March in the Garden – “Garden Share Collective”

This post is part of the Garden Share Collective. Each month a group of dedicated bloggers and gardeners share stories of adventures in their vegetable gardens. The gardens are from around the globe so you get a snapshot of what is happening in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere, from snowy winter to spring to late summer. Click on the link above to visit the gardens.

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The last month has been busy and I haven’t had much time to work in the garden. Consequently, some things have bolted before I had a chance to harvest them. Now everything seems to be ready at once. I certainly won’t have to visit the produce market much this month, we will all be very healthy from all the leafy greens.

What am I harvesting?

  • Chard – all colors
  • Tuscan kale
  • Beets and beet greens (more greens than beets)
  • Herbs – rosemary, thyme, parsley, cilantro, mint, and nepitella (from Italy, Calamintha nepeta which tastes like a cross between oregano and mint)
  • Broccoli raab
  • Handful of snap peas (they never made it out of the garden)
  • Lettuce of all kinds
  • The first asparagus
  • Baby cauliflower and broccoli Romenesco – more on that later in the post
  • Meyer lemons

The heads of the broccoli and cauliflower never made it past two inches in diameter. Some research tuned up the probable reason. We have had an unusually warm winter and both of them (especially the heirloom varieties I planted) need a certain amount of winter chill. The plants are healthy and huge but have not produced a crop. I’ll leave them until later in the month, then I will be pulling out the plants from that raised bed to make way for the first summer vegetables. I’ve heard that the leaves from the plants are delicious and will make good use of them.

The lettuce is starting to bolt. I’ll be planting more this month.

This plant is called a tree collard. Supposedly it grows to six feet in height and produces wonderful edible collard leaves. Mine is only about eight inches tall to date, I purchased it at a seed exchange in mid February. You propagate it by stem cuttings and a gentleman was selling them at a rock bottom price.

Tree Collard

Tree Collard

Planting and chores for March:

  • direct sowing of lettuce and arugula
  • beets
  • radishes
  • carrots
  • parsley
  • add compost to everything
  • pull out and compost anything that is past its prime
  • cut down the fava beans, chop them up, and compost them back into the soil
  • harvest, harvest, harvest

Spring is definitely here early this year.

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Borage in bloom

Borage in bloom

Thank you for visiting.

7 thoughts on “March in the Garden – “Garden Share Collective”

  1. I’m so jealous. I’m getting veggies out of Sac from my CSA but nothing’s growing in Reno. There’s lots of greens in my crisper. Braising, eating raw, mixing into soups, roasting and shredding. I’m feeling so healthy but I would love a ripe tomato or eggplant. Yes, I will complain about those also in late summer. 😉

    • My mouth waters reading the posts from Australia, S Africa and New Zealand. Those tomatoes look so gorgeous! And the peppers and zucchini, oh my! Well, we will eat our greens and be healthy.

      For me tomatoes are a hit or miss. Some years they do well, others not so good. They probably will do better in Reno as it’s warmer isn’t it in mid summer?

      Is there any snow up there? I have friends with a house at Donner and they say “no snow”. I’m worried about our summer water situation.

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