March gardening checklist

As we move from one season to the next, this month is all about that change: Harvesting the last of summer crops, and preparing for autumn and winter.

Key gardening points for March:

• Plant now for a display of spring flowering bulbs. March is the best month for selecting and planting spring bulbs.
• Start planting your vegetable garden for harvesting in the winter.
• Continue to harvest late fruiting crops.
• For colour during the winter months sow seeds of winter annuals.
• Re-plant pots with new seasons annuals.
• March is the best time for lawn maintenance and preparing to sow seed.
• Start planning your landscaping project, now is the time to plant trees and shrubs.
• Tidy up and cut back summer flowering perennials and shrubs.

What vegetables to plant in March

In March, focus on harvesting the last summer crops and getting ready to start sowing seeds and planting seedlings for winter vegetables.

Here are vegetables to plant in March in New Zealand:

• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Brussel Sprouts
• Kale
• Spinach
• Silverbeet
• Carrots
• Beetroot
• Turnips
• Radishes
• Bok choi
• Lettuce
• Onions: Onions can be planted now; they can go in the same place year after year.
• Mesclun
• Radish

Vegetables ready for harvesting in March

Many summer-planted crops reach their peak around March, making it an excellent month for harvesting vegetables planted in summer.

Here are some vegetables you can harvest in March:

• Tomatoes
• Capsicums
• Beans
• Zucchini
• Pumpkin
• Chillies
• Cucumber
• Leafy Vegetables: Lettuce & Rocket

Vegetables in season in March

Vegetables in season for March to enjoy include:

• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Buttercup squash
• Butternut
• Capsicum
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Chillis
• Cucumber
• Eggplant
• Fennel
• Green cabbage
• Kale
• Kohlrabi
• Kumara
• Leeks
• Lettuce
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Parsnips
• Potatoes

What fruits to harvest in March

Stone fruit such as peaches, plums and nectarines planted in summer will be ready to harvest in March. Make sure to rake up and compost all the fallen fruit.

During March, mid to late summer fruits will still be maturing, including:

• Passionfruit
• Apples
• Pears
• Feijoas
• Kiwifruit
• Tamarillos

What fruits to plant in March

March is a good time to plant fruit trees. There are still plenty of summer warmth left in the roots for fruit trees to flourish in March.

• Apple
• Pear
• Plum
• Peach
• Nectarine
• Apricot
• Feijoa
• Fig
• Persimmon
• Citrus (in frost-free areas lemons, limes, mandarins, oranges)

Fruits in season in March

Autumn fruits to be enjoyed in March include:

• Apples
• Blueberries
• Feijoas
• Honeydew
• Gold kiwifruit
• Limes
• Mandarins
• Nashi pears
• Stone Fruit: Nectarines, Peaches, Plum
• Passionfruit
• Pears
• Persimmons
• Rock Melons & Watermelon

What flowers to plant in March

In March, continue planting bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, ranunculus, anemone, grape hyacinth, iris, hyacinths and freesias, either in the garden or in containers, and remember to feed them with bulb food at the time of planting.

In March, you can also plant seedlings for an earlier display of colour, and encourage even better flowers by pinching out the first blooms on annuals. Feed all flowers regularly with a liquid flower food applied with a watering can directly in the soil in warmer areas or started in pots or trays in cooler regions.

As perennials begin to die back as the weather gets cold, prune away the old growth, and take this opportunity to divide and replant them if needed. Finally, refresh your pots with vibrant new-season annuals for a fresh look.

Recommended flowers to sow or plant in March:

• Alyssum
• Cineraria
• Calendula
• Carnation
• Cornflower
• Cyclamen
• Dianthus
• Flowering kale
• Lobelia
• Pansies
• Poppies
• Polyanthus
• Primula
• Snapdragon
• Sweet William
• Gazanias
• Violas

March planting tips from Mitre 10

• Prepare for autumn planting, the cooler weather brings a little more rain and the soil is workable again after the dry summer.
• Prune spent flowers and straggly growth.
• Remove and replace any old bushes and refresh the soil with compost before replanting.
• Summer mulch can be dug in to the soil to add extra nutrients.
• Start preparation for re-sowing lawns. Spray weed killer to remove weeds, wait at least three weeks after spraying before sowing new seed.
• Fix any lumps, hollows or bare patches.
• Re-sow lawn seed when ready and water daily until fully germinated.