March flips the switch from planning to planting. Days stretch, soil thaws, and cool nights still keep pests slow. If you choose the right crops for the weather you have now, you can harvest sooner and avoid common spring setbacks.
Success in March comes down to two things: your USDA hardiness zone and your local last frost date. Know those, and you can decide what to sow outdoors, what to start indoors, and what to transplant without risking cold damage.
TL;DR
- Direct sow cool-season vegetables like peas, spinach, lettuce, radishes, and carrots as soon as the soil is workable.
- Start heat lovers indoors now in many regions so they are ready to plant after your last frost.
- Plant bare-root fruit trees, roses, and shrubs while they are still dormant and the soil is moist.
- Use row covers and dark mulch to warm the soil, protect seedlings, and gain a couple of weeks of growth.
What to Plant in March: By Planting Zones
Understanding your specific planting zone helps you time your March plantings perfectly to avoid frost damage and maximize growing success. This guide provides a starting framework that you can fine-tune based on your local climate conditions and last frost date.
Before you begin planning, ensure you know your exact last frost date. We have resources to help you find your local planting calendar.
How to Read March for Your Garden
Your USDA hardiness zone tells you how cold winters get where you live. It guides which perennial plants survive, and it loosely correlates with how early spring tends to arrive in your region, but always cross-check with your local last frost date. Next, look up your area’s average last spring freeze.
That is the date after which temperatures are likely to stay above 32 degrees Fahrenheit, though any given year can swing earlier or later. Use these two pieces of info to plan what to plant now and what to hold until later. The other key is soil. If a handful crumbles rather than forming a slick ribbon, it is workable.
Cool, moist soil is perfect for peas and leafy greens, but too cold for beans or squash. A cheap soil thermometer makes timing easier. Even without one, covers and mulch can nudge temperatures in your favor. When you know your zone and last frost date, you can match them to specific seed varieties. Browse through our catalog of cool-season and warm-season collections that are labeled for your region.
Cool-Season Vegetables to Direct Sow
Most regions can sow hardy crops in March as soon as the soil can be worked. Start with peas, spinach, arugula, lettuce, radishes, beets, carrots, and Asian greens. These prefer cool weather, germinate in cooler soil, and taste better before real heat arrives. Onion sets, shallots, and seed potatoes also go in now in many zones.
Transplant cold-tolerant starts like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and chard once the ground is workable. In colder zones, give them a simple low tunnel or floating row cover on chilly nights. That fabric traps a few degrees of warmth and blocks wind, so seedlings settle in faster.
Start Indoors Now for Late Spring Transplants
March is the prime time to start seeds indoors for plants that need a head start. Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant want warmth and a long season. In colder zones, also start broccoli, cabbage, and head lettuce indoors for sturdy transplants.
Aim for strong, compact seedlings under bright lights. Begin hardening off seedlings 1 to 2 weeks before planting them outside so they adjust to sun, wind, and swingy spring temps.
Flowers and Herbs That Like a Chilly Start
Hardy annuals bring early color and handle cool nights. In many areas you can sow or set out sweet peas, larkspur, calendula, poppies, snapdragons, pansies, and violas.
Cool-loving herbs such as parsley and chives can often be planted in March once the soil is workable. Dill and cilantro can be sown in March in milder climates. In colder zones, wait until the soil has warmed a bit and the risk of hard freezes is low, or start them indoors first. In warmer zones, tuck in marigolds and nasturtiums late in the month if frost risk is fading.
Trees, Shrubs, Berries, and Roses
Plant bare-root fruit trees, brambles, and roses now while they are still dormant. Early spring planting in cool, moist soil helps roots establish before summer heat.
Container trees and shrubs can also go in now, but keep them watered and mulched so they do not dry out. Prune only what is appropriate in late winter to early spring, and wait on spring bloomers until after they flower.
Stretch the Window With Simple Season Extenders
Row covers, cloches, and low tunnels make March more forgiving. A floating row cover is a lightweight fabric that lets in light and water but buffers frost and wind.
Dark plastic or landscape fabric warms the soil a bit faster for crops like melons and squash later on. Vent covers on sunny days, then secure them again by late afternoon to hold evening warmth.
What to Plant in March by Zone Group Comparison Table
Use this quick guide as a starting point, then adjust to your local last frost date and forecast. Whether it's for direct sowing, growing plants indoors, or transplanting seeds, you can find a variety of heirloom seeds here at our shop.
|
Zone Group |
Direct Sow Outside |
Start Indoors Now |
Transplant Now |
|
Zones 3-5 (Cold Winters) |
Peas, spinach, lettuce, arugula, radish, carrot, beet; onion sets; seed potatoes if the ground is workable |
Broccoli, cabbage, head lettuce; tomatoes, peppers, eggplant |
Hardened-off brassicas and hardy greens under row cover on cold nights |
|
Zones 6-7 (Mixed Climates) |
All cool-season veggies mentioned above; cilantro, dill; poppies, larkspur, calendula |
Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant; basil later in the month |
Brassicas, chard, parsley, pansies, snapdragons; strawberries, and asparagus crowns |
|
Zones 8-9 (Mild Winters) |
Successions of lettuce and greens; early beans, late month if soil is warm; herbs |
Quick-start warm crops you will plant next month |
Potatoes, onions, broccoli, and cabbage early; set tomatoes late in the month if frost risk is minimal and you can cover |
|
Zones 10-11 (Frost-Free or Near It) |
Beans, cucumbers, squash, corn, if the soil is warm; successions of greens in partial shade |
Heat lovers as needed for staggered harvests |
Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant; sweet potatoes in warm soils |
Zones 3-5
As these cold-winter zones begin to thaw in late March into April, hardy cool-season crops like peas, spinach, lettuces, and root vegetables are safest to sow directly as soon as the soil is workable. Broccoli, cabbage, head lettuce, and warm-season crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are best started indoors now so they’re ready to go outside after the last frost.
