March in the Texas Garden

To my fellow Texas Gardeners . . .

It’s time! Spring is here and we have so many things we CAN do in the garden. Do you need to do all of them? No! Do what you can, gardening doesn’t need to be another chore. If you aren’t enjoying it, cut back.

Keep your frost covers handy if you’re putting anything in the ground this month. We can still get freezes here and there through early spring. Just like last month, you’ll need to cover quite a few of these if temperatures get below 20 degrees. Central to Southern Texas should be done with freezes by the second week of March.

As always, don’t plant everything!

Plant what your family loves & you enjoy growing.

March Planting Guide:

• Transplants: Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale, Kolabri, Leeks and Lettuce. It will be harder to keep pests off of these cool season plants as it warms up. They do much better as fall vegetables.

  Direct Sow (plant seeds): Artichoke, Arugula, Beets, Carrots, Celery, Chives, Cilantro, Collards, Dill, Fennel.

  • Early March: Parsnips, Peas, Radish, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Turnips

• Fruit: Apples, peaches, pecans, pears, pomegranates, persimmons, figs, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries

• Plant Trees, Native Shrubs and Evergreen Ground Cover

• Bulbs & Roses

• Add color to your pots & garden: pansies, violas, snapdragons, calendula, stock, larkspur, ornamental kale, bluebonnet transplants, poppies.

• Later in March, you can begin putting in some annual flowers that love heat like zinnias. I’ll plant mine after Spring Break.

• Many gardeners are beginning to put their tomato transplants in the ground. Do this cautiously. Tomatoes like soil temperature to be between 70 - 85 degrees. If we get a cold snap, you will need to cover them very well. I will most likely hold off until after spring break.

March Gardening Tasks:

• Order all spring and summer seeds. My favorite place for seeds is BAKER CREEK SEEDS. Again, I only purchase what we love! If it’s not a favorite, I buy it from the grocery store.

• Harvest freeze damaged crops to make room for spring transplants and seeds.

• Prune rosemary and oregano.

• Divide and move perennials.

• Prep your garden beds by adding compost and mulch.

• Check your sprinklers and/or drip irrigation for any needed repairs.

• Mow any unwanted wildflowers and/or weeds before they flower.

• Weed daily. What is a weed? Anything that’s not where you want it :)

  If you’d like to see a planting list for your specific area, the Almanac gives a comprehensive guide.

  Find it HERE.