What to Sow in March: Spring Vegetables and Flowers
Once you’ve got your March planting underway, it’s worth thinking ahead to what comes next in the growing season. If potatoes are on your list, you might be interested in growing a second crop of potatoes in August to make the most of your garden space later in the year. Potatoes are one of the best crops to get started in March, and you don’t need a big garden to grow them. If you’re short on space or budget, try planting potatoes in a cardboard box — it’s a surprisingly effective and inexpensive method.
If you’re ready to expand your spring planting skills, consider adding something a little adventurous to your garden this year. Check out our full guide on growing bitter melon from seed to take your seed-starting know-how to the next level.
If you’re planning to start peppers this season, be sure to avoid these pepper seedling mistakes that can derail your plants before they ever make it into the ground. Once your zinnias are up and growing strong, keeping them productive is all about knowing when and how to cut them back. Learn pruning zinnias for more blooms so your plants stay bushy and keep flowering all season long.
Sound the trumpets beat the drums spring this of course it is also the garden is busiest time of year juggling sowing seedlings and young plants.
Sowing Tomatoes in March: Choosing the Right Varieties
The growing season starts here and today we will be sowing some solidly sound vegetables. Everyone’s favorite warm season crop and to finish the sunniest most full soaring veggie garden flower of all so do stick around for that best get cracking then of what better place to start than with one crop that sums up some are perfectly more than any other why the tomato of course the tomato encapsulates a bounty of those warmer months, richly aromatic sweet. There’s no beating it for flavor. All the more intense if you brought yourself I bought three varieties for sowing today the sweetest golden cherry tomato for adding to salads. A beautiful plum or paste tomato for turning into sources and a blight resistant tomato for growing outdoors. And if you’re planning a truly vibrant spring garden, it’s also worth growing borage from seed this spring—its brilliant blue flowers and pollinator-friendly nature make it a perfect companion for your vegetable beds.
How to Sow Tomato Seeds: Spacing, Potting Mix, and Labelling
Now last year I had real problems with tomato blight and I noticed one variety managed to resist it. So I’ve gone and bought that variety.
Blight-Resistant Tomato Varieties Worth Growing Outdoors
No tomato is completely 100% resistant to blight. But there are some varieties that show some good resistance. If you’re growing your tomatoes outside where they will be exposed to spores carried on the wind, then you might like to consider one of these blight resistant tomatoes. So I’m just using a sipped or purpose potting mix. I’m firming down a little bit right now these are really fresh seeds. I bought them yesterday. So they will last a couple of years so any I don’t use I’ll fold over and keep until next year and maybe the year after two so I don’t know so all of them. So I’m going to space the seeds in the pot. So there as far apart from each other as possible to give them a little room to grow before I need to transplant them into their own pots. And we go and then to finish just another little sprinkling of our potting mix over the top like that. Then gently pass it down.
Using a Humidity Dome and Heat Mat to Germinate Tomato Seeds
Do not forget to label.
Now if you’re seeing just one variety of one vegetable and you know what the seedlings look like then obviously you can get away without labeling. But if you’re sowing a few varieties at the same vegetable, well the thinking is going to look the same aren’t they? So it’s very, very easy to get mixed up. And I say that from bitter experience. I make a point of labeling as soon as like that. So these have had a good water now and I’m going to pop them into this simple humidity dome here which will create a lovely cozy warm and humid environment for seeds to germinate in. You can also just secure a piece of clear plastic over your pots that works to these guys are going on to my heat map to germinate and they should appear within about a week to two weeks. And once they have they’ll come off here. Now if you don’t have a heat map, don’t worry. Sunny windowsill should do the trick as well.
Growing On Tomato Seedlings: From Heat Mat to Greenhouse
It’s probably the last outing for my heatmaps for this spring because my other warm season veggies drumroll please are going away under here really nicely.
