What to do in March

A container grown March Salad

March is an exciting month in the container garden. The longer, hopefully warmer, days stimulate plant growth, it is still light after 5pm (hurrah!), and we can start sowing more seeds.

However, if you feel less experienced or confident in growing, please don't feel pressured to start sowing yet - everything gets easier to grow later in the spring :)

The timings and advice here are based on container gardening at home in the UK. They are also relevant for growing in other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, although sowing times can vary by up to a few weeks. Look out for a seed sowing calendar for your area and use it in conjunction with the advice here.

This month
  1. What to sow outside: including salad greens, parsley, coriander, peas, and spinach.

  2. What to sow inside: chillies, peppers, aubergines / eggplant and tomatoes.

  3. Be slug and snail vigilant!

  4. What to harvest

  5. FAQs: Do I have to sow seeds now? What potato varieties to grow in containers. What is ‘hardening off’.


1. What to sow outside

The benefit of starting some plants outside this month is the potential for early pickings. But sowing now also comes with the risk that an unexpected frost will slow growth or even kill some. For a safer option, most outdoor sowings can wait until April when they will also grow faster. However, if you have plenty of seeds and don’t mind the odd setback, sowing now will help you get ahead.

If indoor space permits, most seeds - even those of hardy vegetables - will germinate quicker and more reliably if sown inside and then moved outside when they come up. This is because seeds germinate better in warm, consistent temperatures, and more reluctantly in the day / night fluctuations outside. Sow the seeds in trays, modules or small pots.

Most seeds don’t need light to germinate (except lettuce, mustards, and parsley). So, to save space, you can pile the trays on top of each other until they germinate. Keep a close eye on them and move them into light as soon as they come up.

Once germinated, avoid moving baby seedlings outside on a cold or windy day. The dramatic change of temperature will be a shock and can sometimes stall the growth of even hardy plants. Choose a warmer day and, if possible, try to acclimatise them to outdoor conditions slowly, bringing them in at night for the first few days (see ‘hardening off’ under FAQs below).

The following can be sown and grown outside this month in many areas (check what other gardeners in your area are sowing now, too) and will survive light frosts:-

  • Hardy salad leaves, including: mustards, rocket / arugula, sorrel, watercress, land cress, orach and lettuce - perfect for early spring salads!
  • Spring onions / scallions.
  • Parsley and coriander.
  • Peas and broad beans / fava beans. (Broad beans are not very productive in containers but they produce beans early in the summer, freeing up the pot for a courgette / zucchini or similar.)
  • Swiss chard and leaf beat (NB this one often stalls in a cold snap so I delay sowing it until April here in the North East of England)
  • Kale and spinach.
  • Carrots.
  • Beetroot.
  • Potatoes, from the end of March until end of April. If started this month, cover them with a cloche or horticultural fleece if frost is predicted (the growing tips are tender).
  • Jerusalem artichokes - these are large plants but they grow surprisingly well in a container.

Tip: when raising seeds or seedlings outside early in the year, the transparent propagator lids sold for seed trays are useful for keeping cold winds out (you can secure the lid with masking tape in strong winds). Remove the lid on sunny days though - or it can get too hot inside. Another option is to buy (or DIY) a mini greenhouse. Just beware that the cheap models are usually poor quality plastic and prone to rip or blow away - read the discussion from experienced users on my Facebook Page here.

These are some seedlings that I've put outside for a dose of light on a warm day. The lid keeps them protected from the cold wind - but I'll take this off, too, when the seedlings get a bit bigger and stronger.Seedlings getting a boost of outdoor light. The lid keeps out the cold wind, and the masking tape prevents it blowing off.

2. What to sow inside

Some tender vegetables (those sensitive to frost), including chillies and aubergines / eggplant, need to be sown inside this month so that they are producing fruit by mid summer. They are kept inside until all risk of frost is passed (usually between late April and early June, depending on your area) and then moved outside. Bear in mind how much indoor space they will eventually take up before you sow too many. Ten baby tomato seedlings might fit snugly into an egg box but will crowd out several window sills eight weeks later!

