March Gardening Guide: Preparing for a Bountiful Harvest

As March brings the change of seasons, the anticipation of bringing our edible gardens to life starts to build. Our wet season in the far north often sees us fall short on seasonal produce when nature decides to let loose, and growing our own close-to-home produce is incredibly appealing. With the cooler months approaching, the groundwork done now promises a future brimming with fresh, healthy harvests. Here’s a handy checklist to ensure your garden thrives:

Prime Your Garden Beds:

• Ready your garden beds for the upcoming planting season in April. Healthy soil is the cornerstone of productive plants. Incorporating some ActivGrow into your existing soil is an easy way to boost nutrients and beneficial microbe activity to kick start your seedlings.
• Consider growing a green manure crop to enrich your soil. A pack of bird seed is all you need. Simply scatter over the soil, lightly cover it, and let it thrive for about 6 weeks before incorporating it back into the soil.
• Boost overall soil health with a layer of mulch such as hay to hold moisture. Add a sprinkle of fertiliser as you go, and it will help the hay decompose and boost your overall soil health.

Prepare for Planting with Ryan’s Expert Tips:

• If your garden needs a comprehensive recharge, follow Ryan’s practical advice to rejuvenate it for the planting season ahead.

Watch: How to prepare your garden this vegetable season.

Start Sowing Vegetable Seeds:

• Begin sowing vegetable seeds now to ensure they’re ready for planting next month. The best varieties include tomatoes, basil, Asian greens, and your favourite herbs. Use quality seed raising mix for best results.
• They’ll need to be sun hardened, but bring them under shelter during heavy downpours to avoid damage to their delicate foliage.

Watch: Sowing Tomato Seeds Guide

March Maintenance:

• Refresh mint plants and garlic chive clumps to ensure continuous growth.
• Provide nourishment to citrus trees with a combination of Rocky Point Poultry Manure and Fruit and Citrus food for a well balanced feed.
• Thin out banana suckers. Remove any stems that have already fruited, allowing one advanced and one new sucker to grow in its place.
• Prune mulberry trees once fruiting has finished to promote a new fruit flush before the cool season.
• Harvest crops like eggplants and chillis.
• Trim back crepe myrtles and vines for controlled growth.
• Utilize the softer ground to remove weeds more easily and prevent seed bank buildup.

Welcoming Wildlife:

• Encourage vibrant butterflies to your garden with food and host plants.
• Few butterfly species can resist the colourful flowers of Pentas, a hardy plant and low care plant providing plenty of nectar-rich flowers.
• Plant an Aristolochia tagala, the preferred host plant of the Cairns Birdwing Butterfly.

Enjoy vibrant wildlife in your garden and watch nature’s wonder unfold.

March heralds a time of excitement and preparation, laying the groundwork for a flourishing garden and a season of abundance.