Gardening | What to do in the week ahead, with Brian Kidd (Feb 21)

• Hosta plants’ plump buds are now poking through the soil. But this is the time tiny slugs eat their way through those buds and in spring, as the leaves unfurl, we’ll see lots of neat holes in the leaves. To prevent this damage,apply a generous layer of sharp sand or sharp grit all over the soil. If you don’t have any grit, vermiculite or crushed eggshell will also stop slugs getting to those buds.

•Bend over the tips of summer-fruiting raspberry canes to prevent them becoming too tall and to increase your crop by at least 10 per cent. Top dress the raspberry area with a four-inch layer of well-rotted manure and an ounce of sulphate of potash over each square yard. This will enhance the taste of the fruit.

•Did you remember to cut the canes of Autumn Bliss raspberries right down to the ground? The fruit will be produced on all the new shoots which will grow like mad. Give them the manure and potash treatment too.

•Buy a new variety of dahlia each week. They are in stock BUT check the height because a lot of them are only 12-18in high. The heights are in metric on the packs.

•Give greenhouse fuchsias a little more water. This is best done in the morning so there is no surplus water lying around. It can still be very cold at night. Cuttings of fuchsia may be taken once the growths have seven leaves.

•Did you remember to start up any garden machinery, so you know it’s OK after all the damp weather? Remember too, a new spark plug is a great help if the ruddy thing won’t start.

•Bring the bag of seed-sowing compost into the greenhouse so the compost isn’t cold when sowing starts.

•Remember too, if it’s cold, use polythene to divide the greenhouse so it is possible to keep a smaller area warmer with a little heater.

•Outdoor grape vines need to be pruned as soon as possible. Keep the main stems but prune every side shoot to buds as close to the main stem as possible. Top dress the area around the vine with well-rotted manure.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​