A common challenge of growing at home is that our ‘bright’ windows often aren’t actually that bright - at least compared to a greenhouse. To grow strong and sturdy, seedlings need lots of light. So put them in the brightest place you can find. Also, bear in mind that the warmer a room is, the more light seedlings need for strong growth - so sometimes a cooler room is better. If you find your seedlings are growing weak or straggly, an LED grow light can sometimes help.

Chillies under growlightEven this south facing bay window doesn't really get enough light to grow strong, sturdy chillies. A grow light makes all the difference. 

The following seeds can be sown inside this month

  • Peppers and Chillies - sow early in March if possible, unless you have an early ripening variety like Early Jalapeno, which can be sown up to the first week of April.

  • Aubergines - sow in late February or first half of March.

  • Tomatoes and tomatilloes - sow inside in late March or early April. Because tomatoes grow so quickly, a space saving option is to sow a couple now for early pickings - and the rest in April.



Chilli seedlings growing insideA selection of chilli seedlings

3. Slugs: be vigilant!

Slugs and snails are an important part of our ecosystem and we can happily grow alongside them, particularly once our plants are fully grown. But, at this time of year, they can decimate baby seedlings
 sometimes in just one evening. So we need to be vigilant until our plants are well established.

Note: not all slugs eat living plant material. Some species, like the Green Cellar Slug, eat mainly mould and algae. Try to identify them before removing. You can find a visual slug identification guide on the John Innes website here, and a more detailed, downloadable guide, by searching for: “Brian Eversham Identifying british slugs”.

It’s a sad fact that most balconies and patios are low on slug predators like hedgehogs, ducks, and ground beetles. Therefore, most often, you need to be the ‘predator’. Your goal is not to eliminate slugs, but to keep the number down early in the season so that your plants can establish. If slug numbers get out of control at this time growing becomes both difficult and demoralising.

What’s the best way to control slugs? There are lots of products you can buy - and everyone has a clever trick - but in my experience, the only sure way is to collect them up. Look under pots and other hiding areas before you put seedlings outside. Tour your containers once a week after dark (when slugs are most often out and about), armed with a torch, and pick them off. Move the slugs to a local green space (a large patch of grass the other side of the road is handy for me), feed to the birds, recycle in a worm bin, or give to a friend who has chickens.

(Just in case you are wondering, the most humane way to kill slugs is to collect them in an old jar or yoghurt pot and put them in the freezer for 24 hours. They will go to sleep before they die. Or to crush them quickly with a stone or boot. Less humane options include drowning in beer or cutting with scissors).


4. What to harvest this month

  • Salads. If you sowed winter salads in August / September last year, you will notice faster and stronger growth again as the day lengthen. Homegrown salad leaves taste particularly good at this time, a welcome change from supermarket fare.

A Salad grown in containers in MarchAnother March salad from my front yard - including viola, rocket / arugula and three cornered leek flowers!

  • Kale, chard and spinach. Established plants will grow strongly this month, too - and excellent harvests are often possible later in the month.

  • Jerusalem artichokes. Harvest any remaining tubers early in the month before they sprout again.

  • Herbs. Bay, thyme, rosemary, sage and other evergreen herbs can continue to be harvested sparingly this month.

  • The first rhubarb is often ready to harvest at the end of this month.

Rhubarb growing in a container in MarchRhubarb grows well in a large container. This one is about 60 litres / 12 gallons. 


5. A few FAQs

Do I have to start sowing seeds now?

No. You can happily wait until April or May. Seeds will be more willing to grow then and you'll still have plenty of time to grow a wide variety of edible plants. (Chillies and aubergines can always be bought as plants later in the year. ) It's a lot easier to grow from seed later in the year so this is a good option for less experienced or confident gardeners. If you decide to sow now, do so with an open mind and don’t be hard on yourself. if it doesn’t work out.

What potato varieties are best in containers?

'First early' and 'Second early', are the fastest growing potato varieties (ready by June if planted in March) and are a good choice for containers. You get the flavour of new potatoes, and, because you can harvest them in June or early July, you can then grow something else in the same pot - like courgettes/ zucchini and French / string beans - over the summer. Main crop potatoes are slower to grow, need larger containers, and produce higher yields later in the year.

