March growing guide
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Ch-ch-ch-chaaanges! March truly marks a transitional period in the garden. Though the weather can still be very warm, March is the month where the temperature does start to head south a little, especially overnight. The air is turning crisp, and cooler days mean it’s time to get your hands dirty in the garden.
There are plenty of plants in flower if you need some instant colour, but it’s also time to remove spent summer annuals and veggies, prepare garden beds for autumn planting, and give your post-summer lawns some love.
So make the most of it! While the days and soil are still warm and plants will settle in quickly, it’s the perfect time for planting.
Veggies
March is probably my favourite month in the veggie patch as I get to grow two of my best-loved foods, garlic and broad beans. I know it’s probably a bit self-indulgent, but I can’t help myself and I’m going to focus on these two amazing crops this month. Give them a try and you won’t be disappointed.
From March to May, sow broad beans directly into the soil. Ideally, choose an open, sunny position for planting and add some lime in beforehand as they prefer alkaline soil. Plant two beans together, 10cm apart down your rows. Rows should be spaced 20cm apart. Hot tip: Water once and don’t water again until you see two open leaves. Over-watering is the biggest cause of germination failure.
Because of the pretty flowers I have seen broad beans used as a loose kind of hedge all the way along a front fence. Talk about a bumper crop! These are very hardy, frost-tolerant vegetables and have the bonus effect of enriching the soil with nitrogen.
While young, broad beans are self-supporting, but as they get taller they will get very top-heavy with pods. Planting in double rows is helpful as the plants can lean on each other, but I like to place stakes at the corners of the garden bed and tie strong string from one end to the other between the stakes, which helps hold up the beans.
Tasty garlic should be planted in March or early April as any later can reduce the size of the bulbs. They do best in light, well-drained soil and like full sun. Improve the soil with compost or well-rotted animal manures before planting. I like to buy my bulbs from a trusted vendor at my local farmers market, but great quality bulbs can also be sourced online. But take care: Buy only Australian garlic as overseas varieties can introduce serious virus diseases to your soil.
Separate bulbs into cloves before planting and plant cloves about 10cm apart, in rows about 40cm apart. Plant them so the tops of the bulbs are just below the soil surface with the flatter root end pointing down. Mulch well as garlic dislikes competition from weeds, and water regularly until the tops turn brown. If you plant them among your roses and fruit trees you’ll help repel aphids and - in 8 months’ time - you’ll have the most amazing tasting bulbs.
What to plant in the veggie patch
Amaranth, Beetroot, Broad Beans, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Burdock, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Chives, Coriander, Endive, Florence Fennel, Kale, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Lettuce, Malabar Greens, Mizuna, Mustard Greens, Onion, Oregano, Pak choy/Bok Choy etc, Parsley, Parsnip, Peas/Snow peas, Radish, Rocket, Rockmelon, Rosella, Salsify, Shallots, Silverbeet, Spring onion, Spinach, Turnips.
Fruit
Ensure an awesome autumn colour palette in your garden by watering your deciduous trees deeply this month. The leaves on well-watered trees tend to turn more vibrant shades of orange and red before falling.
Autumn is the best time of the year for planting trees and shrubs. They have time to get established before the cold weather really hits.
Give your citrus trees a little late-summer attention. Feed them now with a plant food specially formulated for citrus – these formulas contain the full range of trace elements your plants need. Water well before and after application, spreading the fertiliser around the drip-line area (the zone beneath the outer branches).
Most summer fruits like apricots, peaches, plums and nectarines will have finished by now, but there should still be good crops of mid- to late-season fruits maturing such as pears, raspberries and figs.
Evergreen fruiting plants may be put into the garden now while the soil is still warm – passionfruit vines and citrus among them. Deciduous fruit trees in pots should be left until they are dormant and have lost all their leaves before being transplanted into the garden. Together with new bare-root fruit trees, they are best planted in mid to late winter.
Natives
Paper daisies will add a burst of colour to any garden, big or small. This Australian native comes in a range of colours, including white, pink, red, orange and yellow, and yes, these flowers do actually feel like paper. Try growing everlasting daisies from seed. Prepare the soil by removing weeds and aerating the ground lightly. Keep the seedlings moist during their two- to three-week germination period.
Native planting should preferably be done in the cooler months of the year: autumn, winter or early spring. There is usually a higher rainfall in these months which will reduce the need for watering.