Potatoes and hardened-off brassicas or hardy greens can be planted or transplanted under row cover when the ground is workable. Take advantage of the brief early-spring window while still protected from cold nights.
Zones 6-7
By March, zones 6-7 have a longer, softer spring. Allow all the cool-season vegetables from colder zones, plus herbs and cool-tolerant flowers like poppies and calendula, to be sown outdoors near your last frost date or a bit earlier under cover.
The indoor focus shifts to warm-weather crops such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and later in the month, basil, so they have enough time to mature before summer heat arrives. Transplanting brassicas, leafy greens, herbs like parsley, and perennials such as strawberries and asparagus crowns now lets them establish strong root systems while temperatures are still moderate.
Zones 8-9
In these mild-winter areas, March is prime time to keep successions of lettuce, greens, and herbs going. Start early with beans once the soil is consistently around 60 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer, ensuring continuous harvests. Warm-season crops that will go out next month are started indoors now, so they are sturdy seedlings by the time true heat arrives.
Potatoes, onions, broccoli, and cabbage can be transplanted early. Tomatoes are set out late in the month when frost risk is low, and protection is available, making full use of the long growing season.
Zones 10-11
In frost-free or nearly frost-free zones, March behaves like a full spring. Heat-loving crops such as beans, cucumbers, squash, and corn can be direct-sown as soon as the soil is warm. Successions of leafy greens in partial shade are planted to balance the increasing heat with ongoing salad harvests.
Indoor starting is reserved for extra “heat lovers” to stagger harvests. Meanwhile, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and sweet potatoes are transplanted into warm soils to take off quickly and produce over an extended season.
Examples
Seeing concrete examples helps you visualize how to adapt general guidelines to your own garden's unique conditions and constraints.
Zone 6 Backyard in the Midwest
A home gardener starts broccoli, cabbage, and head lettuce indoors around March 10 under lights. On March 20, they direct sow peas, spinach, and radishes because the soil crumbles rather than smears.
They harden off brassica seedlings the last week of March and transplant them under a floating row cover. Tomatoes and peppers stay inside under lights until mid to late April, then go out after the local last frost date.
Zone 9 Patio Beds in the South
A small-space gardener succession sows loose-leaf lettuces every 10 days through March for steady salads. They transplant parsley and chives and direct sow cilantro in a bright spot that gets afternoon shade as days warm.
By late March, they set out their first tomato with a ready-to-use frost cloth and a water-filled plant protector on stand-by. Beans go in as soon as a soil thermometer shows consistent warmth.
Actionable Steps / Checklist
This step-by-step checklist transforms general planting knowledge into specific tasks you can complete right now in your March garden.
- Look up your USDA hardiness zone and your area’s average last spring freeze.
- Check a 10 to 14-day forecast and watch for clear warming trends before risking tender crops.
- Test the soil. If it crumbles in your hand, start direct sowing cool-season seeds.
- Start heat-loving seeds indoors under lights. Label trays with dates.
- Harden off seedlings for 7 to 14 days before transplanting outside.
- Install floating row covers over new transplants on cold nights and windy days.
- Plant bare-root trees, berries, and roses while dormant. Water deeply after planting.
- Mulch beds 2 to 3 inches after the soil warms to hold moisture and reduce weeds.
- Stagger plantings of fast crops like lettuce and radishes every 1 to 2 weeks.
- Keep a simple log of sowing, transplanting, and first harvest dates to refine your timing next year.
Glossary
Familiarizing yourself with these essential gardening terms enables you to understand planting instructions and make informed decisions in your garden.
- Hardiness Zone: A map of average annual extreme minimum winter temperatures used to judge perennial plant survival.
- Last Frost Date: The average date in spring after which temperatures usually stay above 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Direct Sow: Plant seeds straight into garden soil rather than starting them in pots.
- Harden Off: Gradually acclimate indoor-grown seedlings to outdoor conditions over 1 to 2 weeks.
- Row Cover: Lightweight fabric that lets in light and water while buffering cold and wind.
- Cool-Season Crop: A vegetable that prefers cool air and soil and tolerates light frost.
- Warm-Season Crop: A vegetable that needs warm air and soil and is damaged by frost.
- Workable Soil: Moist but crumbly soil that is not waterlogged or smeary when handled.
FAQ
Q: Is March too early to plant vegetables?
A: March often signals the start of cool-season planting. Sow hardy crops like peas once the soil is workable, not frozen or waterlogged. Always prioritize your local forecast and soil condition over the calendar for successful planting.
Q: How do I know if the soil is ready?
A: To know if the soil is ready, squeeze a handful. If it crumbles rather than smears like putty, it is workable. If not, wait a few days and try again.
Q: Can I plant tomatoes in March?
A: You can plant tomatoes in warm, frost-free zones. Elsewhere, start seeds indoors in March and transplant outdoors after your last frost or with reliable protection.
Q: Do I need grow lights to start seeds?
A: Bright grow lights make sturdier seedlings and shorten timelines. Sunny windows can work for small batches, but often produce leggy plants.
Q: What should I plant besides veggies?
A: March is ideal for bare-root fruit trees, brambles, roses, and hardy flowering annuals like pansies, snapdragons, and calendula.
Final Thoughts
March rewards smart timing. Focus on cool-season champions outdoors, start warm crops under lights, and lean on simple covers to bridge chilly nights. Planting now sets up weeks of fresh harvests just as spring hits full stride.
As you plan your March garden, use your zone and last frost date to guide you. Choose region-appropriate seeds and simple season extenders from Firefly Farm & Mercantile so every planting has the best chance to thrive.