What is hardening off and why is it important?

Hardening off is the term for acclimatising plants that are started inside to the colder temperatures and more turbulent air currents outside. It’s most needed when there is a large difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures - as this difference can shock plants and ‘check’ their growth. Hardening off becomes less critical as the temperature warms up or in longer warmer spells.

In general, though, I recommend it - in part because plants need to adjust to the wind outside as well as the temperature change.

To harden off plants, simply put them outside on warmer days, and bring them it again at night. If you keep your plants on a couple of trays or in old crates, this only takes a minute or two.

Avoid putting plants out on windy days unless you can give them protection. Some plants, particularly cucumbers, courgettes / zucchini and French / string beans, hate the wind, and will quickly wilt until they become acclimatised to it.

Another significant side benefit of hardening off is that seedlings get a healthy dose of outdoor light, which helps them grow strong and sturdy.

Hardening Off PlantsPutting plants outside on warmer days help them adjust to temperature fluctuations and wind - and gives them a boost of daylight. 

Your turn

What are you doing this month in your container garden? I'd love to hear in the comments.  

51 comments

Mike Peirson
 

I have had allotments for over 50 years now, but have the dreaded arthritis for my trouble. Never mind, once a gardener always a gardener. My back garden is full of containers now ready for planting. Luckily I brought one of my greenhouses from the allotment (8'x6') last year and I have seedlings growing. I have grubbed up the Rosemary bushes from the side garden and this will be used for my spuds as well as the containers in the back garden. I still have a good compost heap at the allotment which I can use as I have chooks at home here. I am looking forward to this month as there are lots of seed to sow. This morning when I woke up at 4am it is snowing, only about 2" deep at the moment. Mike Peirson
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Evelyne Simon
 

What a lovely website! This year i'm turning my council flat landing into a vegetable and herbs growing patch.It was snowing this morning, I'm glad i waited.
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Mike Peirson
 

I can see Evelyne's enthusiam for the furure project. Can't wait for the snow to go.
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Mark RS
 

We have snow here, too, Mike. Loved hearing about all your containers, and clever move to bring a greenhouse to your garden - so handy for getting those seedlings of yours off to a good start. I've just managed to get hold of some plastic from an old poltunnel & hope to use it to rig up something similar in backyard. Happy seed sowing! Mark
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Mark RS
 

Love the sound of your project, Evelyn - would love to hear how it goes. Do you get much sun on your landing?
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Monika Lorincz
 

Hullo! This year I've started a bunch of cherry tomatoes, four types of pepper plus chilli (I am Hungarian, therefore a big fan of pepper), two types of turnips (green and purple), chives and basil. The peppers were slow to germinate, but they're well on their way now, so I'm quite glad. Later on, I will sow some herbs directly in an outside container (I live in France and all the different herbs I would like to use in my kitchen, like marjoram, lovage, dill are difficult to find here). I do have two fairly sunless terraces and I've been strugling with the difficult task of growing herbs, but I haven't given it completely up. Well, have a nice spring all of you lovely gardeners and best of luck to everyone with their veggies!
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Mark RS
 

Hi Monika, lovely to hear about your plans, thank you for sharing. I love the selection of veg you're growing - and a great idea to growing the herbs you like that are difficult to find in your shops. I see what you're saying about lack of sun - can be tricky! Most leafy stuff - like your lovage - should do OK. Have you found a nice sunny spot for your peppers and chillies? They love sun! T Thanks again for sharing.
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Monika Lorincz
 

Hullo again! I do have sun for about a maximum of 4 hours during the summer. So I do have to start my vegetables early, otherwise autumn catches up with me and I don't have much to harvest. Luckily, the weather is generally mild in Bordeaux. Next year, though, I'll start a lot sooner on everything for a maximum of veggies and herbs, see how that works out. In any case, thanks for answering me and thanks for your website and useful tips. It's highly appreciated in this corner of France. Have a nice evening! Monika
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Mark RS
 

