March Gardening Update

Canterbury Gardens in Autumn

Vegetable HarvestMarch is ideal for harvesting fruit and vegetables. Surplus produce is common, and freezing remains the most popular preservation method—it’s quick, easy, and cost-effective. Clean, blanch, cool, dry, and pack vegetables into freezer bags before freezing. Bottling fruit and beetroot, while more time-consuming, adds colour to your pantry and there are many great recipes to explore.

This is also the time to bring garden plans to life. Prepare new ground, remove unwanted plants, and get ready for new ones. Cooler weather (before frosts arrive) is perfect for this work. Keep gardens watered regularly—Autumn can be warm and dry.

Edible Garden

  • Sow: silver beet, turnips, onions, broad beans, parsley.
  • Sow a green manure crop (mustard) in unused beds.
  • Plant: succession crops of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, silver beet, and Brussels sprouts.
  • Protect cauliflower heads from sunburn and frost by folding leaves over the top of the curd.
  • Harvest and preserve beetroot.

Flower Garden

  • Take cuttings from shrubs.
  • Plant Spring-flowering bulbs (or plan for April planting). Sow sweet peas directly.
  • Plant wallflowers and polyanthus late in the month.
  • Trim shrubs and perennials to keep them tidy.
  • Prepare shrubs for relocation by ‘wrenching’—partially dig around the roots to encourage new growth.

Lawns

  • Prepare and sow lawn seed in late March; keep well-watered.
  • Fill hollows with sieved soil for an even surface.
  • Use selective lawn sprays to control weeds.
  • Fertilise to promote strong Winter growth.

Glasshouse

  • Harvest tomatoes; cook and freeze surplus pulp in small containers.
  • Remove weeds and monitor for pests to prevent next year’s problems.

Fruit

  • Plant new strawberry plants to establish roots before Winter.
  • Harvest fruit carefully to avoid branch damage.
  • Remove and dispose of any spoiled fruit.
  • Fertilise citrus trees and spray with copper-based sprays.
  • Prune old canes from raspberries and boysenberries.

Many thanks to Alan Jolliffe for this March Gardening Tips and Tasks

Remember: questions can be posted on HortTalk our online facebook group