March is a busy month in the garden. The greenhouse is bursting at the seams with seedlings fighting for space. The lawn needs work and weeds are already up and running. With all this work and trying to dodge the showers it is easy to forget the vegetable garden.
The truth is with a bit of effort now you will get off to a good, early start and harvest the benefits early in summer.

If the soil is warm seed sowing may be advanced by as much as 2-3 weeks. Prepare the ground by digging, raking and adding fertilizer. Cover the soil with clear polythene held clear of the surface with wire or bamboo canes. Alternatively plastic or polythene cloches may be used. The soil will dry more quickly and warm up ready for some early sowings of salad crops such as spring onions, lettuce and stump rooted carrots.

Early plants of peas and beans may be had by sowing individual seeds in small pots in a cold frame or under a cloche. After hardening off the plants they can be planted out without disturbing their roots.
Successional planting of vegetables such as lettuce, spring onions and radish will ensure that you are supplied all summer with food ready to eat. Instead of sowing lots of seed in spring and summer sow a few seeds every 7-10 days. When thinning rows of lettuce seedlings use the discarded plants in a salad.

Seed potatoes will crop better when chitted. Position them in a frost free room close to a window. Turn the potatoes every few days to allow all of the shoots to receive good light.

When planting the tubers of Jerusalem artichoke mark the bed. That way, in the winter, when you are harvesting them you will be able to dig all the crop. Any tubers that are missed will re-grow next year and can become a bit of a weed.

For your carrots and parsnips to look anything like those pictured on the seed packet you will need stone-free soil. Dig the ground at least 12 inches deep and remove all of the stones. If a young root comes up against a stone it will bend around it or fork going to either side.

Alternatively if stone picking is mission impossible then make holes with a rake handle or crowbar and fill it with stone-free, riddled soil. Sow 2 seeds in each position thinning to one after germination.

Surrounding your vegetable plot with fine wire mesh 3 ft high, covered with a layer of clear polythene, will work wonders. It will shelter the young plants and deter vermin and rabbits. As carrot fly can’t fly higher that 18 inches it will also prevent them from laying their eggs