Sun is good, Monika. Six hours or more is ideal for chillies - so you've set yourself a bit of a tough challenge growing them in four hours. Do let us know how it goes.
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Evelyne
 

thank you. I've only just managed to catch up with the course. 4 hours of sunshine is all i've got! I've decided to plant runner or french beans, the gardener's delight seeds you've sent, carrots, kale (the Cavelo nero looks nice), herbs and salads. I'll also give growing peas inside a try. I like plants who seed or can been grown with cuttings. Looking forward to the course.
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Mike Peirson
 

PC been out of order for a while...had to fit a new hard disc drive...now back online....Saw the sun the other day (swoon), it was just a bit warmer here in the south east of the uk, but the north easterly wind is back today. I have given up my allotments and really enjoying growing at home in my restricted bungalow garden. At the moment I am up to date in the greenhouse with everything raring to get on with it.. There are still hard frosts in the morning so every evening I have to cover the little blighters with fleece and bubble plastic just in case. I don't wan't to bore you all but here is a list of my seedlings that are growing in the greenhouse at the moment. I have spuds (Foremost and Home Guard) Pots and pots of Comfrey taken from my allotment plants which have given me so many leaves over the years from a little bit of stalk with a leaf on it given to me years ago by an allotment friend..Tomatoes..Peppers..Early half Tall Brussels Sprouts (yum yum)..cabbages for the chickens and us..Carrot Autumn King and Nantes types..Roquette..Salad Bowl lettuce..Sage..Sweet Majoram..Dill..Basil....Outside under clotches I have Garlic..Shallots..and spring onions..and Spinach..and a variety of flower seedlings including Livingstone Daisies..African Marigolds..Sweet Peas..Petunias..Snapdragons.. and Lobelia..the list goes on and on....just waiting for a bit of warmth now to make me happy..happy gardening to you all....
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Mark RS
 

Wow, Mike, what a wonderful selection of veg, my mouth is watering just reading. Do let us know how you get on - and would love to share a picture of your growing here later in the year if you're have the chance and would be happy to send one. Now, let's hope it gets a bit warmer!
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Abi
 

Thanks for the help. I'm restarting gardening after a burnout nad the information is really helpful. And "nicely" done! Thanks, precious gardener! Have a good year! :-)
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Savi
 

Such a useful article! Loved reading it and I got many tips I can't wait to put to use! I couldn't help myself and I've had some tomatoes and pepper seeds sown indoors. Potatoes are chitting nicely and spring onions are doing well under polythene tunnel outside. Also, I have some garlic sown in autumn, it seems to enjoy the warmer days we had lately! Looking forward to you "what to do in April" article! :)
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Michael
 

Hi Mark First, (and most importantly), thank you for this excellent site and for all the hard work you put into sharing your adventures in veg growing. It really is invaluable for someone like me just getting started. A top source of knowledge and inspiration. Second, apologies for the very long post. My partner, and most other people I know, think veg growing is a bit boring and middle aged and have very limited tolerance for me going on about it, so hopefully you won't mind. Either way, I certainly appreciate being able to see what's happening on your site when I have a moment. Third, if you're interested, this is what I'm up to: I'm lucky to have a reasonable sized roof terrace on top of my flat in London. Much of it gets sun most of the day. Having never gardened in my life, I went up there in September last year having been away most of the summer and found that two pots left by the people who lived there before me had tomato plants growing in them that had produced a handful of ripe tomatoes (they must have been planted at least a year before as we have been in since November 2012, and I assume they must have grown from the seed of the previous year's fruit). I ate them and was stunned by how good they were. I reasoned that if I could produce tomatoes that nice by accident, I should see what I could do with a little effort. I planted a family apple tree and fair bit of garlic at the end of last year. I have recently planted broad beans, mange tout, salad leaves, radishes, spring onions, carrots, and beetroot, all in containers up there. I also have some herbs, aubergine, chilli and tumbling tom tomato seedlings in a propagator on my windowsill. I plan to sow cucumbers and courgettes direct outside when it heats up a bit, and to plant gardeners delight and alicante tomatoes in the propagator in April to put outside later. Fourth, (if you have reached this far) I have a query: I am going away for two weeks from 12 April. I have no one I can bother to water regularly enough. I have bought an automatic irrigation system for the pots outside so they should be fine, but I am concerned about how to deal with the plants that are currently seedlings. I have a plan but don;t know if it is sensible. I have bought a mini pvc greenhouse (culticave) and intend to move what are now seedlings out into that and set up the auto-irrigation system to water them as well. Can I ask, do you think they will be strong enough by that point to deal with it (they are at the point now that I can just see the very beginnings of the first true leaves)? If not, do you have any other suggestions? If so, roughly how much water do you think they will need daily? Also, would it be advisable to put them out there during the day the week or so before I go away so that it's not too much of a shock when they're left overnight? Please don't worry if you don't have the time to get back, but any advice would be ace. Either way, all the best for your year ahead. Michael
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Van
 

