Growing Your Own Food In March

With spring now well under-way, it is time for the gardening to really start as the warming weather means that many early vegetables can be planted straight outside providing that the soil is warm enough (around 5 °C). A good indication of this is when new grass shoots begin to appear.

Although March tends to be a month of planting, there are still jobs that can be done in the garden before your plants go in, including feeding and turning over the soil in the vegetable beds, ensuring that a good amount of manure is mixed in (which acts like a natural fertiliser and can be purchased relatively cheaply).

One of the big things to remember is not to purchase compost that contains peat as this comes from unique and incredibly sensitive habitats that not just rely on the natural peat to maintain themselves, but are also affected by the high levels of carbon dioxide that is released when extracting peat.

It is also important to purchase at least an extra water-butt, particularly with the current water-shortage issues that are hitting certain parts of the UK (with the hosepipe ban coming into affect at the beginning of next month). Not only will you save on your water-consumption but it is also more natural for plants to be watered with rainwater that contains fewer chemicals.

So, now the fun part! Carrots, parsnips, radish, beetroot and broad beans can all be planted straight outside, while onions, potatoes and peas that were started indoors last month can be transferred to their plots in the garden (providing the soil is warm enough).

March at a glance: Feed and turn over vegetable plots. Buy seeds (if haven't already) along with peat-free compost. Buy and set-up water-butts to collect rainwater. Plant hardy vegetable seeds straight outside. Transfer onions, potatoes and peas outside.