What to do in the garden in March

[Jason]

March is the time to plan for spring flowers and vegetables. Give your flowers and vegies the head start they need to have blooming colours and a bountiful harvest this spring with these great tips from Bunnings horticulturalist Mark Dedman. It would also be great if Workshop members could add their tips by replying below.

What To Plant

March is the time of year to plant bulbs like daffodils, tulips and hyacinths in your garden.

In the tropical north, sweet potatoes, squashes, melons, cucumbers and capsicums can go in your vegie garden while impatiens, marigold and petunias can go in your garden beds. These can also look great in pots and troughs to brighten up a courtyard or balcony.

A bit further south in the sub-tropical zone, leeks, rhubarb, zucchinis, artichokes and capsicums planted now will give you a bountiful spring harvest. Salvia, verbena and lobelia will add colour too.

Temperate regions should look to beetroot, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, carrots, cauliflowers, onions and peas for their vegie patch and calendula, pansies, dianthus and sweet pea in the garden.

In cold climates, sow broad beans, cabbages, lettuce, shallots, spinach and turnips. In your flower beds polyanthus, poppies and primula should be planted.

If you are growing grass from seed, especially kikuyu, now is the time. The bit of growth you’ll get before winter means that your grass will be ready to thrive as soon as spring arrives.

What To Pick

Potatoes should be ready to be dug up now. If you are unsure, wait until the plant has completely shrivelled. That is when you should break out the shovel.

In the vegie garden, late-season tomatoes and zucchinis are ready to harvest as are pumpkins.

Early season apple varieties are also ready to be picked.

What To Do

Fertilise your lawn now so it gets one last spurt of growth that will see it through winter.

To ensure your berries are ready to endure the winter, tidy them up now. Remove any dead leaves and trim off the tops. Give them a good feed with an organic fertiliser like blood and bone.

You can also improve the soil in any empty beds of your vegie garden to get them ready for spring. Plant wheat or oats, let them grow to about 20cm high then dig them back in. This will organically add humus and nitrogen to the soil, giving your spring vegies the best possible start.

While the weather’s still good, take the opportunity to get out in the garden and get busy. Come springtime, you’ll be surrounded with colour and life and be glad that you did.

Check out Garden Corner on the Bunnings website for planting advice tailored to your area and climate. 

Feel free to let us know what you're up to in the garden at the moment by replying below or hitting the Start a discussion button.

[Jason]

Welcome to autumn everyone. 

How is your garden looking?

Ours is surprisingly green after a wetter than normal summer.

Jason

[robchin]

Hi @Adam_W I have never heard that Sugar Cane Mulch specifically makes the ground go sour but I guess it is theoretically possible but only if it's applied too deeply. I use it occasionally and never had any problems. I do like mulch that breaks down as it saves me having to fertilise too much. I've also never used Bamboo mulch - so I must be a bit out of touch I have been lucky enough to walk through some bamboo forests in Asia and it certainly is a good mulch there. I do like Lucerne as well. 

[robchin]

@Jason I'm still trying to get my February jobs done in the garden Mild summer in Melbourne and wider Victoria has been fantastic for the garden. 

[Adam_W]

Hi @robchin I've used a lot of sugar cane mulch recently, we live in cane territory so I buy a ute load of bales straight from the farm, and have used it on just about everything from veggies to fruit trees to ornamentals & have never had any issues. It's not my favourite but being baled makes it's easier to get around our larger property rather than trying to barrow everything.

You are quite right though, applied too thick, especially if kept too wet, it could go 'sour' therefore impacting soil chemistry but then... any mulch could in such circumstances. Pine barks more so.
Sugar cane is quite long lasting & I imagine bamboo would be too.
I'm a big fan of lucerne too due to its fast breakdown & nitrogen boost. I'll often put a layer of it down before I lay longer lasting mulches as I believe it can also help to combat 'nitrogen draw-down', the nitrogen depletion brought about by using the more persistent, less composted or woodier mulches.

And just a footnote... I have grown quite a bit of clumping bamboo and one thing I've noticed is you get very few weeds or other plants popping-up underneath bamboo. I don't think this is due just to the volume of leaf litter, light or moisture. I suspect that there is some allelopathy going on from fallen leaves or the plants themselves. If so this may cause issues with growth of plants where bamboo mulch is used. Would be interested to hear more on this.

[Jason]

Sending all my thoughts and best wishes to our friends in NSW and Queensland who are battling floods at the moment. Please let us know if you need a hand with anything. We're here to help.

For all other members, how is your garden looking at the moment? Don't hesitate to post if you need guidance after the summer heat. 

Jason

[robchin]

HI @Adam_W Nearly all mulches are good. Getting the cane straight from the farm would be nice as long as you aren't getting weeds from it. Lucerne mulch can sometimes have little Pea plants coming in it - Lucerne is in the pea family. Personally - I don't mind if my mulch dies down - it is adding organic matter to the soil underneath. I buy my mulch by the trailer load at local council transfer station - replace it every year - our soils are very good now. 

In relation to the clumping bamboo - I agree, you will seldom get weeds in it once established. I have been lucky enough to travel to Japan and China and see both giant and normal sized bamboo forests and no weeds there. I suspect it has more to do with the mulching affect rather than alleopathy - but I am not an expert in that area so couldn't rule that out. 

Alleopathy is a real thing and you see it in nature all the time if you know where to look. A good number of plants have beneficial symbiotic relationships but they are not always. Some alleopathic plants release exudates from their root (hairs) which will negatively or positively affect other plants or insects/fungus in the immediate area. This is why old-time gardeners will tell you not to keep planting the same thing in the same spot in your garden all the time - tomatoes are a classic example of this. 

Great topic Adam. 

[Jason]

Welcome to autumn everyone! Let us know if you need a hand giving your garden some TLC. We've had some rain in recent days which is helping to restore our garden after a few hot weeks. No doubt it will also mean the weeds start to pop up again! 

Jason

[Akanksha]

March is here again! How are everyone's gardens looking at the moment?

As we head into a new season, members might also be interested in checking out these 3 things to do in the garden in autumn.

Don't hesitate to let us know if you need a hand with anything. We'd be happy to assist.

Akanksha

[Dave-1]

Afternoon All

I am actually prepping in my mind for pruning the liquid ambers (when the leaves fall) and also the Crepe myrtles loose their leaves and if its worth Pruning. (I generally prune them every second year) 

I also have a Jacaranda that I have let grow in my garden bed and its become a little too large (hasnt broken anything yet) so thats on my list of what possibly should be done.

The last two, install some garden beds with proper fixed edges. and prune back/tidy the blackberries when they finish in a month or so.

Dave