March
- Chit Potatoes – this is not essential so if we are delayed putting the tubers in by the weather don’t wait for them to chit, if the soil is warm and dry enough just put them straight in.
- Sow early carrots – its probably still a bit too cold for this, but some warm weather might warm the soil up enough to get some early carrots (such as early nantes) in.
- Broad beans – these can be sown directly into the ground in March. However it might be better to sow them into cell trays or I use the insides of toilet rolls (I don’t know if this is a recognised thing – its just how I’ve done it) inside until the plant has started to grow. Then you can put them out in the middle/end of April to be ready to harvest by the end of June.
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Jerusalem Artichokes, rhubarb, shallots, onion sets and peas can all be planted outside in March
- Richard has a little bit of kit that makes small pots out of strips of newspapers. Its really useful as you can sow stuff into them (eg. Tomatoes, cucumbers) and then plant out leaving the paper pot in place. The roots of the plant aren’t disturbed and the paper pot will rot away in time
- Germinating parsnips can be made easier by putting them in a freezer bag with a little damp compost. After about a week you will begin to see little white tails, you can then sow them directly into the soil.