Check out the native zoysia grass, Nara. It makes for a beautiful lawn that requires less water, is highly salt-tolerant and, when fertilised in autumn and winter, maintains its colour through colder periods. It can be trimmed or left natural, and copes well in up to 40 per cent shade.
Flowers
Start planning for a stunning display of bulbs in spring with mass plantings of daffodils, Dutch iris, hyacinth, lachenalia, ixia, muscari and ranunculi.
Sow sweet pea seeds on St Patrick’s Day for best results. For small-space gardeners, there are now bushy sweet peas that don’t need trellises.
Pretty up the patch with these flowering fancies - marigolds, sunflowers, pansies, cornflowers, violas, snapdragons, stock, verbena and lavender (non-invasive varieties of course!). Popping these in around your veggies will give some colour and interest to the patch, and act as beneficial insect attractors!
Refresh geraniums and pelargoniums that have bloomed their hearts out over summer and autumn by trimming away ragged or unhealthy-looking foliage. Increase your stocks of bearded iris by lifting and dividing them. Replant in a sunny spot and water regularly.
Clean up rose beds, removing any fallen leaves from last season and refresh mulch. Feed plants with a slow-release rose fertiliser. As new leaves emerge, start weekly sprays for black spot.
Lawns
Summer can be harsh on lawns, especially during drought and heatwave conditions. This month is a great time to repair the damage caused by the ravages of the season just passed.
De-thatch with a garden rake to remove build-up of dead grass, especially in buffalo, kikuyu and couch lawns.
Aerate the lawn with a garden fork, those nifty slip-on spike shoes, or you can hire a coring machine suitable for home gardens.
Worn and bare areas may be over-sown with lawn seed to match your existing grass type, or topped up with patches of instant turf.
Top dress and feed your lawn before rain is forecast to give a boost that will last all year long. And get on top of the weeds now to help prevent the grief later! You can buy organic hose-on products that will help control the most common broadleaf weeds in your lawn, including bindii, clover, dandelions, cape-weed and thistles.
Pest watch
Milder March temperatures make your garden a great environment for bugs, particularly caterpillars! Keep an eye out throughout March for bugs trying to take over your plants that have fought hard to survive all summer. Treat quickly when found.
Remove and dispose of diseased or “mummified” fruits clinging to branches to avoid diseases spreading or over-wintering on trees. Pick up and dispose of any fruit on the ground under fruit trees – they may be diseased or harbouring insect pests – don’t put them in the compost bin though as it won’t kill any disease and you could end up with an outbreak on your hands.
Cut out and dispose of galls (swellings) on citrus trees to help eradicate gall wasps.
Keep an eye out for aphids, especially on roses, herbs and vegetable seedlings. Lady bugs will gobble them up if you can attract them with flowering plants such as dill, Queens Anne’s lace and Sweet Alyssum. If not, use an organic insecticide to control them. Don’t forget to spray the undersides of leaves, too.
Watch for the caterpillars of the White Cabbage Butterfly on cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and other brassicas. Newly planted seedlings may be targeted by snails and slugs so protect them with used coffee grounds or beer traps.
A little bit more
March is a great time to do some light soil improvement before winter. Compost is a tireless friend for all kinds of soils, facilitating drainage in heavy soils and beefing up the moisture-holding potential of sand. For long-term results, you can simply 'top dress' a garden bed by laying compost on the surface and allowing the worms and gravity to work it into the topsoil. Or you can lightly dig it into the topsoil using a garden fork.
Plants feel the need for a feed at this time of year. A seaweed tea, or any low environmental impact liquid fertiliser, is perfect for giving them a kick start as they establish. Apply to the soil early in the morning and in the concentrations mentioned on the packet.
Feed hedges, flowering plants such as roses, camellias and magnolias, and fruiting plants such as citrus using an organic based fertiliser to promote foliage, flowers or fruit. While you’re at it, boost the value of your mulches with a generous dose of milled cow manure. Water everything in well.
Consider a green manure crop to add some life and love to an overworked patch. At this time of year try faba bean, field pea, oats and wheat. This will improve your soil incredibly, and, for a bit of forward planning, you’ll find it well worth the effort!
Weeding is an important job to do at this time of year. Cut down the competition between your tasty treats and these space invaders and tidy up your patch. It may sound tedious, but it’s incredibly rewarding!