Your March Garden Checklist for Santa Cruz County
March is the most action-packed month in a Santa Cruz garden. Soil temperatures push past 55F along the coast and into the low 60s in inland valleys, unlocking a wide range of planting options. UC ANR considers March the start of the primary growing season for our region, and there is more to do this month than any other on the calendar.
What to Plant in March
Direct-sow beans (Provider bush bean, Kentucky Wonder pole bean), carrots (Danvers, Nantes), beets (Detroit Dark Red, Chioggia), and lettuce (Buttercrunch, Black Seeded Simpson). Along the coast and in Scotts Valley, you can also direct-sow cilantro, dill, and arugula.
Set out transplants of broccoli, cabbage, kale, and cauliflower if you did not get to it in February. Strawberry bare-root plants (Seascape, Chandler) should go in the ground now for a summer harvest.
Coastal gardeners with warm, sheltered microclimates can risk transplanting tomatoes and peppers outdoors after mid-March with row cover protection at night. Inland valley growers in Watsonville and Pajaro should wait until early April unless using Wall O' Water or similar season extenders. Mountain gardeners should keep warm-season starts indoors and focus on cool-season direct sowing.
Plant summer-blooming bulbs: dahlias, gladiolus, and ranunculus. Sunflower seeds (Mammoth Russian, Autumn Beauty) can go straight in the ground.
What to Harvest in March
Spring peas planted in February begin producing snap pods by late March. Radishes are ready 25 to 30 days after sowing. Overwintered fava beans are flowering heavily and will start setting pods. Continue cutting kale, chard, and lettuce. The last of the winter broccoli side shoots should be harvested before plants bolt.
What to Maintain and Protect
Feed citrus trees with a balanced citrus fertilizer as new growth emerges. UC Master Gardeners recommend spreading fertilizer evenly under the canopy out to the drip line, then watering it in well.
Weed aggressively. March rains combined with warming soil create an explosion of annual weeds. Hoe them when they are small and the soil surface is dry. Mulch around established plants with 2 to 3 inches of wood chips or straw to suppress new weed growth.
Divide and transplant overgrown perennials: agapanthus, daylilies, and ornamental grasses. This is also the best month to transplant California native plants before the dry season arrives.
What to Watch Out For
Earwigs emerge in numbers this month and chew ragged holes in seedling leaves and flower petals. Rolled newspaper traps or tuna cans filled with vegetable oil are effective. Empty traps daily.
Cutworms sever young transplants at the soil line overnight. Protect new transplants with cardboard collars pressed an inch into the soil. Fungal diseases like damping off can kill seedlings in overly wet conditions. UC IPM recommends improving air circulation and avoiding overhead watering of seed trays.
Watch for late frost in mountain areas through mid-April. Keep row cover on hand.
This month: Get your main vegetable garden beds planted with cool-season crops by mid-March. The window between "too cold" and "too warm for cool-season crops" is narrow here.
For more help with planning your vegetable garden, check out our free California Vegetable Planting Calendar at [/your-garden-toolkit].
