March Ramblings in the Food Garden

Welcome month of March! Spring flowers, longer days, and (with any luck) warm, dry, sunny weather. In like a lamb, with sunshine and some very much needed Vitamin D.

Of course, if you believe the nursery rhymes, in like lamb means we may be having some lion like weather by the end of the month ; )

So, what are we working on this month whenever the weather is fine?

Prune your fruit trees if you did not get them done in February, plus grape vines, too. 

Prune soft fruiting shrubs, the berry bushes. Take out old canes that are grey and peeling, leaving the nice new smooth ones. 

Take out any branches that are broken, damaged, or rubbing against one another. 

Prune currant bushes into a vase or bowl shape, taking out the center stalks to help prevent those yucky sawflies.  

Stick the cuttings into soil for new currant bushes! 

Prune roses at mid to end month, taking most all down by about 1/3 but some of the hardy super tall growing bushes can even be taken down by as much as 1/2. 

At the same time, remove any branches that are broken or damaged, plus any that grow in towards the center of the rose. You want the rose bush to be open like a vase with all the branches pruned to an outward facing bud. In the picture above, you would prune on an angle just above the bud by my finger (is facing outwards) while the larger one above my finger is growing towards the middle of the rose bush.  

Top dress with a couple of inches of manure or compost around your fruiting trees and shrubs, your perennials, ornamental trees, and roses, too. Is an organic feed that is super easy to do, will slowly work itself down to the roost system with the help of the spring rains and earthworms.

Clean up all those perennials that you left standing in autumn that are now flopping all over the place with new growth emerging from the centre. The wee critters and native bees should all be out of hibernation now so you are good to go. The general rule would be when your daytime temps are around +10°C. 

Buying, planting, sowing.. 

Pick up seed potatoes this month and put them out to chit.  I will have some available here at the greenhouse shortly : )

(I usually plant out my potatoes early to mid-April (through till mid May) and start to chit them sometime between mid to late March.) 

Please note that potatoes are prone to early blight so if you plant them into cold, wet soil, and we have a cold, wet spring, you will lose your spuds. Is totally worth it to wait until the temps warm up as they will take off a lot faster in warm soil. If your fingers are itching to get at it, start chitting them so they have some good sprouts on them at planting time.

It is not essential to chit your spuds, so if you do not get to it, do not fret, they will grow fine nevertheless! Chitting is simply setting out your spuds to sprout a few weeks before planting for an earlier harvest.

Take your seed potatoes out of the bag or box and place on a tray, or in a low shoe box, or in an egg carton. Set out in a warm and bright place (though not in direct sunlight) for two or three weeks. The eyes will soon begin to grow little nubs. Once these nubs or sprouts are about an inch long, carefully plant the potatoes out in the garden.

Garden centres will now have boxed or bagged summer bulbs for sale...  like dahlia's (above), canna lilies, calla lilies, eucomis (pineapple lilies), glads, begonias, etc... Buy now and pop into pots for earlier blooms this summer.

Check out this gorgeous spring planter from Premier Service. 

To help you feel like spring is really here...

Buy some blooming pots of tulips, daffs, primulas, etc... and pop them in your tired winter planters for a quick pop of colour. Or pick up a pre-made spring planter, like I did, and simply drop them pot and all into your urns for instant spring. 

Buy or make a pretty blooming wreath to welcome the season. I bought a bright pink one the other day, full of faux cherry blossoms. Pink is not usually my thing but I am craving colour! 

Growing and Seeding.

What to start indoors this month...
Veggies
Peppers
Eggplants
Tomatoes (mid to end month) 

If you have not yet started them you still have time to start these guys, too.
Broccoli and Broccoli Raab ( my fave!)

Beets 
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Celery
Onions and leeks

Herbs
Chives
Parsley
Borage
Chamomile

Flowers
Marigolds
Zinnias
Columbine
Campanula
Gaillardia
Asters
Sweet Peas

Be careful if you are starting Zinnia's indoors to grow on as transplants. They are difficult to grow as they often get root rot, stem rot, or mould. They must be kept on the dry side and grow in an area with good air flow.

I always direct sow my zinnia seeds straight into the garden bed in early to mid April. They turn out fantastic each and every time. 

If you started these guys earlier, they can be moved out into the cold frame or unheated greenhouse now to grow on for another month or so ...

Onions
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cabbage

Sow seeds outside this month ...
Swiss chard
Turnips and Rutabagas
Radishes
Lettuces and Spinach
Peas 
Carrots
Beets
Onion seeds/sets

Sweet Peas
Poppies
Larkspur

Plant out asparagus roots when your garden is warm and dry, never muck about with wet soil. For the how-to, see that here..