Pacific Northwest March Garden Checklist: Seeds, Pruning, and Slug Patrol

March in the Pacific Northwest brings birdsong, swelling buds, and the first real chance to garden again. Sharpen your tools and dive in.

Prune Fruit Trees Now

This is the last month to prune apples and other fruit trees. Basics for a mature tree:
• Remove dead, diseased, or dying branches.
• Remove branches growing toward the trunk, straight up, or straight down.
• Remove crossing/rubbing branches.
• Thin the canopy so light penetrates after leaf-out.

Distinguish bud types: sharp pointed buds become leaves/branches; fatter, darker buds become fruit.

Weed Early and Often

Weeds grow fastest now. Spend time weekly removing them before they set seed.

Care for Spring Bulbs

After daffodils fade, deadhead but leave foliage to die back naturally—this feeds next year’s bulbs.

Sow Seeds Indoors and Out

March is the main month for starting vegetables, herbs, and summer annuals from seed. Check packets for ideal germination temperatures; a heat mat or sunny windowsill works. Start basil, parsley, lettuce, brassicas, cosmos, and marigolds.

Protect Tender Crops

Salad greens and lettuces can go outside under a cold frame or floating row cover. Warm soil faster by covering with black plastic for a week or two before planting.

Direct-Sow Root Crops

Carrots, parsnips, beets, and radishes dislike transplanting—sow directly. Radishes harvest in weeks.

Harvest Rhubarb

Harvest stems from late March through midsummer. Allow one plant to flower for ornamental drama—rabbits and deer ignore it.

Battle Slugs

On 5 acres, hand-picking isn’t practical. Organic Sluggo Plus (iron phosphate + spinosad) is safe for kids, pets, and beneficials, yet kills slugs, snails, earwigs, and pill bugs. Diatomaceous earth and beer traps are alternatives.

Birdhouse Maintenance

Clean out nesting boxes now for the new brood—swallows especially help control mosquitoes.