March  is the first month of autumn, and all around we see the final signs of our summer crops. 

Admittedly my capsicums are still yielding profusely and I shall be freezing a lot of capsicum this year, also the pumpkins are getting bigger and bigger each day but I must wait for the vine to die off before these get picked, and stored for winter.

But as you can see the tomatoes are on their last legs, but I should get one or two more bottles of tomato sauce from the final crop.

Crops that are growing strong at the moment, are silver beet, rhubarb, spinach (but as you can see I think the white butterflies are winning at the moment), potatoes are growing shots and flowering madly, and all the herbs including my small field of self seeding rocket are doing extremely well.

Now is the month to also start putting seeds aside for next year.  Let your bean pods go brown on the vine, this way they won't mould, when you put them in an envelope and label for next summer.  Let your lettuce, silver beet, basil and coriander plants send up a seed stalk (like bolting) and cut it, and hang it upside down in a bag to dry and then just shake the needs off and label and store for next summer.  Scoop tomato and cucumber seeds onto a paper towel, and wash the seeds to get the slime off them, then leave them to dry (not touching each other) on a paper towel, and when totally dry put in an envelope and label and also dry the seeds out of your capsicums for next summer.

March is the most important month for planting your Winter vegetable garden, as we enjoy the final days of day light savings. Vegetable gardens should be prepared now prior to planting your winter vegetables with compost, general garden fertiliser and lime if necessary.  

• Plant seedlings of beetroot, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, spinach and silverbeet.
• Protect seedlings from slugs and snails with Blitzem.
• Watch for white butterfly caterpillar (use Derris Dust) and whitefly on vegetable seedlings (spray with Target).
• Sow seeds of carrots, parsnips, radish, lettuce, spinach, silverbeet, beetroot (mild climates only), swede and turnip directly into the garden. These will need thinning later.
• Seeds of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and brussel sprouts are best sown in trays for planting out later.
• Potatoes and kumaras can be harvested.
• Any areas of the vegetable garden which are not to be used for vegetables this winter can be planted with a green manure cover crop.
• This will be dug in later to enrich the soil for spring and summer crops.
  Make sure the mature crops will not shade vegetable plantings.
• Feed citrus trees with Citrus Fertiliser.
• Plant herbs in pots or the garden.
• Parsley can still be grown from seed sown now.
• Perennial herbs such as chives, mint, thyme, rosemary, sage and marjoram can be divided and replanted.
• Basil, a summer annual, should be harvested before the cold weather. It can be dried or frozen. 
• It’s Bulb Time! Plant daffodils, tulips, ranunculus, anemone, grape hyacinth, iris, hyacinths, freesias, babiana, crocus, spring flowering gladioli, lachenalias.
• Bulbs can be planted in the garden or in containers.
• Sow seeds of alyssum, aquilegia, calendula, candytuft, carnation, cineraria, cornflower, cyclamen, dianthus, forget-me-not, godetia, gypsophila, hollyhock, linaria, lobelia, nigella, pansy, polyanthus, primula, scabiosa, snapdragon, and stock.
• Plant flowering annual seedlings; poppies, primula, pansies, polyanthus, stock, nemesia, penstemon, snapdragon … and many more.
• Protect all seedlings with Blitzem.
• Encourage earlier and better flowers by feeding seedlings with Thrive
• Flower & Fruit or Nitrosol.
• Polyanthus will thrive when you feed them with Blood & Bone.
• Cut back, lift and divide perennials. Now is a good time to plant new ones.
• Keep watering in dry spells.
• Lift gladioli bulbs once they are finished flowering and store in a cool, dry place.