March is the month of real hope for gardeners as we start to see some sunshine (in amongst the rain and possibly even snow)! If you enjoy growing from seed then this is the month to really get sowing.
Outside in the veg garden your over winter harvest can be both finishing and just starting, for example, if you planted in the late summer and autumn you could be now be eating spring onions, Swiss chard, winter lettuces, spring cauliflower and purple sprouting broccoli in addition to any leeks, parsnips, sprouts and kale that you might still have left.
In the main garden early irises and snowdrops will be in full bloom, tulips will be pushing through, crocus and daffodils are starting to flower. Primulas will be looking good and shops will be stacked full of gardening equipment and plants.
It’s a great month for sorting and planting as well as sowing. If you’re sowing in a greenhouse some protection against frosts will be required. In the UK we’ve been known to have frosts until June, so although spring is in the air it can be cold.
It’s always a good idea to check the weather forecast so you don’t plant out or prune just before a cold spell.
Here’s a list of things I’ll be doing and some ideas for things you can do:
- My potatoes are chitting and I’ll plant out at Easter. Early varieties can be planted in now.
- My windowsills are covered in seed trays and I’m sowing indoors. I’ve sown everything from beetroot to tomatoes. If you haven’t yet sown your chilies or peppers do so now because they can take ages to germinate.
- I’ll be planting my onion sets either next weekend or the one after. Some of my fellow allotmenteers have them in already and they’ve covered them with green mesh. If you haven’t done so already, you can still plant shallots this month.
- I’ve just bought a lovely new rhubarb plant and I dug it in this weekend. They love fertile soil so if you have any manure, ‘chicken-poo’ pellets or similar, then plant that in with it and water well. Don’t eat the rhubarb for a couple of years. It will be tempting to eat it next year and especially the year after but it will weaken the plant.
- Plant raspberry canes and cut any dead canes right down to the ground.
- Plant strawberries
- Protect new shoots from slugs – I’m trying spent coffee beans from my local café. Fingers crossed it works!
- Planning my summer borders. I’m stocking up on summer bulbs to plant out on nice days.
- Looking after perennials by tidying round them, dividing and ensuring they’re in the right place. A bit of a nudge/move at this time of year will be fine.
- The lawn is growing so if it’s dry it can be mown.
- The weeds are also growing and I’ve started hoeing them down before they grow too big.
- On fresh days I open the greenhouse to air it so it stays mould free.
- If you’ve got winter shrubs such as dogwood (Cornus) and willow (Salix) cut them back this month and you’ll soon see new shoots coming through.
- Cut old leaves off hellebores. This helps keep them disease free. I would encourage this because this is probably how I lost mine this year. I just didn’t look after them well enough at all.
- Keep deadheading pansies and they will last through summer.
- You can deadhead any daffodills that have finished flowering but don’t cut the foliage down, I tie mine in a loop to keep them tidy.
- Warm up your soil and keep yourself warm too. It’s really easy to get cold outside at this time of year so wrap up and enjoy :)
The Garden Smallholder and Not Just Green Fingers have done some excellent to-do guides this month and if you’re thinking about ideas for your summer borders then Garden in a City has posted some inspiration.
What will you be doing this month? Have you got any top tips for gardening in spring?
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Your post is making me hungry. And tired. Rhubarb is an excellent thing to grow. Now you can have rhubarb pie, strawberry rhubarb pie, strawberry rhubarb jam, rhubarb with custard… I’m very fond of rhubarb.
Haha! I have a long wait until I can eat it but luckily I have allotment friends who give me some of their crops. I never used to like rhubarb but I love it now too. I had some amazing rhubarb & vanilla cheese the other week! That’s when I knew I had to get my own supply. Thanks so much for your comment Jason! :)
Great tips Anna! I’ll be starting sowing soon, too. :D
Thanks Cathy! I’m rapidly running out of space on my windowsills! :)
Thanks Anna for mentioning my blog it’s very kind of you. I enjoyed reading your post as you wrote about what to do in your flower garden too, I like this as it reminds me gardening isn’t just about about veg growing.
Hello there! You’re welcome, your post is really detailed and helpful. I often feel like my allotment is more like a garden than a veg plot, I think it’s all the trees that give it that feeling so I do tend to grow a lot of non-edible plants too. Plus I have my tiny container garden at home. I know you grow a lot of gorgeous flowers. I think veg gardening takes a lot more planning though doesn’t it. If you forget to grow a plant, it’s not quite as bad as forgetting to plant your potatoes! I love this time of year and just hope this predicted cold snap doesn’t last too long. The random weather is really starting to annoy me! Thanks so much for dropping by :)
I started my seeds for the first time this year with the plastic-bag method, putting the seeds on a piece of kitchen paper or other paper cloth, wetting it down and putting the whole lot in a zip-lock bag. It saves me heaps of space on my windowsill and I have much better germination results than in the previous years. But than: perhaps that’s the excitement of a first-time-bag-germinator…
bag germination sounds fascinating, very quick and easy!! I have heard of other people doing this too. Sounds like a really good idea. Thanks for the tip! :)
We tend to start sowing seed later. It’s also worth saying that it’s only autumn fruiting raspberries that are cut down now as the summer fruiting ones should be done in autumn after fruiting.
