make or break you as a Gardener. If your tools aren’t comfortable to use or effective then you will find them difficult and soon give up.

Gardening Made Easy is well structured in ten chapters that go from Basics, through planning and maintenance, Organic, Hydroponic, Vegetable, Flower and Tree Gardening with well laid out information for ease of reference. Even if you are an experienced gardener I would recommend it to you without hesitation as I am sure you will find something of interest.