The plot in March

Jobs on the plot

• Plant first early potatoes. From the middle of the month in the south, the end of the month further north.
• Plant onion and shallot sets. Net them for a few weeks so that the birds do not pull them out.
• Feed fruit bushes. A handful of general fertiliser and a mulch of compost round each one.
• Hoe on dry days. Weed seedlings die in minutes on a dry, breezy day. Little and often saves hours later.
• Put up bean supports. Easier now, before the beds fill up.
• Watch for slugs. They wake up hungry. Check under boards and pots after dark.

Times are for an average year in the English Midlands. Go two weeks earlier in the mild south, and two to three weeks later in the north and in Scotland.