Winter begins on December 21 and ends on March 20, in the northern hemisphere, giving way to the long-awaited spring, the promise of rebirth. Very often, gardeners become impatient and forget that if “March snow is worth manure”, be careful because “March snow burns the bud”! Indeed, rushing into sowing, planting and other garden work can sometimes be wiped out in a single night, so let’s still keep a little peace of mind…
March, pivotal month in the garden
The month of March can turn out to be wintry or already spring-like depending on the region and the year. If everything cannot yet be undertaken, you can still carry out certain actions as a last resort or initiate certain others a little earlier by taking a few precautions.
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To not miss any task to do in the garden in March, take a look at it without forgetting that, as long as the soil is wet, it should not be worked, even with a grelinette. On the other hand, the time has come to remove the mulch so that the earth warms up and dries out. You can also bring him the compost prepared over the months.
In the vegetable garden, the first sowing
During the first half of March, as soon as the soil temperature exceeds 10°C, the first sowing of spring varieties can be undertaken: radish and lettuce in particular. The right tempo is also given for sowing tomatoes, aubergines or peppers, but warm of course.
A little later, rather during the second half of March, you will start to have a little more elbow room, by sowing in the heat (aubergine, basil, melon, pepper, pepper, tomatoes…), under shelter ( carrot, cauliflower, lettuce, parsley, etc., in the ground (spinach, broad bean, pea, onion, etc.). Even planting in the ground will be possible with, in particular, perennial aromatic and condiment plants.
If this has not already been done, the green manures must be cut and left in place on the parts of the vegetable garden where no sowing is planned before the beginning of May so that they have time to decompose.
In the ornamental garden, the beautiful days are preparing
Here too, the compost can be spread in the perennial beds after having carried out a little cleaning of the dry stems, as well as a possible division of the feet.
The time has come to finish pruning the roses, pruning the clematis and pruning the summer-flowering shrubs such as althea or the LagerstroemiaFor example.
The sowing of annuals and perennials is still done under shelter while in the ground you can sow the more vigorous hardy annuals.
For gladioli and lilies, wait until the second half of March to plant them. The same applies to flower meadow seedlings. This is also the time, after scarifying, to repair and fill in the holes in your lawn.
In the orchard, prune
As with roses, the last deadline for pruning comes in March: apple tree, pear tree, peach tree, vine, domestic bramble, etc. Add compost to the foot.
Finally, treat fruit trees preventively, especially those that suffered attacks the previous year, before flowering with a copper-based fungicide, Bordeaux mixture, respecting the dosages!
Pamper young trees by sprinkling them with stimulating nettle manure.
Gently wake up the greenhouse
If you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse, at the beginning of March, start reviving it by removing the winter protection, airing it a little during the beautiful sunny days, lightly watering the plants which are starting to come back, and spraying nettle manure on the ground.
During the second half of March, you can then start your first sowings there: carrots, spinach, radishes, broad beans, peas, lettuce as well as perennial flowers which will be transplanted to the garden later.
* Editions Living Earth – collection Les Antisèches de Terre vivant – January 18, 2023 – 56 pages – €9.90