Organic Gardening In March - English

YOUR GARDEN IN MARCH

Seed potatoes can now be washed very gently, dried thoroughly and left in a cool light place to chit. Jungle can supply Valor �main crop� and Charlotte �early� potatoes this year. Our potatoes are organic.
Fruit trees: bare root trees should be planted at the beginning of the month. Apples and pears can be pruned at the beginning of the month if you haven�t done it yet. Cherries and plums (�stone fruit�) should not be pruned until the buds start to open.
It's not too late to sow broad beans, in a double row 5cm (2�) deep with seed about 20cm (8�) apart.
Sow early peas (e.g. �Meteor� or �Feltham First�), in a double row, with seeds 5cm apart and 5cm (2�) deep.
Late March onwards sow: beetroot, carrots, parsnips and turnips, if the soil is not too cold. Sow 5cm (2�) deep in rows 30cm (12�) apart. Spinach is sown at the same distance.

Rake the ground before sowing � and remember finer seed needs finer soil.
Carrots and spinach also do well in large pots or tubs. Sow thinly! We used Danu multi-purpose compost for this last year very successfully - �2 a bag to members. You can mix this with home made compost.
Carrots can be protected from carrot fly (which causes holes in them) by covering with garden fleece � we have some for sale.

Brussels sprouts, summer cabbages, calabrese and cauliflowers can be sown now in pots. These will need planting out later.

You can get more info from HDRA - the national organic gardening organisation

Last Modified 3/15/05 2:44 PM