Hello Sue! I do find that things catch up. I didn’t start anything until the 1st & 2nd week of April last year (because I was away getting married and honeymoon) and everything just caught up. Although I have to say that some things didn’t work out but I think that was likely to do with the weather. Courgettes, pumpkin and squash mainly. Thanks for your advice on the raspberries. I just cut my dead canes back this weekend, it was really easy to spot in amongst all the new canes.
Anna, I love your crocus! Can’t wait when mines will grow. You are right: it’s easy to take a cold in such changeable weather!
Have a nice week, do not work much!
Hello Nadezda! Thanks so much, I think yours is the best tip ever “do not work much” :) I will try my very best!!! Thanks again for dropping by!
You have a busy month ahead Anna! I am intrigued by the plastic bag germination idea that one of your commenters mentioned – I’ve never come across it before so might trial something safe to see how well it works.
Hi Cathy, I’m intrigued too! it doesn’t seem quite right but then it also seems like it could save a lot of time and be mess free! Interested to know if you try it. Thanks so much for your comment :)
I’ve started a few seeds off, but I’m holding fire with most things as it’s just so cold, I don’t think they’d survive outside in the greenhouse and they tend to grow leggy when they’re held back indoors for too long. I bought a rhubarb crown last year which I’ve overwintered in it’s pot in the greenhouse, but it will be making it’s way to the allotment just as soon as the weather warms up a bit.
Hiya Jo! I’m not sowing anything in my greenhouse yet either and when I do my greenhouse heater will be on standby! I’m sowing indoors though as they should be through and have enough light, hopefully to avoid the leggyness. I do find though that even if you sow later, they do catch up. I’ve planted my rhubarb crown – i hope it’s going to be ok!! Thanks so much for dropping by :)
I have just seen the first leaves appearing on my rhubarb crowns – planted in pots last Autumn. A relief, because I know they are still alive, but goodness I miss the large mature clump at my old allotment, having to be patient for the next two years is going to be tough! I see you have spring onions in pots, really good idea, I keep meaning to try some in troughs but also keep forgetting. At least now I know it should work! No gardening for me today, it is REALLY cold and keeps snowing :-( Happy seed sowing, at least I can do some of that in the warmi(ish) conservatory!
Hello Janet! I’ve been in London this week and all I can say about the weather is that it’s been strange!! I was expecting warmer temperatures down south, but not at all and back in Leeds it’s milder but rainy. Its much better staying indoors! its great that sowing can be done inside!! I’ve had a lot of success with spring onions in pots. Some people find them easy but I never did until I tried pots. I’m really looking forward to my new rhubarb plant growing, I hope it’s ok out there! Thanks so much for dropping by :)
The advice I give myself in March (and seldom follow) is ‘Hold your horses!’ These spring-like days can lure me into jumping the gun and wasting effort on chores better left for later. Weeding! That’s the thing to be doing now.
Hi Ricki! Funny you say this because last year we had brilliant weather and we were definitely lulled into a false sense of security!! The weeds are certainly growing strong right now and that’s what I ended up doing last weekend. Thanks so much for the tip! :)
I got my first seeds in and everything is looking good but the pesky mice ate all my Sarah Raven sweet peas so I am keeping them in the kitchen now. Of course the mice didn’t touch the supermarket peas!
Hello Sneaky Magpie! That’s such a shame about the sweet peas :( I know mice at my allotment neighbours garden peas last year when she had put them in early :( sounds like your mice go for the posh peas hey! Hope the ones in the kitchen do better and if you get them transplanted soon after they germinate they should grow strong and not soft like some sweet peas that are started indoors. Thanks so much for dropping by :)
We just ate some of our over wintered purple sprouting broccoli for the first time (it was subject to a rogue goat attack before this), it was a revelation! I had no idea broccoli could be so delicious. We’re just chitting our potatoes too, but thanks for the tips on chillies. I didn’t know they took so long to germinate.
Hello Hannah! I’m so glad you’re enjoying your broccoli :) I’m still chitting too and aiming for easter to plant out although I could get them in earlier as they are rockets and first earlies. my chilies are just starting to come through, they take at least 2 weeks! I hope they others show up soon. Thanks so much for your comment :)
You have such a long list of jobs to be done, I would find it quite daunting. BTW only autumn fruiting raspberries should be cut to the ground; those that fruit earlier should have been cut back after fruiting and new canes tied in. Christina
Hi Christina! I find it exciting rather than daunting :) Although there’s never enough hours in the day. Sue also pointed out about the autumn raspberries. I cut mine down last weekend. Hope to spend more time in the garden tomorrow :) Thanks so much for dropping by!