March in the Garden

Pick your month

March

The start of autumn …

This month sees the beginning of the “season of mellow fruitfulness” when the bounty of summer’s flowers, fruits, and veggies is almost finished, the sun is losing its intensity, it’s less humid in the northern states and days are gradually shortening. There’s an overall feeling in the air that we’ve managed to survive the challenges of another summer.

Summer’s seasonal flowers and vegies and the last of the fruit crops are coming to an end with the onset of cooler days and crisper nights. It’s a great time to make jams, sauces, relishes and preserves with the abundance of produce available, to tide you over the less productive months ahead..

As flowers and vegies fade, pull the plants out, dig over the soil, add compost and fertiliser and start preparing to plant Winter and Spring flowers, bulbs and edibles.

Gardening In March

Chilli

It seems that most people now have at least 1 or 2 chilli plants at home – it’s become incredibly trendy. Growing...

Potatoes

Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are tubers that grow and form at the plant’s roots. Plants also produce flowering shoots...

Cucumbers

Delicious in salads and sandwiches, the crisp, sweet crunch of a cucumber is one of the joys of summer. Growing...

Spring Onion

Spring onions (also known as green shallots and green bunching or salad onions) are a delicious addition to a whole...

Blueberries

Eaten fresh, baked in muffins or as the star attraction in jams or desserts, blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) are...

Strawberries

Who doesn’t love strawberries? If you’re a strawberry fan, there are many varieties easy to grow at home, allowing you...

Raspberries

What could be better than a bowl of sweet, fresh-picked raspberries in summer? These delicious fruits are easy to grow...

Apple

Apple trees love a garden with cool winters, but if you choose the right variety (with ‘low chill’ requirements), you...

Bromeliads

Bromeliads ( Bromeliaceae) are a diverse group of plants with a very tropical vibe. With over 3000 different species in...

Almond Tree

Almonds (Prunus amygdalus) are the edible nuts produced inside the hard-fleshed velvety fruit, that grows on a tree that...

Bougainvillea

Bougainvilleas put on a showy display of vibrant colour throughout summer. These vigorous vines are drought tolerant and...

Magnolia

Magnolia's magnificent blooms arrive at the end of winter, announcing that spring isn’t far away. On deciduous magnolias...

Buffalo Grass

A popular stalwart in Australian gardens for good reason, buffalo grass makes for an incredibly resilient lawn. It is...

Kikuyu Grass

Kikuya grass, or Pennisetum Clandestinum, is a vigorous plant often used in Australian lawns and common in public...

What to plant now

Sowing seeds or planting out seedlings of Winter veggies can begin from mid-month. Your crops will get a good start before colder weather slows down growth.

In temperate to cool temperate areas, sow seeds or plant seedlings of:

Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Chinese cabbage
Kale (including Tuscan kale or cavallo nero)
Carrot
Leek
Parsnip
Spinach
Spring onion
Silverbeet
Turnip

In warm regions, sow or plant:

What to harvest now

As Summer fades into memory, many vegetables will still have the last of their crops ready for picking.

Leafy veggies like lettuce, rocket, silverbeet, spinach and rhubarb should be picked/cut and either eaten while fresh or blanched/cooked for freezing.
Beans, zucchinis, capsicums, chillies and cucumbers may be snap-frozen or pickled.
Ripe tomatoes may be turned into passata, sauce or chutney or simply peel, cut up and freeze in meal size portions (use within 6 months). They can also be bottled (preserved) for use over Winter. Green tomatoes are unlikely to ripen at this late stage, so make them up into pickles.
Pumpkins should be left on the vine until the plants die, usually after the first frost of the season. Cut from the vine with a stub of stem attached and store on racking in a cool, dry spot with good air circulation. They will keep for several months.
Potatoes should be dug before the weather turns cold and wet. Leave them out in the sun for a day to dry then brush off loose soil and store them in a dark, cool place, again with good air circulation to minimise rotting.

Veggie patch tips for March

Before sowing or planting, dig the soil over to a depth of about 300mm to work in any remaining mulch, then add a generous handful of garden lime per square metre as well as a suitable fertiliser.
Allow rainfall (or watering) to wash the lime and plant food into the soil before planting preparation.
Keep new plantings growing strongly with applications of liquid fertiliser for vegetables and herbs such as Scotts Organic Plant Food Ready to Use every two to three weeks
Water deeply at least once a week if the weather is dry – add a wetting agent to ensure moisture penetrates deep into the soil
Hand pull or hoe out weeds as they appear – they compete for nutrients and moisture and may also harbour pests that could attack your crops
Use snail and slug traps or baits to protect young seedlings

Fruit & Flower Beds

What fruits to harvest now:

Most of the 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. These include:

Apples
Pears
Raspberries
Grapes
Figs
Melons (rock and honey dew)
Mandarins
Selected oranges
Passionfruit
Persimmons
Pomegranates
Quinces

What fruit to plant:

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. Here's the list of fruit and citrus to consider:

Apple
Feijoa
Figs
Grapefruit
Lemon
Mandarin
Mulberries
Orange
Pears
Persimmon
Pomegranate
Quinces

Garden Tasks

What flowers to plant:

Alyssum
Calendula
Chrysanthemum
Cineraria
Cyclamen
Forget me not
Gypsophila
Lobelia
Ornamental Kale
Pansy
Sweet peas
Viola

Garden jobs for the month:

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!
Remove and dispose of diseased or “mummified” fruits clinging to branches to avoid diseases spreading or over-wintering on trees.
Cut out and dispose of galls (swellings) on citrus trees to help eradicate gall wasps.
Tidy up the garden by removing spent flowers and flower spikes from perennials and annuals.
Dahlias and chrysanthemums may need staking and/or the ties checking to ensure they are not cutting into stems.

Pest Control

Keep an eye out for aphids, especially on roses, herbs and vegetable seedlings. Use a general garden insecticide like Defender Pyrethrum Insect Spray 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. Pyrethrum will assist or try a cabbage dust.
Newly planted seedlings may be targeted by snails and slugs. Protect them with Snail & Slug Pellets.

Lawn

Tips for March

Summer can be harsh on lawns, especially during drought and heatwave conditions. This month is a great time to repair the damages 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 or you can hire a coring machine suitable for home gardens.
Top dress with Scotts Lawn Builder Organic Lawn Soil – Topdress Mix & Underlay.
Water entire lawn area, if permitted, to settle topdress mix.
Fertilise with Lawn Builder All Purpose Slow Release Lawn Fertiliser, Lawn Builder Buffalo, Lawn Builder Extreme Green Granular or one of the Lawn Builder hose-on equivalents.
Worn and bare areas may be over-sown with lawn seed to match your existing grass type or patches of instant turf.