March

March is a busy turning point in the garden and smallholding: days lengthen, soil begins to warm, and growth starts to stir even if frosts still bite. It’s the month to tidy up winter damage, refresh beds with compost or well-rotted manure, and get ahead of weeds before they race away. Start sowing hardy vegetables and salad crops under cover, and direct sow when conditions allow—aim for workable soil rather than a fixed date. Chit early potatoes, plant onion sets, and begin seed sowing for tomatoes, peppers, and many annual flowers indoors. Prune roses and late-summer flowering shrubs, and finish fruit tree pruning while they’re dormant; add mulch around fruit bushes to conserve moisture and feed roots as they wake up. For keepers, March brings practical prep for the season ahead. Clean and check coops, hutches, and housing ventilation, and refresh bedding to keep damp at bay. As breeding and lambing/calving time approaches in some setups, review health plans, worming schedules, and mineral needs, and make sure fencing and shelters are secure before animals spend longer outdoors. Watch changing grass growth: it can be lush but low in fiber, so introduce grazing gradually and keep an eye on condition, feet, and parasites as temperatures rise.