Caring for the garden often takes a back seat during winter, but with the arrival of spring, now is the perfect time to begin some tasks.
An expert has taken to YouTube to share essential jobs before the growing season begins.
Gardener Laurie recommended six tasks, starting with weeding and mulching fruit beds.
She said: “I mulch my strawberry bed with well-rotted wood chips, which the strawberries love. The wood chips feed the bed and mulch out any weaker plants. It also helps to pin down the runners of the new plants as they grow.”
The gardener recommended removing brambles from shrubs
YouTube/Freedom Forest Life – Off Grid
Clear and tidy away old plants into compost to give room for new plants to grow.
The gardener explained: “I like to leave this as late as possible into the winter or the next growing season so that there are live plant roots in the soil for as long as possible.
“The plants will continue to make their symbiotic exchange that connects and creates bacteria and microorganisms. The soil gets healthier and more nutritious.”
Once the soil is clear, focus on sewing your first seeds for the season by organising your seed sewing area or potting benches.
Laurie explained: “Get everything ready to hand like potting mix and seed trays so you can hit the ground running once seed sewing season takes off.
“If you are growing hot chillies, peppers or aubergines this year, they need a long growing season. They are nearly always the first seeds that I start with.”
Once these seeds are sewn, another task the gardener advised is to start removing bramble from shrubs.
She said: “Now is a great time to do this job because where the shrubs do not have any leaves on them, you can see the bramble a lot more easily.”
