March is almost upon us, and with it the days are lengthening and our prop benches are about to get busy - March is a big seed sowing month!

As the season changes, and the soil begins to warm, the signs of spring around you can act as a good seed sowing prompt - if you’re starting to see weeds sprouting in your beds then it's time to get your own seedlings started!

With under cover propagation, you can start sowing beetroot, brussel sprouts, kohl rabi, cauliflowers, summer cabbages, onions, lettuce, celery and celeriac.

You have until mid March to get your tomatoes, chillies, peppers and aubergines sown. Ideally they will be started off with a little heat.

For this seasons' cut flowers, now is a great time to sow rudbeckia, snapdragons, amaranth, helichrysum, sprinkles grass, greater quaking grass, bunny tails grass, nigella, scabious, yarrow and verbena.

If you’re sowing directly outdoors, once the soil has warmed and dried a bit (it will!) you can also start off root crops like early beetroot, turnips, carrots and leafy greens like chard and spinach. It’s also a great time to get some radishes, spring onions, peas and broad beans in the ground.

We have been busy re-packing all of the above varieties (and more!) for our seed shop.

We've got an ever expanding array of varieties chosen for their flavour, beauty, yield, vigour, reliability and adaptability. You can explore these below:

Become a soil steward

Looking after your soil is the basic foundation of all good gardening practices and improving soil health is a prerequisite for successful growing and an abundant and thriving garden.

Good soil management locks in nutrients, improves water retention and drought resilience, and supports thriving mycelial networks - all the while reducing the need for extra inputs.

It’s about creating a more thriving environment from the ground up - you'll hopefully reap the rewards with abundant and beautiful harvests!

Here’s four ways you can become a soil steward by taking excellent care of your soil:

• Try to not leave earth bare - if you find you have a gap in between crops, cover the soil with an organic mulch like compost, manure or leaf mould to prevent any nutrients leaching out in heavy rains and reduce the risk of compaction. Alternatively keep a few good filler crops at the ready like radish and turnips to fill any unexpected gaps - both can be directly sown into the ground once the previous crop has finished
• Make your own compost - the secret to a healthy compost pile is a good mix of ‘browns and greens’, ideally 50:50. Brown inputs are dry leaves, stems, twigs and wood chips which create air pockets for aerobic digestion. Green inputs are things like kitchen scraps, grass cuttings or unharvested leaves. These encourage the development of fungi and bacteria. It's good to keep the pile moist and turn every few weeks to speed up decomposition through aeration.
• Use green manures - these can be a wonderful addition to the garden, especially if you’re able to rest parts of your growing space for a season or more. Green manures are species-rich mixes which are designed to smother weeds, establish quickly, have a good ground cover and are a natural way to improve soil fertility, structure and health. They are designed to be dug into the ground while still green to return valuable nutrients like nitrogen to the soil and help improve soil structure. Great options for a green manure mix are phacelia, field peas, birdsfoot trefoil, clover, buckwheat and ryegrass
• Brew some compost teas! These are simple, homemade fertilisers made with various different plants at certain times of the year. Comfrey and seaweed teas can be given as liquid fertilizer while plants are getting established, with comfrey is particularly good for fruiting plants like tomatoes and cucumbers due to its high potassium content. You can make your own compost teas by steeping your chosen leaves in water for a few weeks. When ready, the liquid is as smelly as it is nutritious!

We hope you find moments to enjoy this shifting season, and remember that whilst it's a busy sowing month, it's still cold at night and the risk of frost is still present. So, keep an eye on the conditions in your region and adapt accordingly. Most of all, enjoy the unfurling abundance that this time of year brings!

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Happy Spring!

Izzy and the team at Vital Seeds