A Busy Month in the Garden: March's Top To-Dos
Garden tasks to tackle as spring arrives: Pivotal chores for March to ensure a thriving garden
Embrace the transition from winter's slumber to the blooming wonders of spring with these must-do tasks for your garden. March, after all, marks the start of the active growing season in many temperate regions! So, grab your gloves and get ready to put your green thumb to work!
Gardening Tasks Breakdown:
- Sowing Seeds and Seedlings: This is the season for sowing seeds under cover and moving around seedlings. Be sure to keep meticulous records of your seed-sowing activities, including planting date and any other relevant details, and always jot down the year on your seed packets for easy reference. For more in-depth guidance, read our expert guide on planting seeds.
- Garden Tidying Up: The last chance to spruce up before the growing season begins! Go through your pots and potsheds, remove any flagging foliage, uproot plants that haven't made it through winter, and top dress those that remain with a sprinkle of organic chicken manure pellets and a light layer of fresh compost.
- Rhubarb and Other Plants’ Care: Remember to keep your rhubarb well watered if you're forcing it. Don't forget about other plants too, particularly those in pots. Regular watering will keep them thriving and help you cultivate healthy, lush gardens.
- Weeding: As the growing season begins, weeds will spring to life almost as quickly as your seedlings. Run a sharp hoe down the rows to weed them out and keep things looking tidy in your garden.
- Buying Compost: Now is the perfect time to stock up on compost essentials like seed compost and peat-free John Innes No. 2 for pricking out and potting on.
- Pruning: Focus on plants grown for winter stem interest or large summer foliage. Pleach limes, coppice willow, Catalpa and Paulownia, hard prune Cotinus, winter-stem Cornus and Rubus.
- Ordering and Planting Summer-Flowering Bulbs: Eager for some color in your garden? Get your orders in for dahlias, gladioli, and lilies. Unfortunately, if the weather is too chilly, these will have to wait in cool, dry storage or grow on under cover before you can plant them out.
- Building Growing Structures: To support your fruit and vegetable harvest, construct frameworks with hazel rods, beanpoles, or twiggy branches, and cover them with protective netting or woven birch branches.
- Planting in the Green: Gently lift, divide, and replant large clumps of winter aconites and snowdrops to establish larger swathes or plant them as bareroot 'in the green' plants for instant blooms.
- Defining Turf Edges: Want a sharp, well-kept appearance? Redefine your lawn edges using a half moon or spade to cut a clean line between borders and lawn, making it quicker and easier to trim with edging shears and creating eye-catching, neat lawn edges.
While embarking on these tasks, be mindful of the overall transition from winter dormancy to the active growing season. In addition to the tasks listed, don’t forget to clean up debris, check for repairs, and give your garden tools and irrigation systems a good check-over. Happy gardening!
Notes:
- The Royal Horticultural Society
- Garden Myths
- Michigan State University Extension
- The Old Farmer's Almanac
- BBC Gardening
- Home-and-garden enthusiasts should consider sowing seeds and seedlings as part of their lifestyle during March, adhering to the growing season's start in many temperate regions.
- To ensure healthy, lush gardens, not only should you start sowing seeds and seedlings, but you must also perform tasks like tidying up your garden by removing winter-killed plants and top dressing those that survive.
- Likewise, for a beautiful, blooming garden, don't forget to prune plants grown for winter stem interest or large summer foliage, and plant summer-flowering bulbs in well-prepared soil for a burst of color.
