03_March

As we begin to enter spring, sowing and planting outdoors can start. Probably the most useful thing you can do this month is begin preparing beds for sowing and planting. Remove any weeds that have survived the winter, rake the soil thoroughly and apply some fertiliser.
 
• Harvest your first Rhubarb of the year
• Plant first early potatoes, shallots and garlic by the end of the month
• Bare-root fruit trees and bushes should be planted by now
• Finish winter pruning gooseberries, blackcurrants, blueberries and autumn raspberries
• Apply fertilisers to boost nutritional content of your soil before sowing and planting begins

Sow or plant in March
Potatoes - you should be able to start to plant them out now
Root and stem vegetables - carrots and turnips can be sown outdoors but under cloches or frames
Broccoli, cabbages and other brassicas - sow sprouts outdoors, any early summer cauliflowers raised from seeds indoors could be planted out now, but may still need protection under cloches
Herbs - chives, coriander, dill, fennel, oregano and parsley can be sown towards the end of the month.
Chillies and peppers - Get ahead by sowing seeds indoors this month, these are all summer fruiting vegetables and need as long as possible to ripen.