March Tasks

February was a month of preparation and assembling the structure of your garden. We consulted our planting schedule and garden layout to refresh our concept of what will be planted where for the spring garden.  We bought and started seed, or located transplants from local sources.  And we sorted out the details of preparing one raised bed, setting up one row tunnel, and planting something in that bed.  If we haven't completed the February challenge, we should take as much time as we need to do it now.  February was the chance for sorting out the details.

Winter Beds

I usually have one or two beds that have overwintered with Onions, Cabbage, Kale and the like.  They have been soldiering on through the winter months under a low tunnel and even a floating layer of agribon.  They probably haven't been growing much, but that is about to change.

As the days reach up to the upper 50s and 60s, they will take on new energy and begin to grow.  They have one month remaining to do whatever they can before harvest.  At the beginning of March, weed them and give them a light dressing of fertilizer and mulch.  Then, over the next four to 6 weeks, begin to harvest them one at a time:  A head of cabbage and a few onions each week.

As you do so, you will open up spaces for transplanting the spring vegetables that you are starting indoors right now.

Spring Garden
March is the month for planting the Spring garden.  Now that the details are worked out, we need to replicate our success three more times.  We have three more beds to prepare, two of which will need row covers.

One of our beds will have bulbs in it:  onions, garlic, hibiscus.  This may not need to be covered, and might benefit from minimal disturbance.

For each bed:

• Amend the soil: add 1 bag of compost, 1/3 bale peat, 2.5 qts vermiculite, 2 lbs of Garden-Tone, 1 lb rock phosphate or greensand.   Mix this batch in a wheelbarrow and add to one bed.
• Set up 5 hoops over the 12 feet of each raised bed, 3 feet apart.  Each hoop is 1/2" grey plastic electrical conduit roughly 8 feet long.  The ends are placed over rebar or inside 1" pipe.
• Cover with 6 mil plastic or agribon row covers.  20' by 10 feet.  That gives us 4' on the ends to reach the bottom of the bed.
• Use pvc clips to hold the cover to the end hoops.
• Secure the edges to 5/4 x 6" decking boards and clamp to the raised bed or weight to the ground.

Plant the bed:

• Consult the Garden Layout for the cool season.
• Transplant available seedlings from inside.  By now, started seed should be 4 weeks old.  As the winter vegetables are harvested, transplant in the new Meal Kit.
• You still have time to start seed in the first week of March, particularly to fill in gaps or harvested produce.  
• Purchase the rest of your transplants from garden centers which should have a wide selection of cool weather plants, including most of the things on our Spring garden list.
• Remember to work in Meal Kit groupings and mix the plants within the beds.
• You don't have to fully plant everything.  Feel free to leave gaps for later transplants or succession plantings.
• For each of the things you do plant, make a note (on the blog or in a journal)  when things were planted and when they will be ready for harvest. That last bit is important so you don't leave things in the ground too long and they start to get hard or bitter. 

After this month is over, it is starting to become too late for cool season crops to mature.

The March Challenge is to plant something in each of the beds by the end of the month.