What to Plant in March: A Monthly Planting Guide

Written by: Luke Marion

Published on February 26, 2020

Updated on May 31, 2025

The month of March is a lot of things to a lot of people, but to me, it is planting month! It’s when I see the first brave buds, the bulb flowers start to emerge, and the first vegetable seed is planted in the garden.

A man sitting in a frosty garden in March.

It may have snowed last night, but that’s not stopping me. It’s time to get some plants started for spring, and I’m super excited about it!

Discover what to plant in March : the best plants you can direct sow now (even in the north), what seeds you should be starting, and the garden tasks that will prepare you for spring planting.

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Spring Fever

If you have spring fever like me, you just can’t wait to start gardening! I’ve already shared what to plant in February, and there’s even more seeds we can start in March.

To help you have ultimate success in the garden, MIgardener has a full series on seed starting:

The Truth About Growing Zones

When it comes to growing zones, I have heard a lot of misinformation and misconceptions. One common misconception about growing zones is that your zone determines when you should start seeds.

But growing zones actually pertain to a crop's survivability and the average lowest temperature that a crop can experience during winter over a 10-year rolling cycle, which only impacts perennials. Your growing zone doesn’t directly affect when you should start seeds!

The information you actually need to know for seed starting is your last estimated frost date (LEF)! Then, you can calculate the best time to start your seeds by counting backward from the LEF date, the designated number of weeks specified on the seed packet.

If that seems a little confusing or daunting, don’t worry. Some good garden scheduling tools, like the Seedtime App or Clyde’s Garden Planner, can help.

Seeds to Direct Sow in March

Here in Michigan, I am still experiencing nights with below-freezing temperatures in March. Because of that, I am only direct sowing the most cold hardy varieties of lettuce, radishes, peas, and spinach.

Although kale, cabbage, carrots, beets, cauliflower, and similar crops are cold tolerant, I am not going to direct sow them out in the garden yet. I will wait to do that later when the temperature is warmer.

If you already have warmer temperatures in March where you live, you may be able to plant those crops now. Otherwise, start them indoors. Pro-Tip: The back of seed packets should tell you the ideal germination temperature range for that crop. Use that as a guide to plan when you should plant each crop.

Here are the varieties I direct sow in March:

Tango Leaf Lettuce - A tried and true MIgardener favorite, this lettuce is cold hardy and can overwinter without any protection. Pro-Tip: You’ll notice that I don’t sow ALL my lettuce varieties yet, only the most cold hardy ones! I will plant other lettuce varieties later, but for now, I am direct sowing these because they can handle the cold weather.
Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce - This cut-and-come-again lettuce provides tons of food from just a single plant.
Lolla Rossa Leaf Lettuce - This curly, dark purple leaf lettuce does extremely well in containers. Simply snip off as much as you need, and more will grow in its place.
Cimmaron Lettuce - This variety is a romaine leaf lettuce, forming tight upright heads of beautiful rust red leaves.
Cherry Belle Radish - Great to grow in the early spring and fall. It is a mildly spicy radish that gets hotter with a later season.
Sparkler White Tip Radish - With a beautiful red and white color divided perfectly in half, it makes for a beautiful, delicious, cold tolerant variety.
Sugar Snap Pea - Sugar snap peas are extremely cold hardy, reportedly handling some snow without being negatively affected.
Golden Sweet Pea - Peas are wonderful when used early, since pods are more tender. When cooked, these golden peas keep their bright color.
Giant Noble Spinach - This heirloom spinach handles the coldest weather and is best planted in early spring.
Butterflay Spinach - Its extra hardy and nutritious leaves are great, both sauteed and fresh.
Viroflay Spinach - This semi-savoy spinach thrives in cool weather, making it ideal for spring and fall plantings. It matures usually within 40-45 days.

These very cold hardy crops are often some of the fastest to mature and produce a harvest. With these crops, I am practicing a method called succession sowing: spreading out the amount of seeds I sow over a duration of time allows me to stagger and lengthen the harvest.

What to Plant in March

March is a great time to start perennial plants, cold weather crops, tomatoes, peppers, onions, herbs, and flowers that you didn’t start indoors in February. Herbs that I start in March include cilantro, basil, parsley, sage, oregano, and chives.

I plant flowers to intercrop in the vegetable garden, or plant in the cottage garden or potager. Flowers that stay relatively small or start growing slowly can be started indoors in March. Think marigolds, strawflowers, carnations, and bachelor buttons.

