Hurry, 10 Seeds to Start in March

This is a special month for me! Not only because I was born in the month of March, but because this is the month when we begin the majority of our seeds for the summer garden. Today, I’ll be sharing with you which seeds to start in March.

With each of these “seeds to plant this month” posts, you should consider the usual planting “rules” before you actually begin to plant.

If there is a meter of snow of outside, you should not direct sow seeds yet.

Or if your frost date is more than 10 weeks away, hold off on starting ALL of the seeds indoors. Apply the directions to your area.

The point of this post is to give planting ideas to gardeners who would benefit from a list of seeds to start. The list is a meant to be a launching pad from where you should do more research into your gardening zone, climate, weather predictions, frost dates, and so on.

Favourite Seeds to start in March

We grow both vegetables and flowers in our garden. I will give you a more detailed list for vegetables and flowers later in this post. But my absolute favourite seeds to start in March are:

Broccoli
Carrots
Beet
Cabbage
Sweet potatoes
Echinacea
Milkweed
Tomatoes
Cauliflower
Loofa (Gourd)

labeling seed tray with painters tape and marker

Seeds to start indoors in March

Starting seeds indoors is one of the ways gardeners jump start their season. In fact, some gardeners start nearly all their seeds indoors.

For us in the pacific north west, there is about 4 months of real summer. The temperatures during this time can still fluctuate between cool and really warm.

That is why we start most of our warm loving crops much in advance, indoors.

Vegetables to start indoors in March

Our primary reason for gardening is growing our own food. Here is a list of vegetables we start indoors during March:

Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Tomatoes
Ground Cherries
Sweet Potato Slips
Kohlrabi
Kale
Swiss Chard
Spinach

Flowers, herbs, and legumes to start indoors in March

Flowers usually take more time to establish and grow into little plants. That is why most flowers are started weeks in advance of the last frost date. Some even 8-10 weeks early.

The list of flowers to start during March list is going to include some herbs and legumes as well. I usually group them together.

Flowers, herbs and legumes we start indoors during March include:

Chickpeas
Loofa
Asters
Echinacea
Basil
Milkweed
Portluca
Spearmint
Strawflower

You can also start the seeds on the February list if you haven’t already.

watering seed pots with kitchen sink sprayer

Seeds to direct sow outdoors in March

For gardeners starting seeds indoors, there is never enough room inside to start all the plants our hearts desire. That is why direct sowing seeds straight into the garden is sometimes the preferred option.

I like to have peace of mind, so I do both indoor and outdoor starts when I am able to.

That is why you will see some doubles in this list, compared to the seeds we started indoors. This is because you can choose to start the seeds indoors or direct sow them outdoors.

During March, we are still at risk for a frost any day, so double efforts (indoor + outdoor starts) doesn’t hurt. Although all the seeds on this list are cold and frost hardy. Even still, a really cold frost would kill near most any plant.

What to direct sow in March

The seeds we sow directly into our garden beds during March include:

Peas
Kale
Swiss Chard
Spinach
Lettuce
Mustard Greens
Pac Choi
Radish
Carrots
Turnips
Kohlrabi
Beets

Browse the February list to plant more seeds outdoors if you haven’t already.

woman with baseball cap planting seeds in garden beds

When to start seeds indoors and direct sow outdoors

To create a useful garden calendar, see my other posts for seeds to start in other months. This will help you get a feeling for which crops can usually be started together and when you can begin.

This is a daring list of seeds you can start thinking about starting in February!
Read about starting seeds indoors including containers, soil, and light set-ups here.