Gardening Jobs For March

The nights are getting lighter, flower shoots are beginning to emerge and there is a definite feel of spring creeping into the air. After the cold, harsh, and downright damp winter months, it’s time to think about readying your garden for the (hopefully!) better weather.

March is a great time of year to get out in the garden. The sunnier days make it enjoyable to be back outside getting stuck into prepping, sowing, planting, pruning, and generally tidying up in anticipation of enjoying the garden throughout spring and summer.

Planning how you’re going to do all this may seem like a daunting task, particularly following the storms much of the country has endured this year, but GardenersDream is here with all the tips and advice you need to get your garden spring ready.

Spring Clean

Before you start thinking about planting and sowing, most gardeners would recommend giving the area a good old-fashioned tidy up. March offers the perfect opportunity for rolling up your sleeves to check everything is as it should be after winter and prep the area to ensure your spring and summer garden plans run like clockwork. You wouldn’t revamp your living room without having a good clear out first and the garden is no different!

Spring Cleaning Jobs:

• Build or buy a new compost bin, ready to recycle this year’s garden waste.
• Hoe and mulch weeds to keep them under control early.
• Trim lawn edges if necessary.
• Prune any wind-damaged branches from trees or shrubs.
• Make sure tree ties are secure and still firmly in the ground.
• Power wash the patio.

Flowers and Plants

Once you’ve completed a general clean and tidy, it’s time to turn your attention to flowers and plants. Established plants will need a little TLC, while some new ones will need to be planted around now. Taking the time to give both new and established plants some care and attention will help encourage healthy growth throughout the new season. Bear in mind that although the temperature is starting to rise, it can still be frosty overnight so you may wish to keep tender or fragile plants inside for the moment.

Flower and Plant Jobs:

• Finish pruning rose bushes early in the month for the growing season.
• Plant or move new roses or other shrubs and climbers out to the garden.
• Top dress containers with some fresh compost.
• Pot up plug plants and give them a thorough watering.
• Deadhead spring bulbs, depending on the weather.
• Clean up alpines as they begin to flower, removing dead/dying foliage.
• Plant native hedges to encourage wildlife to your garden.
• Plant lilies and other summer-flowering bulbs into pots and borders.
• Feed garden shrubs, such as azaleas, camellias, rhododendron, and pieris, with an ericaceous fertiliser.
• Prune back cornus and salix for colourful winter stems.
• Scatter some general multi-purpose fertiliser over your garden shrubs, roses, and hedges.

Fruit and Vegetable

Whether you aim to be as self-sufficient as possible or just like to grow a few bits and bobs for you and your family to enjoy, now is the time to plan and prepare your home-grown fruit and veg for the year. Good crop rotation involves moving where you grow different fruits and veggies from year to year. This makes the best use of your soil’s nutrients and helps prevent any disease from spreading. Now is the time to mark up your plots and move things around if need be.

Fruit and Vegetable Jobs:

• Sow sweet peppers, tomatoes, and chillies in pots indoors.
• Purchase some young herbs to plant in containers for handy pickings over Spring/Summer.
• Plant early potatoes in your veg plot.
• Feed cabbages and other brassicas with a rich fertiliser, like pelleted chicken manure.
• Plant strawberries high up in hanging baskets to keep them away from slugs.

In the Greenhouse

You know that spring clean you did in the garden earlier? Well, it’s now time to do the same to the greenhouse. Hopefully, the bulk of the organising and decluttering will have been done over the autumn and winter months and you’ll just need to give everything a bit of dust now. March can still be rather chilly and damp so keep an eye on the indoor temperature as you may yet need the odd burst of warmth from your greenhouse heater.

Greenhouse Jobs:

• Purchase good value young bedding plants for growing.
• Sow any dwarf French beans or sweet pears and keep them in a frost-free greenhouse or a sunny window ledge.
• Open greenhouse vents on sunny days to prevent humidity.
  

March is a lovely time of year when subtle signs of spring gradually appear until all of a sudden everything is in full bloom, insects are buzzing and birds and animals have returned to enjoy garden life. Make the most of the fresh spring air to prepare your garden for the season ahead and ensure it bursts with life and colour throughout the summer months.

PS –Don’t forget bird breeding season is about to get underway, so make sure you’re well stocked up on high-protein bird food to help them along.