March - Grower's Calendar

March - Growing in the Garden and at Home: How to Care for Plants in Beds and Pots

March marks the true beginning of the gardening season. Days are getting longer, temperatures are rising, and nature is awakening from its winter slumber. This is the perfect time to start intensive work both in the garden and with indoor plants. Whether you're an experienced gardener or just starting out, March offers plenty of opportunities for sowing, planting, and caring for your green companions.

Garden Work in March

March is a crucial month for preparing your garden for the upcoming season. Although the weather can still be unpredictable, there's plenty of work to be done.

Soil Preparation

As soon as the soil is workable and not too wet, you can start preparing beds. Loosen the soil, remove weeds, and work in compost or well-rotted manure. This will provide your plants with the necessary nutrients for healthy growth.

Sowing Cold-Hardy Vegetables

In March, you can directly sow several types of vegetables that tolerate lower temperatures:

Peas - one of the first vegetables you can sow outdoors
Broad beans - hardy and easy to grow
Spinach - ideal for early spring harvest
Radishes - fast-growing and perfect for beginners
Carrots - sow early varieties for summer harvest
Parsley and other herbs - can be sown as soon as the soil warms up

Planting Onions and Garlic

March is the ideal time for planting onion sets and garlic cloves. These crops prefer cooler weather and will establish well before summer heat arrives.

Pruning Fruit Trees and Shrubs

Before buds begin to swell, finish pruning fruit trees and berry bushes. Remove damaged, diseased, or crossing branches to promote healthy growth and good air circulation.

Indoor Sowing in March

For heat-loving vegetables that need a longer growing season, March is the time to start seeds indoors.

What to Sow Indoors

Tomatoes - sow 6-8 weeks before the last expected frost
Peppers and chili peppers - need a long growing season, so start early
Eggplants - similar requirements to peppers
Cucumbers - can be sown towards the end of March
Zucchini and squash - sow in individual pots to avoid root disturbance
Basil and other tender herbs - perfect for starting on a windowsill

Tips for Successful Indoor Sowing

Use quality seed compost - it's lighter and provides better conditions for germination than regular potting soil.

Ensure adequate light - seedlings need plenty of light to avoid becoming leggy. If you don't have a sunny windowsill, consider using grow lights.

Maintain proper temperature - most seeds germinate best at temperatures between 20-25°C.

Water carefully - keep the soil moist but not waterlogged. Use a spray bottle or water from below to avoid disturbing tiny seeds.

Harden off seedlings - before transplanting outdoors, gradually accustom plants to outdoor conditions over 7-10 days.

Caring for Indoor Plants in March

Houseplants also benefit from the increasing light in March and begin their active growth phase.

Increased Watering and Fertilizing

As plants begin to grow more actively, they need more water and nutrients. Start fertilizing regularly - typically every 2-4 weeks with a balanced liquid fertilizer.

Repotting

March is an excellent time for repotting houseplants that have outgrown their containers. Choose a pot one size larger and use fresh, quality potting mix.

Pruning and Shaping

Remove dead or yellowing leaves and trim overgrown plants to promote bushier, more compact growth.

Greenhouse and Cold Frame Work

If you have a greenhouse or cold frame, March opens up even more possibilities.

Early Vegetables

In a protected environment, you can sow:

Lettuce and salad greens - for continuous harvest
Early varieties of cabbage
Kohlrabi
Early beets

Temperature Management

Watch for sunny days when greenhouse temperatures can rise quickly. Provide adequate ventilation to prevent overheating and reduce disease risk.

Plant Protection in March

Frost Protection

Although March brings warmer weather, late frosts are still possible. Have fleece, cloches, or cold frames ready to protect tender plants.

Pest and Disease Prevention

As temperatures rise, pests become active. Regularly inspect plants for signs of aphids, slugs, and other pests. Preventive measures are easier than dealing with a full infestation.

Useful Tips for March

Keep a gardening journal - record what you sow and when, along with weather observations. This information will be valuable in future seasons.
Prepare plant supports - stakes, trellises, and other supports for climbing plants.
Check stored bulbs and tubers - remove any showing signs of rot.
Clean and disinfect pots and tools - prevent disease spread.
Order seeds and supplies early - popular varieties can sell out quickly.

