March Gardening To Do List

Monthly Calender for Newbie Gardener’s in the Southern Hemisphere.

March Notes.

They say things should have slowed down a bit…ummm!! But, I don’t know, there is HEAPS still to do in my piece of paradise…:) Fruit harvest is keeping us busy, eating, jam making, syrups and cordials, the weather will begin to cool down as we slowly edge our way into Autumn

Still IMPORTANT to collect valuable seeds from harvested vegetables. See notes on seed collection & storage.
PLANTING
Sow direct seed for
Vegetables
Brussels sprout
Bulb Fennel
Cabbage
Chinese Lettuce
Sweetcorn
Cauliflower
Carrots
Beetroot (pre-soak seed)
Parsnips
Turnips
Swedes

Sow or plant out
Lettuce
Silver Beet (pre-soak seed)
Broad Beans
Celery
Broccoli
Peas
Spinach
Okra
Early season Onions
Globe Artichoke

Plant:
Globe Artichoke suckers
Strawberries
Avocado Trees
Citrus Trees
Olive Trees
Also sow: Lawn seed or lay turf

Herbs:
Burdock
Dandelion
Hyssop
Lemon balm
Marjoram
Rosemary
Rue
Thyme
Watercress
Yarrow
Mizuna
Coriander
Parsley
Chives
Chamomile
Calendula
Nigella

Flowers
Ageratum
Aurora Daisy
Cornflower
Dianthus
Nemesia
Pansy
Viola
Iceland Poppy
Snapdragon
Stock
Verbena

In warmer areas: also sow or plant out: Celery, Sweetpeas, Parsnip, Mango and Pineapple trees
In cooler areas: also sow: Spinach

Grow a green manure/compost crops of: Strawberry clover, faba beans, field pea, barley, cereal rye, oats, wheat.
In suitable soils grow: Alfalfa, fenugreek, vetch or annual lupin. Sow chick pea in frost free areas.

GENERAL THINGS

Divide: Globe Artichokes, Chives, Burdock, Lemon Balm

Turn your compost pile now and add in more dried material, dried leaves or shredded newspaper, if it has become water logged. If your pile is dry add water to it to speed up the composting process.

Monthly liquid seaweed/worm tea around drip line of young trees in Orchard this helps prevent disease, strengthens cell tissue & soil micro-organisms.

Continue to weed, weed and weed!!:)

Prepare vegetable beds with manure & compost, ready for winter planting.

Prick out seedlings as necessary.

Turn under catch crops now, if planted.

Collect seaweed, cow pats to use on gross feeders, such as celery & brassicas.

Good time to trim & dry lavender

PEST CONTROL
Spray ‘Beetle’ areas with Neem Oil if necessary

Watch drying vegetables for bird & rat attacks. Try to leave on plants as long as possible.

MOISTURE CONTROL
Check everything, especially young fruit trees for water stress, if you are like me, we have been ‘DRY’for weeks now…time for a rain dance in my neck of the woods:)

Over full moon periods make sure all vegetables and plants have extra nutrients. As plants intend to have a growth spurt during this time, if sufficient nutrients are available for them to grow big & strong.

HARVESTING
Continue to harvest, preserve & store seeds. Fruits of the Heavens!!
Divine figs
Juicy grapes
Apples
Pears
Pomegranates

Grain crops, if ready, can be cut & placed in a warm, dry place to finish maturing before threshing (separation of grain/seeds from husk/straw) & winnowing (separation of wheat from chaff)

Summer squash, early kumara, onions, remember to keep best for seeds.

Do the same with main crop potatoes, keep egg size tubers from best plants for seed potatoes.

Cut ‘shell out’ beans down to just above ground level, lay in dry, sheltered place to finish drying process – really dry & crunchy.

Pick & dry Rose hips.

Continue to harvest, preserve & store seeds.

Grain crops, if ready, can be cut & placed in a warm, dry place to finish maturing before threshing (separation of grain/seeds from husk/straw) & winnowing (separation of wheat from chaff)

Summer squash, early kumara, onions, remember to keep best for seeds.

Do the same with main crop potatoes, keep egg size tubers from best plants for seed potatoes.

Cut ‘shell out’ beans down to just above ground level, lay in dry, sheltered place to finish drying process – really dry & crunchy.

Pick & dry Rose hips.

FEEDING

On damp soil apply liquid manure tea to: Asparagus seedlings in pots, Brussels sprouts transplanted a couple of months ago, cherry trees, cabbage, celery, leek, lettuce and silver beet if necessary. Apply half strength to spinach until thinned.
Apply seaweed tea to: Almond, cherry, nectarine, peach, pear, lemon grass.

ORCHARD JOBS

Plant: If enough water available:
Spring bulbs
Sub-tropicals
Evergreen trees
Shrubs
Potted Roses
Herbaceous perennial crowns

Check for water stress.

Finish pruning of stone fruit trees, this reduces chances of disease if done now.

Plan & order winter trees now.