We’ve finally reached March, and spring will soon be in full swing. To celebrate, and give budding new gardeners some inspiration, I thought I’d take a look at the best vegetables to sow in March for beginners.
If you’re wondering what to plant in March but don’t want to grow anything too tricky, there are tons of vegetables you can sow now for easy harvests over the coming months. Whether you’re looking to start a small vegetable garden or fill a huge bed with lettuce, carrots and other favourites, the world’s your oyster this month.
I’ve rounded up my favourite vegetables to sow in March for beginners looking to kick off their gardening year right now — with recommendations from trusted garden experts, too.
1. Peas
I had to kick off our list of the best beginner-friendly vegetables to sow in March with peas. They’re an absolute favourite of mine — you can’t beat the homegrown flavour — and one of the first vegetables I ever grew myself.
If you’re wondering when to plant peas, you can get started as early as this month, depending on the weather in your area.
‘Peas prefer cooler temperatures, meaning they do well in UK gardens,’ says Lucie Bradley, gardening and greenhouse expert from Easy Garden Irrigation. ‘To ensure germination success, the soil temperature needs to be approximately 10 degrees Celsius — simply use a soil thermometer at the same time every day to check the temperature.
‘If you are struggling to achieve these temperatures then cover the ground with garden fleece or a cloche for a couple of weeks before planting.’
You can buy affordable garden cloches from Amazon.
Where to buy pea seeds:
- Thompson & Morgan: Pea 'Hurst Green Shaft' is one of my all-time favourites.
- Crocus: Pea 'Kelvedon Wonder' is a solid early variety.
2. Beetroot
Learning how to grow beetroot is a piece of cake, and it’s another of the very first vegetables I tried growing when I was new to gardening. March is a brilliant time to get sowing, too.
‘Beetroot is perfect for planting in March, as it thrives in cooler temperatures and germinates easily,’ agrees Joe Aldworth, gardening expert at Old Railway Line Garden Centre.
‘Choose a sunny spot with weed-free soil. Sow the seeds in uniform rows, about one inch deep, with 10cm between each seed and 30cm between each row. Water only when the soil feels dry.'
Where to buy beetroot seeds:
- Amazon: I had my first round of luck with Mr Fothergill's Beetroot 'Crosbys Egyptian' seeds.
- Sarah Raven: Beetroot 'Chioggia' is another popular choice.
3. Lettuce
Lettuce is another easy vegetable to grow for beginners. It’s a cut-and-come-again vegetable, which means you’ll enjoy harvest after harvest from the same plant.
Joe recommends butterhead lettuce. ‘This hardy vegetable is highly resistant to bolting (premature seed production), making it beginner-friendly,’ he says.
Learning how to grow lettuce is straightforward. ‘Choose a sunny spot with moisture-retentive soil, and sow the seeds thinly about ¼ inch deep in rows one inch apart,' says Joe. 'Cover with soil and water well.’
Where to buy butterhead lettuce seeds:
- Thompson & Morgan: Butterhead lettuce 'All The Year Round' is a popular variety.
- J. Parker's: Sow Lettuce 'Tom Thumb' this month.
4. Spring onions
Spring onions are another recommendation of Lucie’s if you’re looking for the best vegetables to sow in March for beginners. I can vouch for the taste, too — homegrown spring onions are delicious.
‘Great for new gardeners — or young gardeners if you want to get your children or grandchildren involved — are spring onions, as they are not only easy to grow, but they can take as little as six weeks from sowing to be ready to harvest,’ Lucie says.
So, if you’re looking for quick wins, learning how to grow spring onions is one of the March gardening jobs to pencil into your calendar.
‘This fast-growing crop can be grown pretty much anywhere — in pots on a windowsill, in planters or raised beds, in a kitchen garden, or at your allotment,’ Lucie adds.
Where to buy spring onion seeds:
- Suttons: Lucie recommends Onion ‘Apache’, which are ready to harvest in just six weeks.
- Sarah Raven: Spring Onion ‘Ishikura’ is another recommendation of Lucie’s if you want to grow long white stems and bright green tops.
5. Carrots
Carrots are another solid choice for beginners looking for vegetables to sow in March. Like the other vegetables on this list, there’s nothing like the taste of homegrown carrots.
'Carrots are easy to grow from seed and are also fairly quick to harvest,’ says Amy Enfield, Ph.D., Senior Horticulturist at ScottsMiracle-Gro. ‘These crops tolerate light frosts, making them great for early season plantings.’
You don’t have to stick to the classic shop-bought styles when you're growing your own carrots, either — you can grow chantenay types, rounded ‘globe’ varieties, or even rainbow roots with white, purple and yellow varieties.
Where to buy carrot seeds:
- Dobies: Carrot 'Atlas' produces round roots, perfect for container-growing.
- Thompson & Morgan: Go for Carrot 'Flyaway' F1 Hybrid Seeds for carrot root fly resistance.
FAQs
What is the easiest vegetable to grow for beginners?
If you’re new to gardening and you’re looking for the easiest vegetables to grow, there’s a huge list to choose from.
Lettuce, herbs, peas and the other vegetables on our list of the best vegetables to sow in March for beginners are all great choices if you’re hoping to get started this month — but other favourites like tomatoes and potatoes are also fantastic choices for a rewarding first-time crop.
Which vegetables will you be sowing this month? If you're starting a new vegetable bed, you could even think about setting up a crop rotation system.