Excellent tips! I feel blessed that I found your site with so many tips and with a very similar weather. I live in northern Germany which makes it quite difficult to grow in our terrace because of these everlasting strong winds and grey skies. Last year was my first adventure growing our own greens and some tomatoes. I'd like to expand the varieties, but I don't know what could be the best to grow. Strawberries were not that good last year (we had them in our wall, on felt containers I made myself following the same concept of Vertiflor. The plants grew very nice, not the fruit, have no idea why. The salads, chard and spinachs I had in wood containers (35x45x35 cm aprox.) were quite good. Lasted several months, chard and one salat until autumn! I already planted the seeds. Spinach is already growing fast, some salads on their way. I've been thinking to grow carrots or potatoes, but I have no idea if the containers of this size would do for these plants. I'm also growin indoors 2 lemons and 4 passion's fruit. I've had to cut the passion's fruit already 2 times! grows so fast but in a single branch. I'd like it to spread a bit and not to grow that tall. They are growing above the heater in my big livingroom window. And of course, herbs: Parsley, Coriander (Cilantro), Oregano, Thyme, Lavendel, Rosmary. Basil seems it won't survive, too cold at the moment, I'll have to buy another plant. I also have some sweet chili seeds (non-spicy) from my homeland (Venezuela) in a seeder indoors, and at nights I keep it above the radiator to keep them warm. In the next weeks or already in May we're going to try with some new strawberry plants, and tomatoes again. Last year despite the cold, they were excellent! (and planted in one of the wooden boxes out side all the time). We also had yellow zucchini and red pepper bell. Those gave only 2 or 3 fruits each :( so I don't know if I should try them again. I'll keep updated with your posts. Great content you have and thank you for sharing all this info!
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Mark Ridsdill Smith
 

Sounds like you are doing really great! In answer to your question about carrots, they should be fine in that size of pot. Home grown carrots taste delicious but I don't grow too many because when you harvest them, they're gone - where as many other crops keep giving you food over several weeks even months. Potatoes (1st earlies) grow quick and are fun - and your pot is just large enough for a few - a bit bigger would be better if you have one but not essential. Zucchini like big pots and lots of sun - then can be very productive. Peppers also like lots of sun. It makes me wonder - is your terrace getting much sun? I wonder if maybe not as the all the crops that did well for you like a lots of it. Very good luck in 2014!
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Mark Ridsdill Smith
 

Hello Michael Thanks for writing and I LOVED your story about finding the rogue tomato. What a brilliant way to be inspired about growing. Thank you for sharing. Your tomatoes and aubergines are sensitive to frost and the 'official' date for the last frost in London is around the end of April. However, inside their mini greenhouse, fingers crossed they should be OK. I'd definitely put them out for a few hours each day before you go away to start acclimatizing them. Put them out on the warmer days to begin with and then slowly leave them for a bit longer and put them out on slightly cooler days, too. One solution to the watering might be capillary matting. It's not something I've used myself but I know some people who swear by it and I think it might be just the thing for watering (but not over watering) seedlings. Do keep in touch - would love to hear how your roof garden evolves!
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Van
 

