March is a month that is full of choices and anticipation for the vegetable gardener. It is also an opportunity to try new and exotic crop varieties that are outside the normal ‘tried and tested’ range of allotment keepers.
But there is another side to starting vegetable seeds off this early. If you intend growing tender South American crops - such as pepper and tomato varieties - outside in the open ground, they will not be able to produce an edible crop until the back end of summer or even early autumn.
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Not only is that an awfully long time to wait for a decent crop, the cropping period will be short. More importantly, there will be a high risk of fungal infection with the onset of the cooler, damper autumn weather. Starting these crops early and bringing them on under protection for a few weeks can dramatically bring the cropping period forward. In fact, anything up to two months is quite normal.
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The freezing grip of winter should now be a thing of the past but don’t let a warm spell trick you into thinking that the cold weather has gone. Late frosts have been the undoing of many an early crop so while it can be tempting to put your treasured seedlings outside into the warming soil, keep a watchful eye on overnight temperatures. Make sure that young seedlings are offered plenty of protection if night temperatures dip too low, or even consider bringing them back inside to heated conditions.
Below is a list of some of the more popular vegetable varieties for sowing in March:
Aubergine
Brussels Sprouts
Broad Beans
Beetroot
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Cucumbers
Calabrese
Carrots
Cabbage
Cucumbers
Calabrese
Carrots
Lettuce
Leeks
Peas
Peppers - Chili
Peppers - Sweet
Parsnips
Radish
Sprouting seeds
Tomatoes
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