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Jobs for the monthJobs for March

March heralds the start of the growing season. As always however only start sowing and planting if conditions are right. If the soil is still cold and wet, delay for a few weeks longer and confine your sowings to pots and trays in a frost-free greenhouse or a bright windowsill

March at a glance

Jobs for the month

Sowing now...
• Beetroot
• Lettuce
• Salad leaves
• Summer cabbage
• Peppers
• Aubergines
• Tomatoes
• Broad beans
• Peas
• Parsnips
• Radish
• Spring onion
• Cucumbers (indoor)
• Spinach
• Globe artichoke

Planting now...
• Jerusalem artichoke
• Rhubarb
• Salsify
• Scorzonera

HARVEST now...
• Jerusalem artichokes
• Parsnips
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Winter cabbage
• Savoy cabbage
• Celery
• Celeriac
• Chicory
• Endive
• Leeks
• Salad leaves
• Radish
• Spinach
• Swedes
• Turnip tops

From store...
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Beetroot
• Apples
• Pears
• Beans
• Onions/shallots

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Top tips for March

• Weeds will take advantage of improving conditions as well as your veg seeds and fruit, so keep on top of weeding now. Work over the soil with a sharp hoe as you walk around the plot.

• If the weather is too cold for sowing cover as much of the soil as possible with polythene or cloches to both warm it and prevent it from becoming too wet. Polythene works well as covering for warming.

• Have cloches ready for covering early sowings such as carrots which will benefit from a little added protection.

• Clean dirty seed trays and pots in preparation for sowing and buy in some sowing compost once new stocks arrive with your local supplier. Top up on any seeds you may have forgotten to order and make sure you have plenty of labels to hand.


KG Quick tips

KG

Chit potatoes

Reading this in February? If you are and have bought your seed potatoes place them rose end up (the end with the most eyes uppermost) in seeds trays or old egg boxes. Place them in a light, cool (frost-free) place to chit or shoot.
Chitting is not essential, especially with maincrop varieties, so if you obtained your tubers a little late, don't delay planting in order to chit the tubers, simply get planting when conditions allow.

Cover fruit cages

If you removed the netting roof from your fruit cage to prevent the snow from causing damage to the structure and to allow birds access to the plants to clear pests, you should consider replacing this now, forecast permitting. Bullfinches and sparrows are partial to the young buds of fruit such as gooseberries, apples and others as they start to fatten and the flower buds develop.

Sow salads

Sow some quick-growing salad leaves now in any large pot, window box or tub and keep them in a cold greenhouse, polytunnel, cold frame or even under a cloche or in a mini greenhouse. At this time of year they should germinate and grow quickly providing you with a crop of fresh leaves for salads and sandwiches.

Sow early carrots

Providing the soil is warm and not too wet a first sowing of carrots can be made under cloches this month using an early variety such as 'Early Nantes'.

Sow thinly to avoid the need for thinning – seed tapes can make this process easier (see p.17). If carrot fly is a problem in your area consider sowing a carrot fly resistant variety. Alternatively use cloches to cover your crop immediately after sowing or fleece or crop protection netting.

Of course carrots are also ideal for growing in containers in any well-drained compost – a smaller, sweet variety such as the thin-rooted 'Sugarsnax' or a round-rooted variety like 'Paris Market' is ideal.

Start broad beans

Broad beans are hardy and can be sown direct into the soil now, usually in double staggered rows with the beans 20cm (8in) apart in the rows and with the same distance between the rows. However we prefer to sow ours into deep cell trays and to plant out later as this avoids the problems associated with cold, wet soil, bean weevils and mice.

Sow singly into the cells using fresh propagation compost and grow on without heat until the plants are well established and the weather a little warmer – you should be able to plant out your March-sown crop by the end of April and to harvest by the end of June. Thereafter sow in the soil at monthly intervals until the end of May for a succession of cropping. Harvests from final sowings in May are ideal for freezing for the winter.

 

March in depth

KGFor many of us, mid to late March is the time when the first potatoes – the first early varieties – can be planted such as 'Swift', 'Rocket', 'Pentland Javelin' or 'Lady Christl'. These will provide you with a harvest during June and July and can be harvested in as little as seven to eight weeks from planting; many people feel that they have the best flavour of all.

There are several ways to plant potatoes and you can find details of the easiest method of all starting on page 70 this month as Joyce Russell shows you how to make a lazy bed. The conventional method however is to plant your tubers in trenches. Earlies should be planted about 30cm (1ft) apart in the rows with 60cm (2ft) between the rows. It is important to allow plenty of space between the rows to provide enough soil to earth up the shoots as they emerge. Earthing up helps to protect the tender shoots from any late frosts and also encourages more tubers, which form on the growing stems.

The trench should be a good 12cm (5in) deep to protect them from frosts immediately after planting, but also to encourage strong, long shoots on which the crop will form. This depth, and subsequent earthing up also helps to ensure that light does not reach the young tubers to turn them green and inedible. Cover the tubers with soil and watch for signs of the shoots appearing through the soil over the coming weeks. If frost is forecast draw a little soil over the shoots to protect them, or sprinkle with a mulch layer or cover the bed with fleece.

Once the shoots are about 23cm (9in) high earth them up with soil to cover as much of the stems as possible, just leaving the shoot tips clear.


If you have tips for us send them via sott@mortons.co.uk or use the address on page three and we'll do our best to include them

 

For lots more advice, see this month's issue, available to buy online!

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