March Gardening Tasks

Welcoming Autumn in the Garden

As summer fades and autumn begins, March is a productive and rewarding time in the garden. Warm days and cooler nights create the perfect conditions for harvesting the last of summer crops, planting for the cooler months, and setting up your garden for a strong transition into winter.

In the Vegetable Garden

Crop Rotation

As March progresses, start thinking about space allocation and site preparation for your winter vegetable garden. Remember to rotate your planned crops from where they were the previous year - learn more in our guide.

What to Harvest

Plenty of homegrown goodness ready to harvest this month, including beans (dwarf and runner), beetroot, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn, cucumber, eggplant, kumara, lettuce, melons, onions, potatoes, parsnip, pumpkin, radish, silver beet, tomatoes, turnips, and yams.

Planting 

•    Starting planting winter vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach, and silver beet at the end of the month to provide mature winter harvest early in the cooler months. Use our Autumn/Winter Planting Guide.

•    Replenish soil health by working in compost, and Daltons Landscape supply Chicken and Sheep Pellets before planting.

Growing From Seed

If you are sowing from seed, use our How to Grow From Seed Guide or watch our video here, for top advice.

Soil Care

•    For heavily cropped or beds that will be empty in winter, sow a green manure crop like mustard or lupins to replenish nutrients and improve soil. Our friends at Kings Seeds have a wonderful selection of cover crops to choose from.

•    Make use of old plants by add finished summer vegetable plants to the compost bin to recycle nutrients back into the garden.