March is the beginning of the growing season and can become very hectic if you are not well organised.
Make sure you have rotations and successive plantings organised, as well as having all the necessary equipment to hand: fresh compost, seed trays, modules, fleece and netting. Our sowing and planting guide below takes you through what can be sown now.
* Keep hoeing: As the sowing season is upon us, we must not forget to keep on top of the weeds. Hoe regularly, when weeds are small. Do so on a dry day but collect up the weeds and compost if rain is likely, to prevent re-rooting.
* Sow green manures where soil is bare awaiting tender crops in May/June - Mustard, Phacelia or Tares - if the soil is warm enough. They will provide ground cover for 2-3 months, feed the soil and provide cover for beneficial insects emerging from hibernation.
* Warm soil by placing black or clear plastic sheets, cloches or garden fleece on the soil.
* "Top dress" overwintered crops, such as autumn planted onions, broad beans and spring cabbage, to give spring growth a boost. Use a good rich garden compost, well rotted manure or chicken manure pellets.
* Finish digging in overwintered green manures such as grazing rye and winter tares. Remember not to follow rye with a direct sown, small seeded crop such as carrots or parsnips as the decomposing rye foliage can temporarily inhibit germination. Leafy crops such as cabbages and spinach beet do well after tares, thriving on the nitrogen released as the foliage and root nodules decompose.
* It’s not too late to start a compost trench for your runner beans, they benefit from good moisture retentive material at the roots. Dig down to a spades depth, fill the bottom of the trench with raw kitchen peelings, newspaper and cardboard. Cover with soil to deter wildlife from scavenging. Sow runner beans outdoors from mid- May, depending on local temperatures.
* What you feed your vegetable plots with will depend on what you are going to grow next, what was there last, and the basic fertility of your soil. Root crops and legumes (peas and beans) should thrive without any additional feeding. Other crops may benefit from a dressing of manure, well rotted compost or an organic fertiliser. Use compost at a rate of up to 2 wheelbarrow loads per 10square metres, manure at half that rate.
* Don't forget to plan a crop rotation taking into account the fertility of your plot. See our factsheet, crop rotation (Factsheet requires members' password).
