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April 2025 Page 25 AD SALES 01204 478812 FACTORY OUTLET BLACK DIAMOND ALLEN BROTHERS FIREPLACES Clayton St, Wigan WN3 4DA 01942 245649 / 01942 826097 www.blackdiamondfireplaces.co.uk The most efficient wood burning stove in the world HOME & GARDEN THE Royal Horticultural Soci- ety has shared some of its top tips for gardeners as spring works its magic and brings gardens back to life. • Support nesting birds by feed- ing, providing water and being careful about pruning and other potential disturbance of nests. Leave piles of moss, dead grass and twigs to help nest building, and keep an area of bare soil, wetting it if required so mud is always available for cement- ing nests. • Help insects by sparing flow- ering weeds such as groundsel and red nettles until they have finished flowering. Leave piles of prunings and trimmings in out of the way spots until summer. These provide shelter for insects and other creatures while condi- tions remain potentially harsh. • Spread mulch around perennial plants to lock in winter rain, suppress unwanted vegetation and support soil life, especially earthworms, that in turn feed birds and other garden wildlife. • Wetter than usual conditions since September in many places have left low-lying gardens and ones with clay soils very wet. Cultivating, sowing and plant- ing is difficult until the soil dries out. In the meantime, use planks to access the garden for pruning and weeding to avoid soil damage. • Sow seeds - seeds are relatively inexpensive, but are slow to get going, so aim to sow hardy vegetable seeds such as car- rots, lettuce and parsnips and for flowers, calendula and love- in-the-mist, as early as feasible. However, where conditions are Giving things a helping hand too cold or wet to suit seeds outdoors, delaying sowing until April will give satisfactory results. Alternatively use cloches or a coldframe to warm and dry outdoor soil for a fortnight or more before sowing. • Sowing seeds indoors, per- haps on windowsills, enclosed porches or a coldframe where a greenhouse is not available, is necessary for tender plants with small seeds such as tomatoes, chilli peppers and tagetes. They are spoiled if they become over- crowded as they grow so raise no more than can be fitted into available space. Choose peat-free potting compost that is recom- mended for seed sowing. • Potatoes can be planted from early spring for earlies and mid- spring for maincrops, ideally after sprouting in a light, frost- free place. Shallot, garlic and onion sets can also be planted as soon as the soil dries out. Leave heat-treated onion sets until mid-spring as cold condi- tions induce premature flower- ing (bolting). • Where slugs are abundant, as is often the case after a mild wet winter, raising young plants indoors keeps them safe from attack and if grown to be quite large before being planted out they can tolerate some ‘grazing’ that would be fatal to tiny plants. • Courgettes, pumpkins, runner beans, squash, sunflowers and sweetcorn have large seeds which will grow fast after sow- ing so delay sowing these until the second half of April, or even sow outdoors where they are to grow after mid-May. • Bulbs are another relatively inexpensive way of getting gar- den colour - lilies, which flower frommidsummer, are hardy and can be planted as soon as pos- sible in spring for best results. Tender bulbs such as begonias, crinum, dahlias, gladioli, glori- osa and tigridia can be started indoors in pots, or planted out- doors where they are to grow from mid-spring. • Houseplants will start growing again now that light levels will be rising and will benefit from feeding and where necessary, repotting. However bright win- dows will soon become scorching so delicate plants are best moved to duller positions. Similarly, greenhouses will overheat on bright spring days if shading is not installed. ELECTRICIAN - CALL TREVOR 07851 167678 Small Works Carried Out All Works Fully Insured & Guaranteed Inspection & Testing � Fuseboard Upgrades Landlord Certificates � EV Chargers HEI LTD Electrical Contractors Holt Electrical Installations Ltd Local Family Business Est. 2004 CALL TODAY FOR A NO OBLIGATION QUOTE Trevor: 0785 116 7678 Mark: 0759 011 1882 10% OFF FOR NEW CUSTOMERS Quote: Advertiser info@holt-elec.com or visit www.holt-elec.com