After the rain: Alan Titchmarsh on gardening after the wettest winter on record

We have had the wettest winter on record. Never have we experienced such dramatic deluges from sea and sky. But because the weather eventually settles, and spring begins to unfold, gardens around the country can be waking up and plants would be beginning to grow in earnest.

The trouble is that the heavy rains could have leached a massive amount of nutrients out of the soil, and plants, like us, need greater than water in the event that they are to thrive. Food is important, too.

There are three main elements that plants need for healthy growth – nitrogen, phosphates and potash. Oh, all of it sounds very technical, however the shortage could be remedied by applying a general fertiliser which includes all three, corresponding to Growmore. In case you use an inorganic fertiliser, once it’s diluted in soil water, it is going to go into action straightaway when absorbed by the plant. The disadvantage is that it does nothing for soil bacteria, which might be an integral part of soil health. Healthy soil is prime to healthy plant growth.

Far better is blood, bone and fishmeal (or blood, fish and bone) that’s an organic fertiliser containing all three elements. Soil bacteria must break it down before it is usually absorbed and so are encouraged in a technique that may be absent when using other all-purpose fertilisers.

But if fertiliser provides the vitamins, it’s well-rotted organic matter that gives the “meat and two veg”. Stable manure, farmyard manure, spent mushroom compost, spent hops etc are all bulky and might be dug into the soil now to enhance its structure. On heavy clay soil they are going to improve drainage, and on light sandy soils they’ll help to carry directly to moisture (although it sounds as if one statement must contradict the alternative).

Work in up to you could on bare ground, and in beds and borders, lay it as a mulch (a 2in thick layer) between plants. Apply two handfuls of blood, fish and bone to every square yard of soil and fork it in before laying mulch on top. Gradually, the worms will take it into the soil, but while lying at the top it’s going to seal in moisture and help keep down the weeds.

For now, our efforts involve doing away with moisture, but in the summertime we have to keep as much of it around plant roots as we will be able to. Act now to ensure plants get over the winter and, hopefully, enjoy a summer with the intention to make up for it.

Don’t miss Alan’s gardening column today and each day inside the Daily Express. For more info on his range of gardening products, visit alantitchmarsh.com.