Now that the winter months are over there is plenty to do outside. Find out what to do in the garden in March. Read about sowing and growing this month here.
What to do in the garden in March
What to do in the garden in March
Here are the tasks for your vegetable garden this month
- Dig in the cover crops grown over the winter. Do this while the stems are still soft.
- Incorporate compost, well-rotted manure, or green waste into your vegetable beds to prepare them for the upcoming growing season. Dig a layer of 5 cm (or more) if the soil is tillable. Weed the vegetable patches before planting the layer.
- Cover the prepared soil with black plastic sheeting to keep it drier and warmer before planting.
- Pulling weeds and mulching asparagus beds. Asparagus has shallow roots, so hand weed to avoid damage.
Mulch asparagus beds in March
Prune, fertilize and protect the plants in the orchard
- Cut the fall raspberry canes down to the ground to encourage new canes that will bear fruit in the fall. Cut off the tops of summer-fruiting raspberry canes that have outgrown the top of their supports, just above a bud.
- Fertilize blueberry plants with an erical plant fertilizer.
- Protect the blossoms of apricots, peaches and nectarines from frost with an umbrella or garden fleece.
Fertilize blueberry plants
- Mulch fruit trees with well-rotted farmyard manure or garden compost. Be careful not to pile the mulch around the stems.
- Cover strawberries with a cloche so they fruit earlier. Our guide tells you everything you need to know about growing under cloches and mini cloches.
- Mulch rhubarb with a thick layer of well-rotted manure to keep it healthy and reduce moisture loss through the soil. Be careful not to cover the crown as this is where growth takes place.
Cut the raspberry sticks down to the bottom
Here are the top tasks to do in the flower garden this month
- Feed roses with special rose fertilizer or a balanced fertilizer when they are entering the vegetative stage.
- Prune roses now to encourage vigorous new growth.
- Prune clematis – prune early flowering varieties after flowering and summer flowering varieties before active growth begins.
- If you have a rhododendron that needs a new life, choose a frost-free day this month to prune the branches vigorously.
What to do in the garden in March: pruning roses
- Stop pruning Cornus and Salix cultivars and other shrubs grown for their colorful winter stems. Cut them back to the base to encourage the growth of new shoots for next winter.
- For mahonia, cut off the top rosette of leaves after flowering to encourage branching.
- Cut back the dead foliage of perennials and ornamental grasses to make room for new growth.
- Prune overwintered fuchsias to one or two buds per shoot. This promotes bushy growth.
Prune clematis in March
- Prune winter-blooming jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) after flowering to encourage new growth for next year’s blooms. Cut back last year’s growth to within 5 cm of the old wood.
Prune winter flowering heathers after they have faded to prevent the plants from becoming too leggy. - Watch out for snails as the weather warms up. Pay special attention to soft, new growth, which snails love. Use nematodes for effective biological control.
- Cut off the old leaves of hellebore to eliminate leaf diseases and make spring blooms more visible.
Prune overwintered fuchsias
- Cut winter pansies wider to prevent them from setting seeds. This promotes the formation of new flowers in spring.
- Remove the heads from daffodils once the blooms have faded and allow the foliage to die back naturally.
- Prune hydrangeas before new growth begins. Prune them back to about a third of last season’s growth.
- Plant native hedges to encourage wildlife.
Prepare garden in spring
gardening in spring
