March in the kitchen garden
In The Garden

March in the Kitchen Garden

In the third of this year’s series on the Kitchen Garden I’m sharing our planting schedule and thinking a little bit about Spring.

Spring On The March

As a child of the summer Winter takes an unfortunate toll on my sun seeking soul, March therefore holds a special charm for me. It is in March thankfully that Winter finally surrenders though rarely with the dignity to accept the inevitable and more years than not with a decrepit stubbornness of threadbare fog cloaks and miserly dustings of frost.

In March the evening is once again returned to us, ours are the dawn chorus and the evensong, ours are the fresh eggs in the coop and lambs in the fields, we are called once again to take up our hoe and resume the battle against weeds.

March is, for me, the true New Year.

March In The Kitchen Garden

There will be much to do this growing season, a full vegetable patch to plant and tend as well as a human to birth and tend! On top of the usual company of toddler, husband, dog and chickens (and occasional wayward donkey) to whom I usually tend! I’m still quite proud that I have grown a human quicker than our vegetable patch has grown a crop of onions and garlics, but I’ll try not to gloat!!

There’s plenty of life on our little patch, the Overwinter Onions and Garlics have survived the Beast from the East and look set to be harvested in June, our Rhubarb is nudging it’s way out of the ground, our Herbs are straightening themselves up and the Blueberries are budding with great enthusiasm.

Normally I go a bit mad in March and April, everything ends up sown in together and of course it all ripens together leading to wails of “Please no more courgettes!” echoing around my dining room. This year I’m trying to plant successively to avoid this glut. Here’s a rough breakdown of what we’ll be planting when. (Numbers related to the week when each thing needs done.)

March

  1.  Sow 1 square each Spring Onions, Spinach and Rocket, sow 2 squares Peas
  2. Sow 1 square Carrots
  3. Sow 1 square Peas, sow undercover 1 square Celeriac
  4. Sow 1 square each Spring Onions, Parsnips, Spinach, Rocket, Frisee and Lambs Lettuce. Check germination of everything planted to date and thin seedlings to the optimum number per square.

April

  1. Sow 2 squares Carrots
  2. Sow undercover 2 squares Courgette
  3. Sow 1 square Peas, Spinach, Rocket, sow 2 squares Chard
  4. Sow 1 square each Carrots and Parsnips, sow remaining Salads. Check germination of everything planted to date and thin seedlings to the optimum number per square.

May

  1. BABY DUE? sow 1 square Carrots. Order Potatoes
  2. BABY DUE? sow 1 square Beetroot, sow undercover Courgettes
  3. Sow 1 square Parsnips, sow undercover Pumpkins and Squash
  4. Sow remaining Peas and Mangetout. Consider harvesting first Carrots?

June

  1. Sow 1 square BeetrootStart to harden off  Courgettes, Squash, Pumpkin
  2. Sow remaining Courgette outside.
  3. Sow 1 square Beetroot and AutumnKingCarrots
  4. Consider harvesting onions and garlics?

July

  1. Build frames and transplant Courgettes, Squash and Pumpkin
  2. Consider harvesting beetroots?
  3. Plant Potatoes
  4. Sow Turnips

Thanks to Storm Emma and the Beast From The East meant that I did very little in March! So little in fact that now in April I’m considering starting lots inside as its STILL a bit damp and cold!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *