Gardening In March: What To Do?

Last updated on October 23rd, 2023 at 08:47 pm

In March, spring is approaching, and with it the gardening in the new season. However, the right time to start gardening depends on the regional climate. Whether you are an amateur gardener or a professional, you can prepare the beds for new plantings when the weather is frost-free. But first, start by cleaning up the garden. Find out what else needs to be done in the garden at this time of year in March in this guide with our gardening tips.

Stiefmütterchen im Garten im März

Clean up the garden in March


Gardening in March also includes removing leaves, moss and soil residues from all paved walkways, as they attack the material and destroy it in the long run. You can use this opportunity to repair garden paths that are already damaged. You should also remove tree fruits and fallen branches from the grass in the garden and dispose of the leaves. Otherwise, it may begin to rot. For the new garden year, cut back droughty branches and dried-up perennials vigorously. And weed out young sprouting weeds in good time. This will give them no chance to form seeds.

Verfaultes Obst im Garten im März sollte entfernt werden

Garden in March: prepare and create beds

Gardening In March: What To Do?


Check nutrients and pH of the soil
For a successful gardening season, carefully prepare the soil now and thoroughly check the pH. To do this, take soil samples from a few places in the garden and use indicator paper to test them. The color scale will show you the pH level present: A pH of 6 to 7.5 is optimal for vegetables. If the soil is too acidic, it should be improved with carbonic acid lime. This allows the plants to absorb nutrients more easily.

Spread compost


Have a soil test done every three to five years to show the nutrient balance in the soil. If the soil is deficient in nitrogen, you may do well to use compost with a high percentage of lawn clippings and vegetable waste. Sift through the mature compost and spread it. Do not use more than five to 10 liters per square meter.

Tip: Only use mature compost and fully rotted material, otherwise it will make it difficult for young plants to grow.

If the nutrients and pH are right, you can easily create new vegetable beds for the new year, even in the form of raised beds. Use the same width for all beds, if possible; the normal bed width is about 1.20 centimeters. In addition, plan a path between the planting areas, where they can walk comfortably. Make sure you can comfortably access the beds from the edges.

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Destroy slug eggs


In the month of March, be on the lookout more for the garden pest’s eggs, which are laid during this time. If you prepare the soil in the kitchen garden and ornamental garden now, it is not uncommon to come across small white balls. To prevent the pests from developing and spreading further, you should destroy the slug eggs in the garden.

Prepare perennial beds


When the weather is finally frost-free and dry, you can start preparing your beds for new plantings. To do this, first thoroughly and deeply loosen the soil and carefully remove weeds. Roots can develop optimally in well loosened soil, because irrigation water can penetrate deep to near the roots. Do not plant seeds and plants at first, rather wait until the soil has settled a bit.

Planting and fertilizing perennials and shrub beds


Once the soil is prepared, you can sow hardy annual flowers in your garden, such as daisies, corn poppies, cornflowers or vetches. Keep the flowers sufficiently moist after sowing. On particularly mild days, you may also plant perennials and biennial flowers already. Older perennials can be divided or transplanted very well at this time. Then apply compost or fertilizer to the planting area.

Tip: If frost threatens again in March, it is best to cover the beds with foil or fleece at night.

Cut ornamental grasses


Before the grasses begin to sprout, it is better to cut back the withered inflorescences and stems of the ornamental grasses. Place the cut about a hand’s width above the ground.

Tip: If you are creating new beds in the garden, you should use a string that you stretch beforehand in the places where you want to create the bed. Then tread the ground to the right and left of the string.

Prepare trees and shrubs in March for the new garden year.


Late winter is the best season for planting trees and shrubs. Impatient gardeners can put spring-blooming woody plants such as ornamental cherries or magnolias now.

Gänseblümchen im Garten im Garten im März aussäen, damit sie im Frühling blühen

Care fruit trees


Proper soil care plays a particularly important role in gardening in the month of March. In order for your fruit trees to bear richly developed fruit in the summer, they depend on a steady supply of nutrients and water, especially now. For freshly planted plants, make sure to enrich the soil in the planting hole with compost or plant soil.

Pruning trees


When pruning in March, keep the following gardening tips in mind: Don’t simply trim your tree’s crown with hedge clippers; instead, cut back the main branches all around with loppers or a saw so that the crown is evenly reduced. If you only want to narrow the crown, leave the center shoots visible and the upper side shoots uncut. When pruning, always cut individual branches above a side shoot branching off below. Thinning is also sufficient for trees with dense growth. This involves removing branches that are too dense inside the crown, crossing each other or growing inwards. By the way, this pruning also prevents fungal diseases.

Tip: Branches left over from pruning can be shredded and spread as mulch under trees and shrubs.

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Thinning out shrubs


Thin out summer-flowering shrubs in early spring and repeat this process about every three years. Leave two-thirds of the shoots and cut back the oldest shoots at the base. Remove inward growing side shoots completely. The plants will then not grow too densely and will bloom more abundantly.

Potted plants: Blossoming in the garden in March


If the weather in the new garden year no longer makes capers, your potted plants in the garden can breathe again properly in the fresh air. In some places, the first flowers are already appearing! In March, daffodils, tulips and pansies planted in the fall are already blooming and opening the coming spring season with their flowers. To enjoy the colorful splendor for as long as possible, you should remove all faded stems and water the plants regularly.

Tip: Repot long-lived balcony and tub plants every two years in fresh tub plant soil and then water them vigorously.

Clean out balcony flowers


Some potted plants that have spent the winter in the basement or garage should be pruned back hard and freed of wilted foliage before being moved out. Pelargoniums and fuchsias in particular will then sprout vigorously again by the end of April and then bloom particularly lushly in the summer.

Tip: Cut back young shoots once again, as they are susceptible to pests and diseases.

Garten im März Frühjahrsblüher

Planting roses in the garden in March


You can also plant roses now, provided that the ground is no longer frozen. Often in garden centers you can find roses ready for planting, which can be inserted directly into the ground with their environmentally friendly containers made of cardboard. The material then rots in the soil. Make sure the grafting point sits five inches below the ground.

Tip: Roses do not tolerate waterlogging, so water especially carefully.

Plant a vegetable garden in March


Soil preparation is paramount to the success of your orchard and vegetable garden harvest. For a good start, you should also protect new plantings in the open with a cover of film or fleece.

Prepare the soil


Vegetable beds can be worked as soon as the soil has dried a bit and is no longer smearing. As with the perennial garden, you may prepare your vegetable beds for seeding with a hoe, cultivator and rake when the weather is frost-free and dry. This includes deep soil loosening and removing weed roots.

Tip: Cultivation plans and plant sketches for the new cultivation areas make gardening easier. Is not mandatory, but helps in the optimal use of soil and proper planting sequence.

Sowing vegetables


Some vegetables, such as carrots, chard or onions, can already be sown directly into the soil. To prevent the seedlings from becoming victims of late frosts, they should be protected under foil or fleece for some time. First outdoor sowings are also already possible: In frost-free soil you can now plant lettuce, garlic, kohlrabi and onions. Here, too, the following applies: If it gets really cold again, remember to provide sufficient protection.

Tip: Fleece generally shortens the cultivation period.

Aerate beds


If you have used foil or fleece to protect your plants, you should regularly provide fresh air. To prevent the air temperature under the covering material from rising too much, you can aerate your beds for one to two hours a day. This is especially true on sunny days.

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Gemüsegarten anlegen im März

Orchard in March: properly plant and care for it.


Planting berry fruit
Before the first fruit sprouts in the new garden year, you can still plant currants and gooseberries. When buying, look for bare-root root balls. Shorten the roots a little and cut back above-ground shoots vigorously, then the plants can grow well. Leave only a few main shoots so that the fruit in the center also gets enough light.

Align branches


If young fruit trees do not bear fruit even after several years, it is often due to a too steep branch position. Therefore, tie the branches down with a rope or hang a net filled with stones on them. Only then can horizontal fruiting wood also form. The branches must remain in this position for at least one garden year, so that they subsequently remain in the horizontal position and fruit.
Important in March: Protect fruit trees from pests
In late winter, shoots and blossoms are vulnerable to pests. Keep your garden plants healthy for a long time with these gardening tips.

Fend off scab fungus


With wind and rain, spores of the scab fungus reach the just-opening buds as early as March, where they quickly infect the first young leaves of the apple tree. The fungus then continues to grow on the leaves. It forms new spores that continue to spread in the coming months and continuously ensure the infection of new leaves and the fruit. To ensure that your fruit develops properly in the future and does not wilt too quickly, you should tackle the scab early with a spray.

Attach glue rings


Against creeping pests that migrate up the tree trunk to the young fruit, you can practically prevent. For this purpose, it is best to use so-called glue rings, which can be purchased at garden centers. Glue rings around the fruit trees are fixed at the latest now in the month of March. In order to prevent the pests from crawling underneath the glue rings, you should fasten them tightly against the tree trunk at a height of about one meter. In this way, you prevent egg laying, and the harvest is already secured now.

Author

  • James Jones

    Meet James Jones, a passionate gardening writer whose words bloom with the wisdom of an experienced horticulturist. With a deep-rooted love for all things green, James has dedicated his life to sharing the art and science of gardening with the world. James's words have found their way into countless publications, and his gardening insights have inspired a new generation of green thumbs. His commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship shines through in every article he crafts.

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