March: in the garden

Its never the wrong time to be working on your garden. You can be working outside in the summer sun or starting seedling indoors during the winter. Or if you are getting really fancy maybe you have an indoor/aquaponic/ areoponic vertical garden? Anyway below I'll be talking about what gardening in March might look like in zone 10 here in Oxnard (El Rio), California. Catch some extra pro tips too!!

Seedlings to start indoors from seed:
celery, cucumber, eggplant, peppers, & tomatoes
Can you ever really have enough tomatoes, and peppers? It's really the base of all my favorite foods (salsas, pastas, brushetta, salads & pizza to name a few). I always wish I planted more at harvest time so remember PLANT MORE THAN YOU WANT. I keep them on a heat mat until they sprout then keep then under led lights or a windowsill works fine too. DON'T FORGET ABOUT THEM! This stage is the most sensitive, you don't want the seeds to go completely dry but you should not water-log them. Know how much water each plant needs, all are slightly different.

Seedlings to start outdoors from seed:
beans, beets, carrots, corn, lettuce, melons, okra, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potato, & summer squash
These plants are the easiest for me since typically they are the most hardy plants. This means they are TOUGH. TO. KILL. I mean talk about nine lives! We are still amateur urban gardener/farmers but have done great with potatoes, carrots, lettuce and sweet potatoes.

Transplant seedlings/baby plants outside:
beets, carrots, lettuce, onions
This part can be a bit tricky.... We have definitely lost a grip of plants when taken from indoors to outdoors. Learn from me DON'T taking them out too early, for too long, leave them overnight too soon, under/over water etc. Some plants may need to be hardened off and cant adapt fast enough to the new extreme conditions. Plants left in these extreme or new conditions when they aren't ready for them will undergo shock/stress and could die... Expose them to the elements in the afternoon in a protected area like a porch. After a week of slowly adding more day time they should be ready to endure a full day and night.

Plants to harvest:
Beets, broccoli, leafy greens, and peas
Reaping all the delicious joy of your hard work is why harvesting is the best part. Make sure to research: harvesting techniques, the best ways to store your harvest, weather it needs to be cured, kept in the fridge or not, and what type of container will keep the best freshness. If you are like us you'll be clipping as you need over days or weeks.

Until next time! Keep on gardening and remember stay hydrated and get some sun, you are practically a plant.

Love always,
Xochitl Coronado