Gardening Jobs for March | Make a Garden

With Spring around the corner, here is a list of gardening jobs to make the most of the warmer weather and growth ahead.

Sow hardy annual seeds under cover in the greenhouse, windowsill, or under a light.
Wait until the middle of the month to sow half-hardy annuals for better light levels and warmer nights.
Sow perennials.
Pinch out tips of winter-sown sweet peas to encourage side-shoots.
Prepare flowerbed areas for direct sowing of hardy annuals in later March through April.
Mass prick out annual seedlings at the end of the month.
Transplant seedlings with true leaves into individual pots, handling them by the leaves.
Pot on rooted cuttings of tender perennial plants.
Take cuttings of perennials such as basal cuttings of phlox, delphiniums, and other early-sprouting perennials.

Sow fruiting half-hardy vegetables like tomatoes before it's too late.
Indoors, sow courgettes, leeks, peas, beetroot, and cucumbers.
Sow perennial vegetable seeds such as globe artichokes and plant asparagus crowns.
Direct sow broad beans outside and cover the soil with plastic to dry it out.
Direct sow carrots, parsnips, and radishes after the soil has dried.
Plant early potatoes and one onion set or garlic clove per cell in a modular tray.
Grow potatoes and onions in a cool and bright location like a greenhouse until the roots show.
Thin carrot seedlings in the evening when carrot flies are fewer to promote decent-sized carrots.
Plant pea tips are great for a few fresh salad greens over the winter months.
Plant garlic, it will be a slow start but will shoot up in the spring.
Sow hardy peas under fleece to get ahead for the spring growing season.
Dig over your veg beds as the crops are finished. Cold weather can often break down any big clumps of soil, leaving good drainage ready for sowing.
Cover any productive salad plants like salad Rocket or perpetual spinach.

Sow salad leaves and hardy herbs like coriander, flat-leaf parsley 'Italian Giant', and garlic chives in gutters under cover.
Indoors, sow dill, fennel, and French sorrel.
Direct sow chervil, chives, and sage.
Plant pots of mint, tarragon, thyme, and rosemary.
Divide chives by lifting large clumps with a fork and separating them into smaller clumps in soil enriched with organic matter.

Here is what you could be eating fresh if you grew them in your garden next year:

Garden Greens: Kale, cauliflower, purple sprouting broccoli
Root vegetables: Parsnips
Leafy greens: Chard and spinach
Salads: Salad leaves, overwintered lettuce, and pea tips
Edible flowers: Viola 'Freckles' and primroses
Herbs: Parsley, chervil, coriander, winter savoury, rosemary, sage, bay, lovage, fennel, and thyme
Fruit: Rhubarb

Give your lawn a spring boost
Build or buy a new compost bin for garden waste recycling
Create a new pond or install a water feature to attract wildlife
Protect new shoots of hostas and other vulnerable perennials with slug barrier products
Replant indoor bulbs into borders after their display, ensuring proper watering and liquid feed application
Check tree ties and stakes for tightness and stability
Prune wind-damaged branches on trees and shrubs
Remove emerging shoots of perennial weeds, like ground elder, along with their roots
Create bug boxes or bundles of hollow stems as habitats for insects
Continuously provide food for garden birds during the breeding season
Chop down winter-grown green manure and incorporate it into the soil for vegetable plot preparation
Trim back winter-flowering jasmine to control its growth and encourage future blooms