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Flowers and vegetables: You should sow these seeds in March

24.3.2017

Translation: machine translated

Our garden blogger Andrea Rothenberger reveals which flower and vegetable seeds you can sow in March.

Today I would like to show you which vegetables you can sow on your windowsill in March. Of course, this is just a selection and many more can be sown. It's best to check the back of the seed bag for more information. If you don't want to sow your own seeds, most flowers and vegetables are available as young plants from garden centres, DIY stores or specialist retailers from around mid-April to May.

Sowing tomatoes and chillies

The ideal time to sow tomato and chilli pepper plants on the windowsill is from mid-March
.
And this is how it works:

Fill growing trays or reusable trays with sowing soil and sow the seeds evenly. The reusable trays have the advantage that you no longer have to prick out the tomatoes, i.e. separate them, as only one seed is sown per tray.
Cover with quartz sand, water and wait until the seeds germinate. Bird sand can also be used instead of silica sand, as only a small amount is needed and it is available in small quantities. Quartz sand can also be found in the craft department. However, you should make sure that it is not coloured. Important: Only sprinkle very little. At most as much as the seed is thick.
Keep the seeds as warm as possible until germination, cover with a lid and keep moist at regular intervals. The tomatoes will germinate after 5 - 10 days.
After germination, place in a bright spot at approx. 15 degrees Celsius so that the young plants remain compact.
Once the root ball of the tomato plants is well rooted, the seedlings can be potted up. Depending on space requirements, choose a larger (approx. 12 - 15 cm) or smaller pot (approx. 9 - 12 cm) and repot a second time. Important: Tomato plants are heavy feeders and need sufficient nutrition. Ideally, use a nutrient-rich balcony soil enriched with a little mature compost. Pot the young plants up to the cotyledons.
After six weeks, the tomato plants are ready to be planted outdoors or in a container with a diameter of at least 40 - 50 cm on the balcony. Preferably in a sunny and sheltered spot. When planting out, also make sure that the tomato plants are planted as deep as possible so that they can form even more roots on the stem. This helps the seedlings to absorb the nutrients and water better and develop optimally. Fertilise tomatoes weekly in the evening with an organic liquid fertiliser (be sure to dilute with water beforehand) and be sure to provide protection against the cold during night frosts.

Sow peas and sweet peas, the earlier the better!

Peas must be sown in March and planted outdoors as soon as temperatures allow. So look for a warm, sunny and wind-protected spot. I have had the best experiences with sowing in jiffy pots. Stuff 4 - 5 seeds into the Jiffy Pots filled with sowing soil and cover with a little soil. Water and place on the windowsill to germinate.

A small greenhouse cover also makes it easier to germinate the seeds, as it creates an ideal microclimate for better germination. Another option for growing snow peas is to sow them in seedling pots. You can watch a detailed video tutorial on this topic here.

Beforehand, it is essential to install the climbing support in the garden bed. Personally, I bought some wire mesh for rabbit hutches from the DIY store and attached it to 3 - 4 fence posts, which I placed in the centre of the bed.

Sowing marigolds in pots

Sow the first flower seeds, such as marigolds, in seedling pots and prick out or repot directly into a larger pot once the seeds have emerged. Depending on the weather, plant outdoors from April to May or in a container in partial shade on the balcony.

Sowing in a cold frame or outdoors

In good weather, you can sow these vegetables in the cold frame from mid to late March and in frost-free temperatures from late April/early May directly into the vegetable patch or plant them out:

Spinach
Radishes
Head lettuce
Lollo Rosso lettuce
Kohlrabi
Fennel
Onion sets
Leek

Protect with a fleece in case of frost!

Have fun and a good start to the gardening season!

Seeds

Samen Mauser Bud Organic Tomato New Hamsphire Surecrop

Vegetable seeds

Seeds

Quantity discount

CHF5.60 per piece for 2 units

Samen Mauser Pepperoni Colourful mixture

Vegetable seeds

Watering cans

Sprayman green watering sprayer

Seeds

Samen Mauser Kefen Norli

Vegetable seeds

Seeds

Quantity discount

CHF5.90 per piece for 2 units

Samen Mauser Field Marigold

Plant seeds

Plant breeding sets

GrowCamp Trellis for raised bed

40 cm, 1 cm

Raised garden beds

Palram Cold frame single

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Andrea Rothenberger

a.rothenberger@gmx.ch

I discovered my love for gardening very early on and later turned my passion into my profession. For a few years now, I’ve been regularly writing blog posts and publishing articles in the HomeGardening section of myPfadFinder.com. This is where I give readers tips and tricks on gardens and balconies and present my latest gardening videos.

Find out more about me here: <a href="http://www.andreas-homegardening.com/" target="_blank">www.andreas-homegardening.com</a>

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