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What to plant in March? (self.gardening)

submitted ago by kr239

Okay - now, i'm not exactly a green-fingered person, but i have 4 acres of land at my disposal, and i'm wanting to start planting something edible. I figure herbs are easy to start with, i have plenty of terracotta pots for that sort of things, but in the past, everything i've attempted to grow, has just died. I have good soil (cows shitting on it for 100 years), i have good potting compost, and i water stuff regularly.

So...what can i grow in a climate that can be described as 'temperate' (live in France - it can get quite warm & sunny as early as April.), and what can i grow without killing it easily?

TIA :)

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[–]frikk 6 points7 points ago

Hops! But that's just me :) And then send them over to me!

[–]kamakiri 0 points1 point ago*

I came to say this as well. In fact, an acre of hops can produce $11,000 worth of hops a year, and organic hops are in pretty high demand.

[–]comedic-dung 0 points1 point ago

$11? Really? Damn...

[–]kamakiri 0 points1 point ago

Fixed ...

[–]bananasncornbread 4 points5 points ago

Salad greens.

[–]kr239[S] 0 points1 point ago

What sort though? I love baby gem lettuce, and would happily grow them if the climate & soil is good enough.

[–]NoMoreNicksLeftUSDA 7b; Sunset 10; Köppen BSk; Lubbock, Texas, USA 1 point2 points ago

You should be good for just about any lettuce where you are.

[–]bananasncornbread 0 points1 point ago

I don't know your climate or your likes, so the best I can say is find stuff you like and then find varieties that grow well in your climate. As for lettuce, head lettuce gets you one or two harvests a year while leaf lettuce can be harvested as needed. If things die, make sure you aren't over watering and check the PH of your soil.

[–]sethky 3 points4 points ago

Let's see, kale and more kale! Then swiss chard!

[–]kr239[S] 1 point2 points ago

How hardy are they, with frost?

[–]gaso 3 points4 points ago

Kale laughs at frost. Tastes sweeter afterwards. Takes extended, deep cold (well below 0'C) to start to kill it back.

[–]vtslimzone 5 2 points3 points ago

peas, spinach, beet greens are good starters for colder months

[–]LindySquirrel 1 point2 points ago

Yes! And turnip and salad greens.

[–]JoeLiarCascadia zone 9a 2 points3 points ago*

How much of your land do you wish to use for food production? Acreage or garden plot. Also, can you look up your local frost-free date (the last day of sub-zero on average)?

edit: Got pulled away. Watch your daily temperature averages - or the average of daytime highs and lows. In general, nothing will grow until the average is reliably above 10 - won't die, just won't germinate or grow.

Potatoes can be chittered any time after daytime average stays above 0. Planting occurs when the average reliably stays above 10. When > 20, potato tubers stop growing. < 15 all you get is (necessary) vegetative growth.

Peas, beets when the average > 0

Onions, garlic when the ground can be worked

Cool weather stuff - chard, spinach, lettuce etc (mostly greens) > 10

Warm weather stuff - tomatoes, cukes, peppers, corn > 15 or even 20.

Watch your drainage. Winter tends to saturate soils. Saturated soils hold no needed air. You may need raised beds. If your soil has been, uh, directly fertilized, you might need to check for excess nitrate.

[–]savedbyspringtime 1 point2 points ago

This man speaks the truth, OP. This is exactly what I was going to say...

[–]kr239[S] 1 point2 points ago

Ideally i'd like to start out with just some pots and tubs, maybe a large granite trough or two. Mum was the gardener, and since whe passed away in '04, the garden has taken a beating from overgrowth, brambles, grass growing EVERYWHERE and some unidentified plant just punching its way through the weed proof membrane O.o

Am i right in thinking that planting in pots needs a layer of something like gravel at the bottom, for drainage?

[–]JoeLiarCascadia zone 9a 0 points1 point ago*

Old gardener here, saying that's old school. The latest wisdom, is that other than keeping the drain hole unblocked, gravel in the bottom isn't good. It forms, anti-intuitively, a barrier to air and drainage, and just takes up room that could be used for roots. Go figure. Most chi-chi form of container gardening is with the self-irrigating pots (SIPs) or self watering pots (SWPs) like Earthbox or earthtainer. These can be made for < $10USD/sqft.