Hi Mark, thanks for your answer. In theory we should get tons of sun (all terrace is south oriented), as always as the clouds and storms you sent us from UK are not that many ;). Funny enough I just saw that you're in Newcastle, so we live int he same line, straight to the east from you haha! (Flensburg, Germany). So I'll be checking your updates and advices for sure!. I don't think I'll try with Zucchini this year. Needed a lot of space (I had only one plant and it produced only 2 small fruits), or Peppers, also 2 very small ones only. I prefer the idea of growing greens. They grow fast I can always crop the outer leaves, keeping the plant. Last year they lasted for months. I'll give it a try with the Chinese greens you mentioned in one of your posts -need to go back to read again everything ;-). Ah also wanted to give it a try to the edible flowers you also mention in one of the posts, forgot its name. Thanks a lot for all your info!
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Michael
 

Hi Mark Thanks for taking the time to get back to me. That's really helpful advice. I'll look into the capillary matting as well. I'll definitely keep you posted on my progress. Michael
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Mike Peirson
 

Best time of year for me. Seedlings in the greenhouse are going for it. Since giving up my allotments after 50 years we use every little space around our bungalow. In the side garden I have planted first early potatoes Winston and salad potatoes Nicola. In part of the front garden I have planted International Kidney. Wilkinsons stores are selling 40 litre tubs for ÂŁ3 so I bought six of these and planted them up with Charlotte salad potatoes in the back garden by the chicken house. Outside in the back garden there are spring onions and baby beets poking their heads up. The mint pots have started growing again after the winter. I have planted shallots in two places in tubs (old council paper bins). One comment I would like to make is regarding the use of old compost. I do use old compost after adding some nutrients, and after looking for Vine Weevil grubs which have a habit of living in last years compost. If they are left there then they will destroy any new roots. And of course the deadly slugs that seem to hide under a pinhead. Happy gardening. Best wishes, Mike Peirson.
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Kerri
 

I have used capillary matting very successfully to water seedlings and young plants when I have gone away around Easter time. I used these trays with the matting (http://www.twowests.co.uk/product/self-watering-trays) and wouldn't be without them now!
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Kerri
 

Radishes are up and the first of the mini finger carrots are just showing. Tomatoes and peppers were pricked out this weekend, and the lettuce, chard and spinach I sowed in modules two weeks ago are all up! I love this time of year so much - seed sowing makes me so happy! The promise of all that lovely veg to come and wonderful hours pottering in the patch - what could be better. Hoping to harvest the first of my pea shoots later this week which will be the first crop of this year.
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Mark Ridsdill Smith
 

Wonderful start Kerri - so exciting to be nurturing new seedlings.
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Jeneva
 

Hi Mark, Thanks for all your useful advice. I've had mixed results with my container garden (first attempt last year in a new flat), but I managed to grow some lovely blueberries and strawberries, and got lots of peas and some gorgeous sunflowers and pansies. I planted redcurrants as well, and hope to get some fruit off them this year. My root crops were too shallowly planted, so didn't really do anything, but I've got teeny tiny carrots and leeks still living, so I'm leaving them to see if they manage to flower this year. ;-) I planted them in a paddling pool that just wasn't deep enough for the purpose. I would like to grow greens, but had bad luck last year with leaf miners. I tried doing them indoors on our south-facing windowsill, but they just didn't get enough sun there. I was thinking of growing them on a four-tier greenhouse shelving unit and covering the whole thing with some horticultural fleece to keep the egg-laying bugs off. I would need to put the shelves up against a wall for stability, and wonder if a west-facing wall would get too hot in the afternoon sun for leafy greens? (in Scotland, so sun is an if and when thing) I would like to reduce or delay bolting as much as possible. Any advice is welcome. My only options are a south-facing yard with south and west facing walls, or a north-facing yard with a north-facing wall that is mostly in shadow except for early morning and late afternoon. The south yard is shaded in the morning by the flat next door, which is one of the west-facing walls I mentioned, and there is a small alcove between that wall and our doorway that gets southern sun, but is partly shaded from the west as well as the east. It contains a rosebush that seems to thrive there, but there's space for the shelving unit if that would be a better option than right out in the western sun. The horticultural fleece should also protect the greens from the aphids which attack the rosebush, I hope. Any thoughts?
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Lora
 

