Gardening in March Tips

Fiskars 7067 3-Piece Softouch Garden Tool Set Will help you start your vegetable seeds indoors, in March, then plant your cool season veggies out side also.

The Vegetable Gardener's Bible (10th Anniversary Edition)

Not all your seeds need to start indoors, but any warm weather veggies do get a great benefit with a head start of doing so. A good seeding tray is the best way to start. Make sure your tray is flat and wide and has good drainage. The next step is to add a good seed starting soil to each cell, fill it close to the top. Don't use regular garden soil, the consistency doesn't lend for good drainage, that you need for your seeds. Also regular garden soil can cause disease.

Follow the directions on the back of your seed package, and plant according to that in your cell's. Some seeds can be sprinkled on top of your soil surface, some may be pressed lightly in the soil surface, some need to be pushed down one-half inch.

The best thing to do is make some labels and add them to your cells, because some seedlings can look the same.

Make sure you water with a light spray, try not to displace your seeds. It is important to keep your seeds consistently moist, but not overly wet. Place your tray near a bright light, but avoid strong full sun. Some seeds need a warmth of 65 to 75 degrees F, in order to sprout. A heating pad specifically made for seedlings can be placed underneath your tray.

Slowly introduce your new seedlings to more and more sunshine outside before you transplant directly into your outside soil. Start by bringing your trays outside in bright shade for a few hours each day, slowly leaving them out longer each day exposing them to more sunlight. This method avoids what is called damping off, this is where your seedlings are shocked due to a abrupt change in environment and they will die quickly.

Even though you are starting your warm weather plants from seeds, you can always buy transplants when the weather is warm enough. Make sure you take advantage of cool spring days by transplanting your lettuce, broccoli, cabbage and other cool season veggies.

Different types of lettuce, like the cut and come again are mixes of general leaf lettuces. Giving each row a trim when you want a salad will let the plants grow back. Head lettuce is only harvested once, and then you have to plant it again. Warmer areas, can plant lettuce transplants where they will be protected from the hot mid day sun. Even in the spring, the daytime temps can slow the growth of your lettuce. Broccoli and cabbage on the other hand need full sun in order to produce you biggest harvest. There are however several varieties that are available as transplants for your garden.


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