What to plant now? March offers wide range of gardening opportunities
.JPG "Now is the right time to start summer vegetables indoors. As the seedlings develop, transplant them to larger containers so their roots can develop before moving outdoors into the garden.")
Gardeners now have one foot in winter, the other in spring -- with their eyes straight ahead on summer.
Straddling seasons, March offers an opportunity to plant a wide variety of vegetables and flowers. Take advantage of dry days and dig in:
- Plant seed for beets, carrots, celeriac, celery, collards, endive, fennel, jicama, kale, leaf lettuce, mustard, peas, potatoes, radish, spinach, Swiss chard and turnips.
- Also, there's time for one last round of cool-weather veggies; transplant lettuce and cole family plants, such as cabbage, broccoli, collards and kale.
- Start seed indoors for summer and winter squash, peppers, eggplant and tomatoes. They'll be ready to transplant in late April or May.
- Before warmer spring weather kicks into full gear, this is your last chance to plant such annuals as pansies, violas and primroses.
- Plant summer bulbs, including gladiolus, tuberous begonias and callas. Also plant dahlia tubers.
- For spring and summer flowers, plant seed for aster, cornflower, cosmos, larkspur, nasturtium, nicotiana, periwinkle, portulaca, rudbeckia, salvia, snapdragon, verbena and zinnias.
- Shop for perennials. Many varieties are available in local nurseries and at plant events. They can be transplanted while the weather remains relatively cool.
- Feed roses and other spring-flowering shrubs, so they can get off to a fast start.
- Pull weeds now! Get them while they're small and easier to pull. Better yet, use a hoe to whack them off just below the soil line.
This story was originally published March 2, 2018 at 2:00 PM with the headline "What to plant now? March offers wide range of gardening opportunities."