What to sow and plant in the vegetable garden in March?

By region

Broad beans from March to early May are from the RHS, and so are peas at about 10 °C of soil. The March onion seedbed, with a May transplant, is from Valle d'Aosta's Informatore; March garlic, as the fallback, comes from the same text. Tomatoes indoors are from Valle d'Aosta and Umbria's calendar, with the RHS figures of 18 °C and 16 °C. Potatoes in the north are from the potato issue of the Informatore, in Umbria from Patata rossa di Colfiorito, and in the south from the Campania and Sicily guides. Basil from March, at about 20 °C, is from the RHS. French beans in a tunnel, through March, are from ARPA Umbria's sheet. If the packet gives another window, the packet wins. February is in the February calendar, April in the April calendar, and the wider picture in the planting calendar.

Broad beans, peas and onions

March opens outdoor sowing of broad beans, from March to early May, in the north as in the south. Autumn sowing, with hardy varieties, has already passed. Depth and spacing are in peas and broad beans.

Sow peas if the soil is about 10 °C. In Campania, March closes the February–March window. Below 10 °C the seed sits.

Onions, in Valle d'Aosta, are sown now in a seedbed and transplanted in May. Direct sowing waits until May, and only in the lower valley. In the centre, if autumn was missed, make the same seedbed. In the south you are in late winter or spring, depending on the cultivar: Cipollotto nocerino, from March to June, is harvested, not sown. The windows are in when to plant onions.

Garlic and potatoes

If autumn garlic got away from you, March is the month written for Valle d'Aosta, on soil that can be worked and drains. In Campania the window has been closed since the end of February: in March, only a late-winter variety, if the packet says so. The rest is in the garlic guide.

In Umbria, potatoes can be planted from 1 March, through to 30 June. On the Valle d'Aosta valley floor the early planting closes on 20 April, so the tubers form in May and June; in March, go in only if the soil can be worked. Higher up, wait, because the shoots are hurt by April and May frosts. Buy certified tubers now. In Campania the early crop runs to early March and the main crop starts in late March. In Sicily, March is not one of the two windows. Seed and depth are in when to plant potatoes.

Tomatoes, basil, French beans, strawberries

Tomatoes stay indoors, at about 18 °C. Not outside in March, except in the south in the mildest spots, under cover and with no cold nights. Peppers and aubergines stay warm with them: the written field date belongs to the tomato. See when to plant tomatoes and starting seeds indoors.

Sow basil now, indoors, at about 20 °C, on the surface, in the north as in the south. It goes outside later, once nights stay above 10 °C. The page is when to plant basil. French beans still do not go in the open ground: March is the last month the Umbria sheet keeps in a greenhouse or a tunnel. See when to plant French beans. The RHS says to plant strawberries if the soil can be worked, neither frozen nor sodden. On wet, cold ground, wait. Setting the crown level with the soil is in when to plant strawberries.

Jobs for the month

Dig only if the ground is not frozen and does not stick to the spade. The seedbed wants light and moist compost, not a soggy one: the method is in the homemade seedbed. On beds still empty, well-rotted compost and a cover, as in mulching. Water at the base, once the soil dries, is in watering. In a pot the compost warms and chills quickly: see the container garden.