Some of you eager beavers (an English saying for being quick off the mark) might have already started sowing your seeds as the weather has become milder in recent days.

However a word of caution here. There are still frosts and we may not be out of Winter totally yet which could still kill tender seedlings which are in unheated mini greenhouses and unprotected grow houses.

If you are in the UK or US and want to know your approximate Last Frost Dates, please view the Garden Focused website.

According to this site, Our last frost date in Essex, UK is the last week in April however I’m a bit sceptical about this and I’m going with Mid May as my last frost date.

Vegetables to Sow in March

1. Early Peas

Peas are hardy so are ok to sow now even if there is still frost in your area. They are best started off in modules like root trainers which have a deep cell to contain the roots to minimise disturbance when transplanted out into your raised beds or pots.

If you cloche or cover (using horticultural fleece or enviro mesh and a frame or hoops) the area you are going to be transplanting the peas into now, this will warm up the ground when you plant them out in April. This will give the plants the best growing conditions to continue their growth in the ground.

What are the best Varieties of Early Peas?

Kelvedon Wonder

This is one of the UK’s most popular varieties. It is classed as a second early which means it takes 14 weeks from sowing to harvest. We are sowing ours in the second week in March in root trainers and leaving them on our un-heated conservatory windowsill with a plastic lid over the top of the cells until the seeds germinate.

We sowed Kelvedon Wonder last year (although not this early in the year) and it performed well as it is a fast growing dwarf variety and only reaches 60cm high.

These peas will still need support even though they are not very tall plants. Peas have tendrils on their plants which need to grab at string or netting to help them latch on to something and climb up to support their heavy pea pods. Therefore just a cane wigwam on its own won’t work, they’ll need some netting or string/twine wrapped round and round the canes to latch onto.

We grow Kelvedon Wonder because it has a great disease resistance to downy mildew which we seem to suffer with (maybe because I try to get too many plants into a small space).

Why should I grow Kelvedon Wonder Peas?

• A great fast growing dwarf variety (60cm high) which will kick start the Pea season, sow in Mid March for a harvest from June onwards.
• Pods are small to medium sized with sweet tasting peas. Ours never reach the kitchen, they are all eaten in the garden!
• Great sized pods for children to pick and eat.

Douce Provence

This variety is very hardy as you can sow it in October all the way round to March and it will survive in the snow and frost. Douce Provence is an Early Variety 11-13 weeks harvest from sowings.

Douce Provence grows to 75cm high so will need some strong support or a pea net to grow up. The peas are sweet and round and the pods are medium to long sized. They are easy to grow.

2. Sweet Peppers and Chilli Peppers

It’s best to sow Sweet pepper seeds or chilli peppers seeds in a heated greenhouse, heated propagator or a warm conservatory or even the airing cupboard. These seeds will not germinate if there is no heat and the soil temperature needs to be ideally over 21 degrees centigrade for germination to occur.

The seeds are also slow to grow, sometimes taking 5 weeks to germinate. They also don’t like a lot of water when in their seed trays.

Tips on Growing Chilli and Sweet Pepper Seeds

• Sow seeds 5mm deep in seed trays or cell trays.
• Water lightly on the top of the soil, not underneath, they don’t like to be sitting in compost that is too wet.
• Don’t give up on seeds germinating, they can take up to 5 weeks and need constant heat of over 21 degrees centigrade.
• When they have 2 leaves or more and before they get too tall, pot on into a large pot 9cm wide, gently pick up using the leaves to transplant or the soil and roots.
• They will still need a warm conservatory or heated greenhouse to carry on growing and should only be planted outside in the heat of the summer in July.

3. Beetroot

Beetroot is one of the vegetables that can germinate in low temperatures when sown outside in the soil in March.

Beetroots are very healthy vegetables containing vitamin B, iron, magnesium and copper.

There are many different varieties and colours of Beetroot, but all are easy to grow for the beginner gardener.

What are the best varieties of Beetroot?

• Cylindra – long red roots which are best for pickling.
• Pablo – round beetroot which is best for eating raw.
• Choggia – round beetroot with pink skin and pink rings inside.
• Golden – yellow round beetroot, great in salads, milder taste.

4. Swiss Chard

Swiss Chard or Leaf Beat comes in rainbow colours or white to brighten up your vegetable garden with its bright stems and large leaves. The leaves can be cooked like spinach and are very nutritious.

I love Swiss Chard, it does love being planted in a sunny spot and will grow even if you forget to water in for a bit. It is very easy to grow and will give you lots of leaves all through the summer and autumn months. It can be grown in containers or even flower borders. If you have any gaps in your vegetable garden then Chard is the perfect fit, they have upright growth and don’t spread very wide.

Swiss Chard can be started in modules, cells or pots before planting out into your beds or containers.

5. Tomatoes

According to Wikipedia, there are over 10,000 different cultivars or varieties of tomato, see their partial list here. So there’s plenty of tomatoes to choose from.

Tomatoes are very easy to grow and perfect for beginner growers.

How to start Sowing Tomato Seeds

• Sow Tomato seeds in Late March to April
• Start by sowing 1-2 seeds in each cell of a cell tray filled with multipurpose compost
• Water lightly
• Cover the cell tray with a clear plastic cover or a plastic bag to keep the moisture in and some heat.
• Move the cell tray to a warm indoors windowsill as to germinate as the temperature to germinate is 18 degrees centigrade.
• Once your seedlings, have popped up above ground in around 1-2 weeks, remove the plastic bag or cover and move to a light windowsill still indoors.
• If the tomato seedlings keep bending on their stems as they lean towards the light, keep turning the tray every few days so the stems go straight again.
• When the seedlings have four leaves, transplant them into a bigger pot to grow on.
• Only move them outdoors to their final growing position when all risk of frost has passed.
• You will need to acclimatise your plants to the outdoor temperature for a few days or a week before planting outside.
• Plant in a sunny spot in the vegetable garden and water well.

If you are interested in How to Plan Your Vegetable Garden, please see my series of posts to show you how. Click the link to find out more.