March, south of the equator

March is the turn of the year in the south. The heat breaks, the light softens, and in the Cape the first rains are not far off. It is a planting month rather than a sowing month for anything woody, and it is when the bulbs that will carry the garden through winter and spring arrive in the shops.

In the garden

Plant the winter and spring bulbs. Daffodils, hyacinths, freesias, sparaxis and ixias all go in now. Buy tulips this month while the choice is good but hold them back, pre chilled, for a later planting once the soil has cooled properly.

Sow protea seed from the middle of the month, when the day temperature starts to drop, because it is the difference between the warm day and the cold night that triggers germination. Cover with about a centimetre of sand and put a grid over the bed against birds and rodents. In the winter rainfall regions this is also the month to plant fynbos: proteas and ericas set now will be established before next summer.

Keep sowing the winter vegetables: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, spinach, beetroot, carrots and broad beans. Plant seedlings of the winter and spring annuals, and sow sweet peas if you did not manage February. Cut back and feed anything that has finished flowering.

Two different Marches

In the winter rainfall Cape the first rains are close and this is the best planting month of the year, which is why fynbos goes in now and is established before the next summer. On the summer rainfall side the storms are tailing off, the soil is still warm, and anything planted now has a mild autumn to root into before the cold. Both are good, for opposite reasons.

In the house

The watering interval lengthens noticeably now. The days are shortening quickly and the plants respond to that rather than to the last warm afternoon, so a routine that suited January will start to leave compost wet.

Bring in anything that spent the summer outdoors before the nights cool, and check every plant for slugs, aphids and grubs in the compost before it crosses the threshold. Reduce feeding to monthly and stop altogether for anything that rests.

Move plants nearer the glass and clean the windows. The light that was too fierce in January is about right in March and will be short by June.

What not to do yet

Do not repot after this month unless something is genuinely suffering, because the roots will not fill fresh compost before the cold. Do not plant tulips yet. And do not cut the seed heads off everything for tidiness, because they feed birds through the dry months.