Getting Ready For Seed Starting

Before planting, make sure you have the supplies you need, such as seed trays, seed starting mix or potting mix, and grow lights. You can get top-quality Bootstrap Farmer seed starting supplies right here at MIgardener. (These trays are durable and awesome! They are even dishwasherable.)

Prepare the soil well:

Start With Quality - A good seed starting mix is key for giving plants a strong start! I highly recommend making this DIY starting mix for seeds or using a 50/50 blend of hydrated coconut coir and Pro-mix.
Sift - The second thing I do sift the seed starting mix. A real fine-textured seed starting mix without the wood bits and particles will yield better seedlings, so sifting out all the chunks is important.
Add Fertilizer - Most seed starting mixes do not contain fertilizer. Add an all-purpose fertilizer, like Trifecta+, or a gentle fertilizer, like worm castings, to your starting mix.
Water - The third thing to remember is to pre-moisten your seed starting mix! Dry soil does not readily absorb water. By pre-moistening, you are incorporating water into the soil now so it will be more readily absorbed when you water in the future.

Crops to Start Indoors in March

If you live in a warmer climate, you can start these seeds earlier than I am. My estimated last frost (LEF) date is May 11th. For every week earlier that your LEF date is, you can start your seeds that many weeks sooner.

Cold Weather Crops

Many gardeners make the mistake of starting cold tolerant crops outdoors before the soil temperature is warm enough. The seeds will not germinate if the nighttime temperatures are still too cold. It's weird because the plants might like the cold weather, but the seeds don’t!

Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and similar cold weather crops are best started indoors and moved out into the garden as seedlings. If you wait too long and sow these outdoors, they will start to grow, but the weather will get too warm, and they will yield a small harvest.

I start the following cold tolerant crops indoors in 6-Cell Plug Inserts in March and then plant them out in the garden 2 to 4 weeks before my LEF:

Rainbow Swiss Chard - Slow to bolt and heat tolerant, this mix creates a beautiful bouquet perfect for eating or decorating.
Self Blanching Cauliflower - The smooth, fine-grained heads are great for pickling and freezing.
Snowball Cauliflower - With a wonderful taste, it is perfect to make your very own cauliflower rice!
Calabrese Broccoli - This variety produces many side shoots once the main head is harvested, leading to many smaller harvests yielding about 2-3 times as much broccoli as the main head.
American Spinach - Thick, dark green leaves are savory and filled with nutrients. It is slow to bolt and has a longer season than other varieties.
Hanson Improved Crisphead Lettuce - Crisp lettuce perfect for making wraps, salads, or eating on sandwiches.
Super Red Romaine Lettuce - This is an all-time crowd favorite. Everyone in our family loves this lettuce.
Ruby Red Leaf Lettuce - Very heat tolerant and slow to bolt. Plus, the color only gets deeper with sunshine!
Purple Savoy Cabbage - A great, nutritious addition to the kitchen garden, loved for its cold tolerance and storage.
All Seasons Cabbage - This cabbage's adaptability is its hallmark, thriving in various climates and seasons, from spring to fall. Its hardy nature and resistance to bolting ensure a consistent harvest.
Napa Cabbage - Make amazing salads, kimchi, and stuffed cabbage boats.
Mammoth Red Rock Cabbage - This large, fast-maturing purple cabbage adds color to any summer salad, coleslaw, or pot roast.
Copenhagen Market Cabbage - A small, early-season variety with a big flavor!
Georgia Southern Collards - A favorite for us! Collards are delicious when sauteed with kale, sunflower seeds, onion, and garlic.
Vates Collards - This 1950s variety is a non-heading, slow bolting variety with large greenish-blue leaves. Its sweet, delicious flavor is ideal for sauteing, baking, or eating fresh.
Black Magic Kale - Think Lacinato Kale, but with a deeper color and milder flavor.
Red Russian Kale - A beautiful variety with sage green, purple-veined leaves. It is very frost tolerant and the leaves become more tender and appetizing after a hard frost.
Catskill Brussels Sprouts - Plants are very cold hardy, and the sprouts will get sweeter with frost and cold weather.
Red Bull Brussels Sprouts - This beautiful purple variety holds its color once cooked. It is slow-growing and extremely heat and cold tolerant.

Multi-sow these crops in 4-Cell Deep Plug Inserts :

Beets (3 to 4 seeds per cell) - Beets are a colorful, flavorful, and versatile option for any home garden.
Asparagus (2 seeds per cell) - If you haven’t already started asparagus, start it now. It needs time to establish a root system that can survive winter.

Onions, Tomatoes, & Peppers

If you haven’t started your onions yet, starting them as soon as possible is a good idea because onions benefit from a long growing season. Make sure to choose onions that will grow well in your region. (Use this complete growing guide to learn how to grow onions like the pros!)

