Allotment advice and tips - March - The days lengthen and a stronger sun dries out the soil, planting can begin and the allotment year starts.

Month by month guide:
Vegetables, Herbs and Fruit.

Vegetables to put on the table this month:
Jerusalem Artichoke
Purple Sprouting Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Carrots
Chicory
Leek
Radish
Spinach

What to do in the allotment in March? Apart from harvesting the above.

March - The start of spring?

General Tasks
Complete all digging. Complete seed orders as soon as possible to avoid missing popular varieties selling out.
Check ties and stakes,
Start to think about slugs as they will be appearing from this month.
Feed the birds, Place nesting boxes now, so they get used to them.

Vegetables:
Sow seeds for maincrop Brussel Sprouts, set out hardened off plants.
Sow Parsnips
Plant early Potatoes from the middle of the month.
Sow Spring Onion and Radish
Sow seeds of late summer Cabbage
Continue sowing early Peas.
Sow Leeks
Sow summer Spinach

Finish planting shallots
Sow Kohl Rabi seeds
Plant Asparagus
Dress established asparagus beds with manure
Plant Jerusalem Artichokes ( great wind break)

Under Glass:
Sow carrots under cloches (after dressing the seed)

Herbs:
Prepare seed bed when soil is warm enough.
Sow Chervil, Chives, Dill, Marjoram, Parsley and Sorrel
Divide Fennel roots
Divide old clumps of Bergamot and Sorrel

Under Glass:
Sow Basil in a seed tray at 13 degrees C

Fruit:
Complete all planting as soon as soil is warm enough.
Firm trees and bushes lifted by frost.
Finish pruning of trees and bushes. Feed established trees and bushes growing in cultivated soil.
Spray apples, cherries, peaches, pears, plums, damsons and nectarines.
Train new shoots of blackberries and loganberries on to wires.
Plant raspberries and strawberries.
Pollinate nectarines and peaches if insects are scarce.

More suggestions?

Some suggestions that have been sent in.

Composting: All you need to know

Manure: Some suggested uses

Wormeries: How to create a wormery.

If you have any advice on anything to do with allotments please contribute.