March Garden Chores & Tasks (PNW & Similar Zones)

A list of March garden chores to accomplish for the month, including both vegetable gardens and flower beds, as well as lawns and general tasks. This is a list of all the things that could be done – choose only the tasks that matter for your garden. Includes printable checklist!

March is probably one of the most exciting months of the gardening season for us in the north where the last frost dates are between April and May.

We see signs of new life as everything starts waking up, there are usually some sunny days where we can work outside, and the dreams of a perfect garden are still fresh and within the realm of possibility.

And that’s what gardening dreams are all about aren’t they? Every year could be THE year. (Said every gardener everywhere at the beginning of spring.)

Whether we’re aiming for garden perfection or just doing what we can, the chores and tasks for March revolve around three main things:

1. Catching weeds while they’re little.
2. Starting seeds and planting outside.
3. Finishing any garden clean-up.

This month can be busy in the garden, with both things we have to do and things we’d like to do.

The March garden chores list below does not list everything you could be doing (though there’s plenty, lol)- it’s meant as a simple way to start planning and organizing garden tasks.

Garden Chores for March

Vegetable & Fruit Garden

• Plant small lettuce & spinach seedlings, as well as direct sow (the seedlings will be ready a couple weeks before the seeds sown at the same time, providing a staggered planting).
• Plant kale and chard either direct sown seeds or transplanted seedlings.
• Plant onion seedlings or sets.
• Plant peas and potatoes around the 17th (or earlier if the ground and weather allows).
• Plant first rows of carrots and beets.
• Clean asparagus & strawberry beds – cut brown foliage back (if you haven’t yet) and cover with layer of compost and/or mulch.

• Mulch blueberries with pine needles/straw (if you have it).
• Fertilize other berries with compost mulch, adding an organic fertilizer if they need it (a good compost layer each year is usually all they need).

Flower Beds

• Do any garden clean-up needed: cutting dead growth, pruning, etc.
• Get aggressive with weeding before the weeds become established.
• Start applying newspaper and mulch to beds as they are weeded.
• Continue working on pruning and dividing perennials as needed.
• Plant dahlia and gladiola bulbs.
• Fertilize evergreen shrubs (rhododendrons, azaleas, boxwood, etc.) if needed – a layer of compost mulch each year should provide all the extra they need.

Indoor Seed Starting

You can find a complete seed starting guide with tutorials, tips and tricks to easily grow your own plants from seeds to save money and grow only the varieties you want.

Here are all the seeds you can start inside (or continue):

• Tomatoes (especially if your frost date is later)
• Peppers
• Brassicas – cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. (second set or first if none started in February)
• Chard and Kale
• Basil
• Annual Flowers

This article has been updated – it was originally published in March of 2015.