Starting Chilli Peppers and Aubergine: Don’t Miss the Window
I’ve got some chili peppers and eggplant or aubergine in here for example. If you haven’t started these up yet, please do hurry because time is running out and I will link to a video on how to start them off down below. If you’re also thinking ahead to beans, now is the perfect time to start sowing Blue Lake pole beans in spring so they’re ready to go out once the risk of frost has passed. And then when it’s warmed up a little bit more. I’ll move the seedlings out into the greenhouse when temperatures in there are at least 50 Fahrenheit or 10 Celsius and that way I can make the most use of the outside like the natural light and save on grow like running costs. Once the seedlings are up, I will transfer them into their own pots and then grow them on initially inside and then bring them out here to continue growing. Then they will be planted outside my blight resistant tomatoes and the others in here in this greenhouse border. Now in here I know we’ll get a really good crop no matter what the summer whether it’s a scorcher or a complete washout, and I am sure we will be checking in on those tomatoes as the season progresses.
Sowing Leeks in March: Multi-Seeding in Plug Trays
It’s time to sow to vegetable garden staples, parsnips and leeks which my winter vegetable garden no one wants to be thinking of into just as we’re leaving it, but forward planning is a must.
Using a Garden Planner to Time Your Sowings
Knowing what to say when can be a bit of a logistical conundrum. But I’m finding the Garden Planner invaluable for this. It keeps a track of what needs sowing when based on data from your local weather station. Really very handy. If you’d like to try it for yourself for free then I’ll pop a link to it down below leaks. For some reason Rosie absolutely loves leaks and rolls about them flashing them. I wondered why she had oniony breath. But the other alliums like NSYNC and garlic are not good for dogs at all. So I need to find a way to kind of fence them off from her and keep them well away from her. In the meantime though, to keep her safe. I’m going to start them off inside in the greenhouse.
How to Sow Leeks: Multi-Seeding Method for Bigger Harvests
Traditionally, leaks are sewn into pots or into the ground and then lifted up once they’re about pencil size. To then pop into their own deburred holes. It’s very satisfying process. You double your pop in the leak. Then simply fill the holes with water and walk away. The leaks then go on to produce lovely long white stems because much of the stem sits below the soil surface so they naturally get blanch I taking the alternative tack my next we’re going to plug trays and I’m going to multisite them. There’ll be grown on in these plugs as clusters of seedlings then planted out as they are no thinning required. And then there’ll be grown on to harvest classes from Autumn onwards. Right I’m going to so little pinches of seeds between four and up to six seeds per plug here. I’ve chosen a variety that is resistant to rust by the way, which is a common disease of leaks. So that should hopefully avoid that. So I’ve just covered them over a bit and I’ll give these of water shortly. And I expect anywhere from three to six seedlings per plug and they’ll come in throughout spring and then planted out later on in the spring or possibly if I put them on after my early potatoes. That way I’ll get twice the number of crops from the same piece of ground.
Growing Leeks in Flower Borders: A Space-Saving Idea
Now if you don’t have lots of room for leaks, don’t worry, I reckon they look really attractive in flower borders. They got lovely glaucous up right foliage that thrusts off the ground, and I think it gives a really kind of lead eyes your garden so they can be just about anywhere. What do you reckon?
Sowing Parsnips in March: Soil Preparation and Row Spacing
I always had a bit of a nervousness around us starting off past lips, that they might be tricky customers but in my experience I found them pretty reliable terminators. The important thing is to make sure that the soil is warm enough that is crucial. And you also have to remember that they take their time to rise and shine, three and even up to four weeks. So they’re going in here I’ve rake the soil, nice and level. This had a good topping of compost back in the autumn. So there’s good fertility in here for our parsnips. So I’m going to start by marking out my rows here. About one foot or 30 centimeters apart. Now I’m gonna carefully spaced out the seeds about an inch or two to three centimeters apart. Now these are good size seeds so they’re nice and easy to say. Because they take so long to germinate. I’m just going to pop little sticks at the end of each row just to kind of mock out the position and now simply cover them back over.
Sowing Radishes Between Parsnip Rows: Maximising Space
Now because the parsnips do take a long time to come up, but I’m gonna be a bit opportunistic, and so something really quick growing in between them and can you guess what it is? It is radishes. Now, these guys will be up and kind of well on the way to 30 by the time the past it’s come up, and then there’ll be harvested. Well number four, the past hips need the extra space, so it’s a good way of getting a little bit more from the same piece of ground. Again, I’ve made my road an inch or half an inch, one centimeter deep and then just kind of sprinkling the seeds along about half an inch or centimeter apart.