I have sowed lettuce, tomatoes, broad beans and (probably too early)a few French beans. Lettuce is up, as is a couple of broad beans and I am still waiting for my deliberately-sown tomatoes but I have had a few self seeded ones come up in recycled compost, so will likely transplant those. The original seed was grown from an unusually tasty supermarket mini plum type and were true to type then, so I'll have to see if that continues. One question - I sowed chard last august and have recently needed to repot the plants as they are growing on well. In my case will I need to resow now or shall I just repeat in late summer again?
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Mark Ridsdill Smith
 

Hi Lora, chard is great isn't it? It's a biennual which means it usually lasts two years. It will start to flower and go to seed later this year. So sowing some more later in the year (I usually sow some in April or May) will help you to keep a continuous supply. Some people say that if you keep removing the flowers from chard you can get it to last more than two years. But I've not tried this myself. It might an interesting experiment.
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Lora
 

Thanks Mark, I might try that out with a plant or two. I will probably sow a few more later either way. I am hoping for some yellow chard next time as all my bright lights have been red veined or pink so far!
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Jeneva
 

Hi Mark, I was really hoping you'd have some suggestions for me. Any advice?
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Mark Ridsdill Smith
 

HI Jeneva In general, sun is a good thing for most vegetables - not only does it help them grow faster, they also grow stronger and more resilient to pests when they get sun. It is true that hot weather can sometimes make salads bolt. The trick here is to have a seperate seedling area and to keep sowing salads - so if they do bolt you have more seedlings to add in. And usually bolting is only much of a problem in July and August. Instead of horticultural fleece you could use enviromesh. I think (but I'm not 100% certain) that this would have less warming effect than horticultural fleece and certainly breathes better. It may also provide slight protection against the sun. Keeping salads well watered will also help prevent bolting. The best way to find out what works is usually just to try it - try growing a few different crops in a few different places and see what happens. You could also grow a lot of micro greens - ie small salad leaves. These grow quickly and you'll get a new crop every few weeks - and before they have a chance to bolt. There's a video on this here:https://www.verticalveg.org.uk/how-to-grow-the-best-salads-at-the-lowest-cost/. Hope this helps and good luck.
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Mark Ridsdill Smith
 

On thinking about it, I'd be tempted to try some without any mesh covering them - if they are growing healthy and happily in the sun they'll be less prone to pests. If leaf miner are a problem, look for their small white eggs on the backs of the leaves and squash them before they hatch.
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Jeneva
 

Thanks for the advice, I'll give it a try. I also didn't know you could detect the eggs, for some reason I thought they were laid inside the leaf. That's good to know.
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Mark Ridsdill Smith
 

Yes, you can see the eggs - there's a photo of what they look like in a post here:https://www.verticalveg.org.uk/blotches-on-your-beetroot-or-chard/ Hope it goes well - do keep in touch.
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Melissa
 

Hello, I use a summerweight fabric row cover on my chard, beets and spinach. I hate leafminers and they attach quickly here in California. I use those bamboo hoops for pea growing and wrap the fabric over the pot in a single layer. I trim the excess and clamp it to the edge of the pot. I simply remove once a day to water and then recover. On very hot, sunny days I vent the cover from below. I find the moth that lays the eggs is a little too lazy to force his way in from below, so long as I don't leave it open all day. I just make sure the fabric is very light weight and does not rest on the plants themselves.
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Jeneva
 

Thanks, that's very helpful.
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Paul Fishwick
 

Its tomato seeds inside and micro greens outside including radish, asian greens and pea shoots. Ive been using a clear plastic box as a mini greenhouse.
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Emm
 

Hi Lora, Possible a bit late as it's been a year since your last post, but I have experimented with chards over the years and established that you can 'predict' the colour of their stalks by looking a the shade of the seeds... i.e. the darker the seed the 'redder' or 'pinker' the stalks. This means that those seeds that are an almost white-ish beige colour will produce lighter stems. The yellow stems come from the fully beige seeds. In the past I used to go with the larger seeds and discard the smaller ones but then realised that the larger ones are often the darkest too as I was ending up with mostly red... Hope this helps, M.
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Lora
 

