Straight out of the gate @madden968‘s mum brings us a simple guide to garden maintenance. Keeping on top of your weeds is the best way to stop them getting out of hand. ‘A little, often’ instead of ‘a lot, right when you just want to get planting’. Set aside a bit of time each weekend or each fortnight to check for unwanted weeds. And get them out soon as you see them to keep them from taking root. And water your plants as often as their individual care guide suggests – there’s nothing sadder than a forgotten wilted plant!

Watering Cans

Raspberry plants hate soggy soils! They like good drainage and a bit of added sand – just like @yellow.kettle‘s mum likes to do – is a great way to do that, holding water without becoming waterlogged. We’re getting towards the end of when your raspberries can be planted, act fast if you want to use this tip and get them in the ground before March is done!

Raspberry Canes

We’ve also heard the inverse of this. ‘Anything’s a weed if it’s growing in the wrong place’, but this optimistic version comes from @xgeorgia’s mum. If you like the look of an unplanned flower but just not where it’s found itself, just get it out of there and replant it somewhere else. Daffodils, snapdragons and even roses can find themselves amongst displays and bushes they don’t belong and be considered weeds, but they don’t have to be destroyed if you’ve got another place you’d like to put them!

Weeding Tools

Soaking your coriander seeds (cilantro for our friends across the pond) like @taz_hassomeplants‘s mum leads to faster germination, though we’ll admit we found a test that suggests the end harvest is only ever-so-slightly better than unsoaked seeds. We’ll leave this one up to you, but it could be a fun experiment for the kids to get involved with if they like coriander! If not we have a huge range of Herbs.

Herb seeds & plants

This one’s a bit of a cheat tip, presumably via @gaff_and_garden_faff‘s mum though it might be straight from the source, but it’s still a good one. Many hands make light work, and nowhere is that more true than anywhere that involves manual labour. Split the jobs between the family during a day in the garden (there’s a good Sunday opportunity coming up…) Get it all done faster than you can say ‘Work faster and fetch Mum a lemonade’, all while everyone bonds together through shared effort and the joy of a job well done.

Coriander Plants and Seeds

Last but not least, one to keep in your garden stores courtesy of @thelovedaygarden‘s mum. There’s no denying the power of Miracle Gro to feed up your flowers, plants and veg. As we head unstoppably towards peak planting season, there’s no better time to get some miracles into your garden. Mum knows best!

Plant fertiliser