Conclusion

March is a month full of opportunities for gardeners. Whether working outdoors in the garden or starting seeds indoors, there's always something to do. Proper planning and care during this period will lay the foundation for a successful growing season. Remember that every garden is unique, and conditions can vary by region - adjust these recommendations to your local climate and conditions. Happy gardening!

Growing in March

The promise of spring is in the air everywhere, showing the world its regenerative power. Winter dormancy is slowly retreating, leaving the natural scenery in the embrace of a new, more pleasant season. However, with this comes responsibilities that are absolutely essential in our garden. The garden is in full bloom and it's up to us to take this beginning of the season by the right end. With the arrival of March, snow cover disappears from gardens, giving crocuses the courage they need, just like flowering shrubs that need to be pruned. We mustn't forget about perennials waiting for our important intervention. Fruit trees, strawberry beds, rockeries and shrubs need to be fertilized and protected from pests.

Wake Up Your Strawberry Bed

Wait for the last gasp of snow, once it disappears along with its nightly helper frost, focus on your strawberry bed, which needs your expert care. Examine it carefully and remove dried and unhealthy-looking foliage, also give it a light hoeing. It may happen that some plants have been pushed up due to frosty weather - carefully push them back and mound them with soil. If you notice the central crowns sprouting, fertilize them.

Kickstart Your Garden with Fertilizing

In March, we mustn't forget to check fruit trees and possibly prune them - this is the only way to achieve a rich harvest of sweet fruits. Leave out only plums, apricots and peaches, which are better to wait with. With the arrival of a new season, plenty of energy is needed, so fertilize your fruit trees with mature compost or well-rotted manure. It's good to incorporate phosphate or potash fertilizers with these organic fertilizers. An important factor is also the type of substrate. If trees grow in heavy soil, fertilizing once every two to three years is sufficient. On the contrary, soft sandy soils require more frequent feeding of new nutrients.

Dosage - Up to three years of age, 10kg of manure is sufficient. For a five-year-old tree 20kg, and we add 10kg every two years

Plant New Trees

Yes, this time is a suitable period for planting completely new trees, which will not only enrich the appearance of your garden, but will diversify the menu in summer and autumn months. In spring, you can plant absolutely all fruit trees. At the end of the month, you can start the life journey of ornamental deciduous trees.

Protection and Care for Fruit Trees and Shrubs

Take a leisurely walk around your garden and help your currants breathe better. Lightly prune them, as well as gooseberries. Similar care after two years is also required for raspberry and blackberry bushes, otherwise trim back frost-damaged twigs. Watch out for the currant borer moth, which creates dangerous galls. It's better to completely remove branches affected in this way.
If you've had problems with peach trees in the past in terms of peach leaf curl infection, apply a copper spray. Start this process immediately as soon as you notice buds beginning to swell.
Blackcurrant bushes must not remain hidden from your attention either. The blackcurrant gall mite can completely destroy your shrub. March is the only time to detect this disease, as it causes a noticeable enlargement of round buds.

Vegetables in March

In this early phase of the year, it's suitable to plant peppers and broccoli. Place pots containing life-giving tomato seeds by the window. In a cold frame or polytunnel, you can sow carrots, radishes, basil, but also pre-grown early lettuce. If we focus on the garden atmosphere outside, then in the middle of the month you can already sow carrots, radishes, parsley, garlic, peas, spinach, early lettuce or very aromatic dill in your beds. March also offers much more pleasant matters - harvesting. Yes, in March you harvest crops grown under snow.

Perennials

If the weather is favorable, it's possible to plant ornamental perennials that bloom in summer, as well as more persistent herbs. This period also offers an opportunity for propagation by the specific method of dividing clumps, and you can also do classic transplanting. When performing this task, exercise increased caution so you don't damage the feeding roots.

Other Important Tasks

Don't forget about roses and prune them before new shoots emerge.
In March, cuttings separate very easily from shrubs.
You can also trim back hedges that haven't reached the desired height.
Protect your greenhouse biologically, where large numbers of pests multiply due to rising temperatures.