March in the Makkelijke Moestuin
Roll up your sleeves: with spring just around the corner, March is the perfect time to start. Begin sowing and planting straight away and you can harvest from your garden every day within two months.
Read about: starting in March
Read about: starting in March
An established Makkelijke Moestuin in March
Already growing? This is the time to get last year's raised beds ready for a new season, if you haven't done so yet.
Remove the grid and all plant remains, thoroughly turn over the mix and add fresh plant food. That gives you a clean slate, ready to sow straight away.
Remove the grid and all plant remains, thoroughly turn over the mix and add fresh plant food. That gives you a clean slate, ready to sow straight away.
Still have vegetables you sowed late last year, or perennial plants? Work around them, or lift them out temporarily with a generous clump of mix around their roots.
If you have several raised beds, gather those plants in one of them. You can prepare that bed later in the year.
If you have several raised beds, gather those plants in one of them. You can prepare that bed later in the year.
Leave plants that are starting to flower for a little longer, like this Tuscan kale. The first bees and bumblebees will thank you.
Tips for March*
- Tidy up your garden: remove the weeds, wash the grids and used labels, and get your buckets and tools ready.
- Set up your garden with good, durable materials. Investing a little extra now gives you better results and materials you can enjoy for years.
- Check your stock of seeds. Not sure whether the seeds in a packet are still good? Do a germination test and you'll soon know.
- Sow at the recommended time, even if the weather is already warm. The days are still fairly short, and the hours of daylight matter. It can also get very cold in March.
- Your seedlings will emerge faster if you cover them with horticultural fleece. The MM cover is ideal for this.
- Leave sowing summer vegetables on the windowsill as late as possible. Start tomatoes at the end of this month and wait until April for the rest.
* In short: follow the advice in the MM app, which includes all these tips and many more.
What can you sow now?
You can sow several varieties from 1 March, with more joining them in mid-March.
All the varieties you can sow in March
From 1 March:
- Bush basil (indoors)
- Baby broccoli
- Green Batavia leaf lettuce (one week indoors, then outside)
- Cos lettuce
- Chinese chives (two weeks indoors, then outside)
- Crispy Red leaf lettuce (one week indoors, then outside)
- Liquorice mint (two weeks indoors, then outside)
- Oakleaf lettuce (one week indoors, then outside)
- French radish
- Pot marigold
- Crystal lettuce (one week indoors, then outside)
- Spring onion
- Turnips
- Mini-head lettuce
- Flat-leaf parsley
- Mangetout
- Giant radish
- Rocket
- Spinach
- Sugar snaps
- Lamb's lettuce
- Winter peas
- Winter purslane
- Winter lettuce (sold out)
From 15 March:
- Purple carrot
- Pak choi
- Leaf lettuce (sold out)
- Carrot
Sow indoors from 25 March:
What's useful at this time of year?
Read more
That's March in a nutshell. But I've written so much over the years that I've got a few more enjoyable posts for you:
