Fruit, Vegetables and Herbs: March Gardening Tips

Start Early Varieties and Plant Out New Herb Plants

• Start early varieties of cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, lettuce, peas, and onions in a tunnel or glasshouse, and plant them out into better growing conditions during April or May when they have had a head-start.
• Plant out new herb plants if the ground is in good condition.

Sowing Outdoors and Planting Sets

• Take advantage of any dry spells to carry out early outdoor sowings, especially of onions from seed, leeks, parsnips, and sprouts, which like an early start.
• Plant garlic and shallot sets without delay, as they need a touch of cold while in the ground.
• If the ground is right, sow vegetable seeds outdoors. Most kinds can be sown from now on.

Preparing the Ground and Fertilizing

• Ensure that the ground is adequately fertile for vegetables by applying 100 grams of general fertilizer per square meter if necessary, or less if the soil is good.
• Use plenty of rotted farmyard manure in a four-year rotation around the vegetable area.
• Apply potash or fruit fertilizer to fruit trees to improve growth and yield, but avoid rich compost or manure which can promote soft growth and diseases.

Planting and Pruning Fruit Trees and Bushes

• Plant new fruit trees, asparagus crowns, and rhubarb varieties like ‘Timperley Early’ as soon as possible.
• Complete pruning of apple and pear trees and blackcurrant bushes without delay, even if buds are already opening.
• Remove broken, diseased, or inward-growing branches from old neglected apple trees.

Potato Planting and Weed Control

• Plant potatoes as soon as possible.
• Control weed seedlings between vegetables by hoeing on a bright, dry, breezy day, targeting them while they are still small.

Disease Prevention for Fruit Trees

• Spray apple and pear trees against scab diseases if the trees are susceptible and had scab last year.

Greenhouse and Indoor Sowing

• In cooler, damper parts of the country, start vegetable seeds in small pots or cell trays in a greenhouse or indoors.
• Sow vegetable seeds in cell trays if a greenhouse is available and the weather is too wet for outdoor sowing.