Here, under Brittany’s mild climate, March is marked by ubiquity: it has to be everywhere at once—in the vegetable garden for early sowings of late-spring vegetables, but also, warm indoors, to prepare the summer harvest.
So, let’s be honest, we’re rushing around… but it’s a joyful bustle as it heralds the return of spring. The programme is simple and revolves around two 'culinary themes': the Jardinère of small vegetables and Ratatouille.
1) Under cover (unheated): the spring vegetable jardinière
Our shelter, a tunnel greenhouse, is a real luxury. Originally devoted to tomatoes and other frost-prone vegetables, it now serves all year round, especially for early sowings. It can, in your garden, be replaced with equal effectiveness by: a well-sited frame, a mini-market-garden tunnel (to be erected on hoops or moulded plastic) or, even more simply, by a forcing fleece.
To obtain early harvests, I sow there from the end of February and directly in the soil:
- the smooth-shelled peas (one row of ‘Très hâtif d’Annonay’ and one row of ‘Petit Provençal’),
- the spring turnips ('Rave d’Auvergne hâtif' and ‘de Milan Rouge Extra Hâtif’),
- the early carrots ('Marché de Paris' is early and ideal in our heavy soil),
- the first radishes ('Fluo F1' for the half-long types and ‘Gaudry 2’ for the round ones).
Peas, Turnip 'Rave d'Auvergne hâtif', Carrot 'Marché de Paris' and Radish 'Gaudry'
After seeing whole rows of young seedlings disappear, I resolved to start my lettuces ('Gotte Jaune d’Or', 'Batavia sanguine' and 'Reine de mai') in pots. They will grow under the greenhouse and will be planted three weeks later, once less vulnerable to slug damage.
2) Warm indoors: ratatouille… but also the flowers!
Early March, chillies and peppers get the season underway, as they develop fairly slowly. Then comes the turn of tomatoes and aubergines, and, at the very end of the month, of aromatic herbs that enjoy warmth such as basil and oregano. To these sowings, two or three courgette plants ('Précoce maraîchère') are added, which I sow a little early to enjoy a harvest at the start of summer.
Aubergine 'Violetta di Firenza', Yellow pepper, Cayenne pepper and Tomato Black Cherry
And because I cannot imagine a kitchen garden without flowers, I take the opportunity to grow, still indoors, annual flowers: the marigolds that will accompany the tomatoes, but also the zinnias, which I pair with French beans, cosmos and annual Rudbeckias whose rustic charm delights me every year… not forgetting nasturtiums (very useful for distracting aphids), because even though they now reseed themselves, I never tire of discovering new varieties.
Zinnias, Cosmos, Marigolds and Nasturtiums: essential annual flowers for the vegetable garden
This list isn’t exhaustive; we invite you to add to it in the comments... and please don’t hesitate to ask us any questions, we’ll be very happy to reply.
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