{"id":4058,"date":"2025-07-09T20:03:58","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T19:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whetstoneallotments.co.uk\/?page_id=4058"},"modified":"2026-08-16T13:31:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T12:31:29","slug":"march","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/whetstoneallotments.co.uk\/?page_id=4058","title":{"rendered":"March"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Next Month<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

March is when the allotment really begins to wake up. As the days lengthen and the soil starts to warm, there is plenty to sow and plant, but don’t be too impatient \u2014 cold, wet ground can still make an early start counterproductive. Use the better days to prepare beds, tackle weeds and get ready for the rush of spring growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Preparing the Plot<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you have had a few weeks (or even months) away from your plot, now is the time to get back to it. March may be your last good opportunity to dig out brambles, couch grass and other invasive perennial weeds before they start growing vigorously again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure beds are ready for planting and add compost or well-rotted manure where appropriate. If you sowed winter green manure, now is the time to cut it down and incorporate it into the soil before you need the bed for planting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take care when clearing and moving materials. Slow worms and other wildlife may be sheltering under weed-control matting, piles of vegetation and other undisturbed areas. Hedgehogs may also be emerging from hibernation. This is a wonderful time of year for bird watching at Whetstone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sowing & Planting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

March is one of the big months for sowing seeds, particularly if you have some indoor space with good light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomatoes, peppers, chillies and aubergines benefit from being started indoors as they need a long growing season. Growing from seed gives you a far wider choice of varieties than buying plants later and is usually cheaper too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don’t have anywhere suitable to raise seedlings, don’t despair. Young plants will start appearing in shops and online later in the spring or, best of all, you can buy them at the Whetstone Stray Plant Sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside, peas and broad beans can be sown when conditions are suitable. Warming the soil beforehand with a cloche can help, particularly early in the month. Alternatively, start them in pots and plant them out later \u2014 this can also make the seeds rather less accessible to hungry mice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carrots, beetroot, radishes, spinach and spring onions can also be sown as conditions improve, although there is little benefit in sowing into cold, waterlogged soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onion sets can be planted during March, along with shallots and garlic if you didn’t get them planted earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potatoes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Seed potatoes should be chitting now \u2014 placed somewhere cool, light and frost-free to encourage short, sturdy shoots before planting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early potatoes can usually begin to go into the ground from the middle or end of March, depending on the weather and soil conditions. Maincrop varieties can wait until April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fruit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Finish winter pruning apples and pears before they come fully into growth. Stone fruits such as plums, cherries and apricots should be left until spring or summer, when pruning cuts heal more quickly and there is less risk of silver leaf disease and bacterial canker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strawberry plants can be planted now, as can new raspberry canes and other soft fruit while conditions remain suitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asparagus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

March is a good time to plant new asparagus crowns. Choose the site carefully: an asparagus bed can remain productive for many years, so give it a permanent position with well-drained soil and plenty of space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Established asparagus beds can be weeded and given a mulch of compost or well-rotted organic matter in preparation for the new shoots that will appear during spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep an Eye on the Weather<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

March can provide warm, sunny days followed by frost, heavy rain or even snow. Don’t be persuaded by one pleasant weekend that spring has completely arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeds sown a week or two later into warmer soil will often catch up with \u2014 or overtake \u2014 those struggling in cold ground. March is the month to get started, but there is still plenty of time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Next Month March is when the allotment really begins to wake up. As the days lengthen and the soil starts to warm, there is plenty to sow and plant, but don’t be too impatient \u2014 cold, wet ground can still … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4058","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whetstoneallotments.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whetstoneallotments.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whetstoneallotments.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whetstoneallotments.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/170"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whetstoneallotments.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4058"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/whetstoneallotments.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4443,"href":"https:\/\/whetstoneallotments.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4058\/revisions\/4443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whetstoneallotments.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}