No problem about timing Emm, I was on email notification for new posts anyway. It's an interesting point about the chard seeds and I'll check them a bit more closely for how they look if I sow Bright Lights again. At the moment I am sowing just the plain green perpetual spinach to see if I feel the taste/texture is any closer to spinach.
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Jurate
 

Hello Mark, I have a question regarding the runner beans. I want to use them as a decorative element for more privacy: will they be ok in a normal plants-box? L: 59,6 cm W: 22,0 cm H: 17,2 cm I know it isn't that deep, but since I don't expect to have a great amount of beans, mainly for ornamental means? The only place I can put them is hanging on my balcony margin. Thanks! Best wishes Jurate
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Mark Ridsdill Smith
 

Yes, should be ok, if you don't want them for the beans. Runners like plenty of water, which will be harder to give in smaller container - so you might want to add a reservoir or something water retentive like perlite to your growing media.
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brian and Laraine Hannah
 

We are building new raised beds in our small front garden, and doing a lot of rearranging in the backyard, moving greenhouse, adding new pot holders to the walls adding some new wooden troughs again home made and removing some pots, and finally starting work on the pond before Easter
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Chel
 

Great post! Thanks for the tips. Hardening off seeds is very important because factors like the frost ,wind and direct sun can affect the growth of seedlings and small plants.
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Kate
 

Hi Mark, Thanks for all the tips and inspiration. We are gardening in a small back garden in Penrith, Cumbria, last year was a slow start due to being flooded in our rented house, happily our long term home is on a hill. We've taken up our tiny lawn and replaced it with beds surrounded by sleepers. We have some single cordon apple trees that I grafted myself at a local workshop, we've squeezed in a greengage, to be fan trained. We have a red currant and a couple of blackcurrants, and raspberry canes. By the time we'd got the beds done it was too late in the season to do much so we put it garlic to over winter and it's thriving. The sun was shining this morning so the beds are hoed and I've planted some beetroot and rocket in the gaps the garlic. I've planted cut and come again lettuce in an old sink and spinach in our broken wheelbarrow, right by the back door. We wanted some flowers for hanging baskets and I'm so excited to have found some edible osteopurmum, and will be looking out for a tomato plant for a final hanging basket. Any tips for which chilli varieties grow well up North? How is your Newcastle garden going? Many thanks again! Kate
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Jeanne
 

Hi Mark Once again, thks for your post. Now you know how it feels to garden here in Switzerland😖....at this time of year anyway. Hope it warms up soon! Best wishes, Jeanne
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Hennie
 

Nothing but frozen soil, so inside i started garlic and that`s it.. What a pity.
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Sally
 

Hi Mark, you’ve inspired me again! I’ve moved to a flat which doesn’t have a south/ west facing window so I had given up on seed sowing, until I saw your list of seeds to grow outside. Hooray! Thank you 

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Mark Ridsdill Smith
Staff
 

Oh, so glad Sally, happy sowing!

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Linda Hevelone
 

Hello, Thanks for the tips. Love your newsletter. I currently have some peas, sage, onions and lettuce outside in pots. A couple peppers inside. Lots of onions in the ground outside. Waiting another week to sow/plant more herbs & lettuces. LH

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Mark Ridsdill Smith
Staff
 

Excellent Linda, you are well ahead of me :). 

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Anne Hall
 

Last year I grew potatoes in pots on the patio, they took a long time to be ready but had a reasonable harvest in August. Just bought a mini greenhouse from a local garden centre and planted salad leaves, cherry tomatoes cucumber peppers and spring onions yesterday. I'm still experimenting. Herbs are the most successful part of the container garden. Chives are already growing well. Thanks for the book and all your tips. AH

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Suella Postles
 

 Moving a big folding table table into my 10ftx15 ft mini polytunnel to use as a sowing table for veg now..which grows enouugh veg for two just fine. We also have a properly netted 8ft x 15ft for brassicas and anything that needs  nastys keeping out., as well as enough space for potatoes,and lots of soft fruit. Will try asparagus in a new bed. The one adjcent to the big privet hedge is struggling.

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