Gardening By Month:
January Gardening
February Gardening
March Gardening
March Gardening
April Gardening
May Gardening
June Gardening
July Gardening
August Gardening
September Gardening
October Gardening
November Gardening
December Gardening
March Gardening
March is the great season for garden work, and the gardener must be up with the lark and go to bed with the robin, which is the latest of birds to bid farewell to a sunny day. The first care should be to make good all arrears, especially in the preparation of seed-beds, and the cleaning of plots that are in any way disorderly. Where early-sown crops have evidently failed, sow again without complaining; seed costs but little, and a good plant is the earnest of a good crop; a bad plant will probably never pay the rent of the ground it occupies. Keen east winds may cause immense damage, but a little protection provided in time will do wonders to ward off their effects, and the sunny days that are now so welcome, and that we are pretty sure to have, will afford opportunity for giving air to plants in frames, for clearing away litter, and for the regular routine work of the season.
Seed of almost every vegetable grown in the garden may be sown in the month of March. Make successional sowings of whatever it may be advisable to put under cover or on heat, and then proceed with open-ground sowings as weather and circumstances permit. The weather is the master of outdoor work, and it is sheer waste of time to fight against it. It is better to wait to the end of the month, or even far into the next, before sowing a seed than to sow on pasty ground. But it matters not how dry the ground may be, and if the wind blows keenly, that should only be an inducement to brisk action; for seeds well sown have everything in their favour if they are not too early for the district. Very important indeed it is now to secure a Hot-bed.Hot Bed
To make one is easy enough, but it is of no use to half make it; for half-acres in this department do not bear good corn. In the first place, secure a great bulk of manure, and if it is long and green, turn it two or three times, taking care that it is always moderately moist, but never actually wet. If the stuff is too dry, sprinkle with water at every turn, and let it steam away to take the rankest fire out of it. Then make it up where required in a square heap, allowing it to settle in its own way without treading or beating. Put on a foot-depth of light, rich soil after the frames are in their places, and wait a few days to sow the seed in case of a great heat rising. When the temperature is steady and comfortable, sow seeds in pots and pans, as needful, the quantity required of each separate crop, and stand them on bricks above the bed, and the heat will then be none too much for them. In the course of a few days finish the work by putting in a body of earth. Do not attempt to hurry the growth of anything overmuch, for undue haste will produce a weak plant; rather give air and light in
plenty, but with care to prevent injurious check, and the plants will be short and healthy from the first.Source: The Culture of Vegetables and Flowers From Seeds and Roots, 16th Edition 1921, Sutton and Sons