I like to start all my onions from seed in February or very early March here in Michigan. Here are a few of the varieties I multi-sowed in heavy duty 3-inch seed starting pots :

Utah Yellow Sweet Spanish Onion - These sweet, mild onion bulbs can grow to weigh up to a pound or more.
Zebrune Shallot - Shallots are a mix between garlic and onions.
Tokyo Long White Bunching Onion - Tender, flavorful, and delicious, these onions are extremely space-efficient and easy to grow.
White Sweet Spanish Onion - A pure white, long day variety with shimmery, easy-to-peel skins.
Red Burgundy Onion - This short day variety is low-maintenance but full of intense flavor.

If you live in a warmer climate, you may have already started tomatoes and peppers, too. I start my peppers in late February to early March, and am starting tomatoes now in Bootstrap Farmer 72-cell seed starting trays.

A seed starting tray with peppers planted in it. Here are some of the varieties I started:

California Wonder Bell Pepper - A standard go-to bell pepper with a perfect blocky, four-lobed shape.
Ancho Grande (Poblano) Pepper - This hot pepper produces large, deep green peppers that have a bold, smoky, spicy flavor.
Jalapeno Early Pepper - These peppers grow up to 3 inches and are prolific producers. Enjoy them raw, cooked, or pickled!
Mini Yellow Bell Pepper - These small, bell-shaped peppers grow to about 2-3 inches in length and are perfect for snacking, salads, and garnishes. They are great in homemade hot sauces, pickled, and are the ideal chili for drying and grinding into homemade powder. The plants are some of the best yielding peppers and are hardy in adverse weather conditions.
Serrano Tampiqueno Pepper - Serrano peppers are a must-have in the garden.
Abe Lincoln Tomato - This is a classic variety with good acidity and regular tomato leaves, making it the perfect slicer tomato. Plants will produce normal amounts of fruit but will overcompensate in the quality of taste.
Opalka Tomato - A go-to for authentic tomato paste, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, etc., this Polish heirloom produces large, pointed, pepper-looking tomatoes weighing 5 to 8 ounces.
Old German Tomato - This is a bi-color, giant beefsteak tomato.
Tiffen Mennonite Tomato - This variety dates back to the late 1800s and was brought over from Germany by Mennonites. It is an old, potato leaf, Brandywine tomato with a deep pink color.
Supernova Grape Tomato - The Supernova tomato is a striking and unique heirloom variety known for its vibrant coloration and exceptional flavor.
Floradade Tomato - This tomato variety does well in very hot temperatures. It is a great tomato for making pasta sauces, pastes or sautéing.
Black Prince Tomato - This indeterminate variety was voted best tasting tomato in 2014, 2015, and 2017!
Mortgage Lifter Tomato - Rich, juicy, deep velvet fruits taste acidic with a fruity sweetness. This variety is popular for being the largest tomato in the garden.
German Johnson Tomato - With notes of citrus and melon, this dark pink tomato weighs in around a pound once fully matured.
Jubilee Tomato - This yellow variety is tolerant to drought, humidity, and heat and produces high yields of tomatoes all season long.
Dr. Wyche’s Yellow Beefsteak Tomato - This tomato is low acid, rich in flavor, and a stunning meaty beefsteak variety.

For more detailed growing advice, check out these complete organic growing guides on growing tomatoes and how to grow peppers.

Garden Tasks in March

March is a great time to focus your attention on seed starting. If the weather in your area allows, it can also be a good time to test your soil, add soil amendments, build raised beds, start vermicomposting, or clear weeds and debris out of the garden.

For more ideas, download our free Countdown to Spring - Garden Tasks. It contains 12 fun and easy gardening tasks that you can do leading up to spring planting to help you prepare for your best growing season yet!

What vegetables can I start planting in March?

In March, I can already plant some varieties of lettuce, peas, radishes, and spinach outdoors in Michigan. Many other seeds can be started indoors now.

When is the best time to plant tomatoes and peppers?

Tomatoes should be started indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost date (LEF) in your area. Peppers should be started 8-10 weeks before your LEF.

What flowers should I consider planting in March?

Flowers that stay relatively small or grow slowly can be started indoors in March, like marigolds, zinnias, and bachelor buttons.

What are some easy-to-grow vegetables for beginners?

Radishes, lettuce, and spinach are easy to grow vegetables you can plant this time of year.

How do I know which zone I live in?

Use the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map to find out your growing zone. But remember, your growing zone doesn’t tell you when to start seeds, but rather which perennials will survive the winter in your climate.