Gardening Tasks To Do in March

March Madness is here!

Trees are budding, birds are singing, and signs of new life are everywhere — that means it’s game time for gardeners.

We’ll be focused on soil and bed prep, planting cool-season crops, and setting up areas to nurture wildlife visitors this month. What tasks and “get-to-do’s” top your list this month?

Who Is This For?

These recommendations are for gardeners interested in growing healthy food and healthy ecosystems. We use organic methods, get the whole family involved, and work with nature using ideas from ecology and permaculture.

We live in the Northern Hemisphere in USDA Zone 7. These recommendations can be adapted to many gardens in Zone 6-8. (Not sure what your zone is? Find your USDA zone here. Not in the U.S.? This pdf comparing international zone systems may help.)

Quick 3 for Busy Gardeners

If you have limited time for gardening, I suggest you focus on these three areas:

Start seeds indoors for warm season crops like eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes. Our favorite method to start seeds indoors is soil blocking.
Harvest compost that’s ready and turn the rest. Harvest and sift finished compost for early spring planting and potting mixes. Turn unfinished compost, adjusting moisture as needed to boost activity with warmer weather. Start a new bin with leaf litter and stalks from last year’s plants.
Prep garden beds and sow cool-season crops. As soon as the soil is workable, start planting early spring favorites like leafy greens, beets, peas, carrots, radishes, broccoli, and cauliflower. Keep in mind that leaf litter and last year’s plant stalks provide important shelter for pollinators and other beneficial insects. To protect them, try using “focus areas” — clear and plant one section at a time, leaving the rest of your garden undisturbed a little longer to give insects time to emerge.

Here are some of the other tasks to tackle this month, starting with…

Plants

Other cool season favorites that can be planted this month are potatoes, strawberries, asparagus crowns, rhubarb, and onion sets. We like Ruth Stout’s approach for potatoes—here’s an article about creating a quick and easy potato bed using her method.
Clean up your strawberry and asparagus beds to ensure new growth can emerge easily. Weed these beds well, and if you didn’t apply compost and mulch in the fall, you could add some now.
Finish pruning your grapes, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries as soon as possible. You can also add a nice layer of compost or mulch to suppress weeds. That way they’ll be growing, flowering, and fruiting away while you focus on other areas.
Repot Houseplants. The lengthening days signal your houseplants to start growing again. This is the perfect time to repot them if needed and give them a boost with liquid fertilizer. Your houseplants will enjoy some time outside during sunny days, but bring them back inside at night.

Soil & Compost

Do a soil test (if you haven’t already). Get a snapshot of your soil’s pH and nutrient levels with a soil test. Your local cooperative extension service likely offers free or low-cost tests. You’ll be able to make informed decisions about amendments, which saves you money and prevents excess nutrients from leaching into waterways.
Don’t work in wet soil. You can start preparing garden beds this month, but be gentle and avoid working in wet soil. Digging, tilling, or even walking on it can damage soil structure, cause compaction, and form clods.

Wildlife

Welcome lawn “weeds” and wait to mow. Dandelions, violets, clover, and other flowers emerging in your lawn this month are vital food for bees. You can help by practicing a No- or Low-Mow Spring or even shifting to more of a meadow than turf grass.
Add more food for caterpillars and songbirds. The best way to support songbirds is to have more caterpillars. And the best way to support caterpillars is to grow their food: native plants! Native Plant Finder is a helpful tool for researching what to add to your list for plant sales and orders.
Put up nesting boxes for birds and bees. Birds will begin looking for nesting sites soon and native bees will begin emerging. Since dead standing trees are rare in our yards, it can be helpful to provide nest boxes for birds and nest sites for pollinators. Many birds (like bluebirds) won’t live in a dirty box, so be sure to clean out current boxes so new families can move in.
Leave out some nesting materials. Although it’s tempting to clean and tidy your yard to prepare for summer, small twigs, grass clippings, and even pet hair can help birds build their nests. Leave it out, or if you must tidy up your yard, create a pile of materials for the birds to use.
Prepare hummingbird feeders. In Western North Carolina, ruby-throated hummingbirds — the most common hummingbird in the state — begin migrating back in mid to late March. Having feeders clean, filled, and ready ensures a warm welcome for these tiny travelers. To find out when hummingbirds and other migratory species may arrive in your area, visit Hummingbird Central and Journey North.

Gear

Get your garden tools organized. Make sure your garden tools are ready and in good working order. Clean and sharpen pruners, shovels and hoes. Organize shed (or storage).
Service your hoses and irrigation equipment. Whether you use drip, soaker hoses, or a plain water hose, make sure they are clean, working, and leak-free. Easy to lose AND easy to replace, rubber washers are key to leak-free hoses, sprinklers, and sprayers.

Beyond

Catch up on your garden journal — or start one if you haven’t already! Use it to organize all your gardening information. Record what you plant and where, along with details like seed company names, plant varieties, planting dates, and harvest dates. Throughout the season, track how each plant performs. If you run into pests or diseases, note what treatments you used. These notes will become a valuable guide for planning and improving future gardens.
Take a gardening class. Your local botanic garden or county extension service may offer classes locally, or you can enroll in one online! Check out our online classes here.

Your Turn. . .

What tasks top your list in early spring? Do you have practices that set you up for a successful gardening season? Tell us in the comments!

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