Thinning Parsnips and Using Fresh Seed for Best Results
The radish should be up within about a week and they shouldn’t really need thinning the parsnips on the other hand, once they’re up, I will fin them in stages until they are about six inches or 15 centimeters apart. If you’ve never tried passes before, please do they are the royalty amongst root vegetables. I love to roasted with a little bit of honey absolutely delicious and they are generally trouble free. parsnip see doesn’t last very long though. So DB shorter use fresh seas.
Sowing Collard Greens in March: Cut-and-Come-Again Brassicas
I love my greens and it’s time for the sowing of the first greens of the year and I’m going to be sowing collard greens which are just kind of non Harding type of cabbage. Now, last year I grew some lovely head forming cabbages, but the problem was I got slugs into woven with the leaves. They kind of got properly in there. So by growing something with a more open habits, I’m hoping the slugs will be less hidden away and we’ll find it less of an attractive home. That’s the plan anyhow. Oh and collard greens can be harvested cut and come again style by twisting off the leaves as you need them. So keep them growing. No great big hearts of cabbage to use all at once.
Starting Collard Greens Indoors Before Transplanting Outside
In the interest of saving space, I’m going to say them into this small pot here just to start with. Then once they’re up, I can transfer them into their own plugs to grow on and then they’ll be planted out into their own dedicated bed enrich with plenty of compost, and I’ll set them about 18 inches or 45 centimeters apart in both directions.
Planting Potatoes in March: Chitting and Blight-Resistant Varieties
This is a great month for planting potatoes. Now do check out our last video on the splendid spud when I show you how to plant up containers like this and the difference between determinate and indeterminate potatoes and how to use that to your advantage.
Chitting Maincrop Potatoes: Getting a Head Start Before Planting
And here are my main crop potatoes a variety called Sarpo myRA. Both potatoes and tomatoes are prone to late blight and this is a blight resistant variety. By splitting them or sprouting them like this. There’ll be well ahead for when I get them planted later on this month. If you haven’t ordered your seed potatoes yet, get on and do that. Pronto. Before stocks run out.
Sowing Poached Egg Plants in March: Attract Beneficial Insects
Sunshine on a rainy day. I’m feeling so positive about this time of year the birds are singing the days are bright, and life’s good. And what better way to celebrate the start of spring than by sowing the happiest cherries flower I know the poached egg plant and I like them served sunny side up. Poached egg plants readily self see once they get established. In fact you can see the seedlings here from last year’s flowers. They kind of act like a green living mulch beneath taller plants like beans and broccoli and mild areas. They will stay green throughout the winter. These are fantastic little flowers. I want more poached egg plants dotted here and there throughout the vegetable garden. So let’s get on in so some more.
How to Direct Sow Poached Egg Plants Into Garden Soil
Now the first job is to scrape back some of this mulch so I can get at the soil. And then I’m just going to lightly fork it over to fluff it up ready to receive those seeds. There’s really not much to sowing these just taking a pinch of seeds and scattering them liberally slightly for that and then I’m just going to tickle them in with the for the soil only quite moist here already so I won’t need to bore them just yet.
Why Poached Egg Plants Are a Must for the Vegetable Garden
Now poached egg plants really are a mecca for insects and I’m talking the really good guys. Once they start flowering they will be attracting all sorts of beneficial bugs that will help to pollinate your crops and devour the pests. Wonderful stuff.
Aftercare for Poached Egg Plant Seedlings: Watering and Thinning
Please won’t need much more attention now other than perhaps watering in dry weather as they establish and if they come up a bit crowded I’ll thin some of them out.
March Sowing Recap: Key Crops to Get in the Ground This Month
One of the best ways to give your March sowings a strong start is to feed the soil before planting. Consider growing comfrey as a natural fertiliser for spring crops — it’s easy to establish and provides a rich, free source of nutrients right when your seedlings need them most.
Starting seeds indoors in March gives you a head start on the growing season, allowing you to transplant strong, healthy seedlings into the garden once the last frost has passed. If you’re new to the process or want to sharpen your technique, check out this guide on how to start these seeds successfully so you can set every seedling up for its best start.