For in-the-ground gardening for personal consumption, the square foot gardening method provides an easy and manicured way to produce veg. I would suggest in-ground beds for stuff that likes room - pumpkin, squash, potato (although they can be containered), corn (or any grain). Pots are best for stuff that slugs and snails like - greens.

[–]mutantgazette 2 points3 points ago

I have good soil (cows shitting on it for 100 years)...

This is so much better than winning the lottery. I envy your enriched soil! :)

[–]kr239[S] 4 points5 points ago

Hehe - it was a working dairy farm for about a century before mum bought it, i still have sheep and horses on the land, crapping everywhere too :P

[–]TableTopFarmer 2 points3 points ago

You can grow most anything as long as you take into account your first and last frost dates, but 4 acres takes a lot of work to keep up.

I would start with a small garden this year, and see what really LIKES your particular spot on the earth. Your happy, trouble free plants spring forth joyously and sail through seasonal visicitudes with hardly a blink. Once you know what they are, then grow more of that next year, in staggered plantings for several harvests.

As for plant selection, I would choose exotic varieties of common vegetables. . For example, peppers love it here, but if I were looking to grow them for market, the colored baby bell varieties that aren't commonly found outside of the super priced supermarket packages. would make them an easy sell to chefs and in Farmers' markets.

Before you have 4 acres in full production, you have to think about how you are going to clean, package, and transport your product to market. The GardenWeb.com Market Gardeners' Forum may be able to help with that. Or alternately, folks in the states set up CSA's in which members pay in advance for a share of the harvest, either in cash or in labor on the farm throughout the growing season.

Good luck!

[–]kr239[S] 1 point2 points ago

Oh i'll be totally unable to plant and maintain 4 acres, some of that encompases my fruit tree orchard...unfortunately, i need to replant that, horse trampled 7 of the trees. I'm thinking of starting small, in pots, tubs and containers for now, the little things first.

[–]traztxUS 8a 1 point2 points ago

When I think of France, I think of wine & cheese. How about grapes?

[–]eberndlZone 6A; Köppen Dfa; Ontario 1 point2 points ago

Grapes take about 10 years of growth before they start making any real produce...

[–]kr239[S] 1 point2 points ago

Too labour intensive really, i could try planting some though, just to see if they'll germinate.

[–]NoMoreNicksLeftUSDA 7b; Sunset 10; Köppen BSk; Lubbock, Texas, USA 1 point2 points ago

Grapevines are grown from cuttings.

[–]kr239[S] 0 points1 point ago

...the more you know! :D

[–]NoMoreNicksLeftUSDA 7b; Sunset 10; Köppen BSk; Lubbock, Texas, USA 0 points1 point ago

If you'd like to plant them, nurseries (my french isn't good enough to know the word) should have 1-3 yr old plants that can be taken home and trained up a trellis. Table grapes or jellies would be nice. Wouldn't need much space.

[–]sphks 0 points1 point ago

They are prone to diseases and need a lot of direct sunlight to produce fruits. You can try, but don't expect to make wine ;-)

[–]txmslmtx - zone 9a 1 point2 points ago

I love these posts. Hey guys I have 4 acres in france, what should I do?

:)

[–]deborahdelong 1 point2 points ago

Bees! And lavender. So very French!!

You can eat the honey....

[–]kr239[S] 0 points1 point ago

I have lavender plants, but they're getting very woody :/

[–]tastydirtslover 1 point2 points ago

http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/todo_now/index.php

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2012/feb/01/veg-seed-sowing-february

http://www.khwgarden.org.uk/downloads/FS10WhatToSowInMarch.pdf

PLANT ALL THE THINGS

[–]sphks 1 point2 points ago

I also start a garden. This is my TODO list for march :
- Planter thym (soleil, sol drainé). Tous les 3 ans, déplanter, séparer la motte, replanter.
- Planter laurier-sauce. (taille en mars + automne + plus si nécessaire) - Planter ou diviser la ciboulette.
- Planter rhubarbe.
- Planter cep de vigne.
- Fin mars, début avril : préparer les semis (basilic, piments, persil, houblon, etc.)

Most of the other things I plan to do are for April.

[–]kr239[S] 0 points1 point ago

I hadn't considered rhubarb - but i think that's a good idea, i love it, but its rarely sold around here. Consequently, i haven't had a decent rhubarb crumble for years! :(

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