In this 20‑minute YouTube tutorial, Nicole Johnsey Burke explains why March is the critical planting month for gardeners in any climate and introduces a three‑tier frost‑date classification (One, Two, Three) to tailor planting decisions. She walks viewers through a curated list of ten vegetables and several flowers that can be either direct‑sown outdoors or started indoors, depending on the gardener’s frost zone. For each frost category she details specific crops (e.g., mustards, snap peas, carrots, radishes for early‑frost zones; carrots, beets, lettuce for later‑frost zones) and provides practical tips such as using frost cloth, heat mats, trellises, and timing for transplanting. The video also promotes her seed collection, a frost‑date calculator, a free “garden game plan” workshop, and a seasonal planner bundle, encouraging viewers to comment their frost number and engage with the resources. The overall message is a step‑by‑step, season‑agnostic planting plan that ensures a successful growing season regardless of location.
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For anyone who wants to grow a garden this year, March is the month where if you wait to plant, you're going to be too late. Over the last 10 years, I have gardened in three different climates, hot, cold, and mild. And I found in all those climates that no matter how much I procrastinate in January and February, March is the month I have to start planting or I've messed up the entire growing season. So in this video, I'm going to give every single one of us 10 plants that we can plant this month in the garden. But don't plant a thing until you find find out if you're a one, a two, or a three. You are one if your frost date has already passed. Your frost date was in February or a few months before, or you don't even have a frost date. You're a two if your last frost date is coming up in March or April. No more frost for you once May arrives. And you are a three if you're waiting till May or June for frost to be done in your area. If you don't know your last frost date yet, don't worry, we got you. We have a frost date calculator that'll give you your exact estimated frost dates right below this video. Once you find out what number you are, come back, tell us in the comments. And now let's get to our planting list. If you haven't bought your seed yet this year, you want to check out our seed collection, which is right below this video. I'll link it up. Every seed I'm talking about today, they're in the collection and they'll ship out to you right away. Let's start with number three, because let's be honest, you've had it rough. You've been stuck inside, freezing cold, very little sunlight. March is your month to finally open the door and go out to to the garden. I know, I know. Too good to be true. It is not. So these are the seeds that you're going to be planting directly in the soil. I saw back in February, a bunch of you said in the comments that your garden was completely covered with snow and there was no way you're going to be planting anytime soon. But trust me, there are going to be days when the sun comes out, things start to melt. You can cover your garden with some plastic or frost cloth in order to heat up the soil faster. And as soon as that soil is workable this month, you want to put some seeds in. When I lived in Chicago, and anytime that the snow would start to Melt and the soil warmed up just a little bit. I snuck out there and stuck some seeds in the ground. So these red purple mustards, they are great. They're going to go really big right down the center of your bed. These can go directly by seed into the soil. Right now, in March, sugar snap peas. You want to plant these right along your trellises. These are going to grow vertically for you and in about 60 days you're going to have peas to eat. When I lived in Chicago, I planted these on St. Patty's Day. Next up, we've got spring spinach. This is cold and frost tolerant. You're going to go straight from seed right into the soil. I planted this in February, if you can believe it, in my Chicago garden, covered it with frost cloth and had tons of spinach starting in April. It's so good. Next, we've got carrot. I picked out some rainbow carrots for you guys because you definitely need some color in your life, but any kind of carrot works. You can plant these directly by seed into the soil this month, keep it covered with some frost cloth for about a month, and then your carrots are going to start to grow in April. Be ready to harvest by early June. Next up, our radish. This is going to be one of your earliest harvests. Put these by seed directly in the soil. Also helps if you cover it with frost cloth at the beginning or the end of this month. And then you're going to be harvesting these right around the start of May. I know it's hard to believe, but trust me now, while those plants are starting to grow outdoors, you also want to start some things indoors. So you're ready to move out around Mother's Day or the beginning of June. This is a great time to start these big tomatoes by seed indoors. They need to be on a heat mat and have lights above them, but you'll have great tomatoes you can put out in May or June as soon as your frost dates has passed. Next, it's a great time to start these big green bell peppers. These also need to be started by seed indoors with the heat mat and light, and you can be able to move these out as soon as your frost is over. Also, parsley, super slow growing, expensive at the store. This is a great time to get these seeds going so you've got tons of parsley you can put into the garden. And this actually can go into the garden by April or May. It doesn't have to wait till there's no more frost. Of course, we got to start some Flowers to give us hope for color and beauty. Coming up in May. Coreopsis is a great one to start by seed indoors. And also these zinnias. This is going to give you a jump start. You're going to get flowers way earlier in the season, probably around June or early July. Whereas if you put seeds directly in the ground in May or June, you're not going to get blooms until August or September. This is going to give you a huge head start on summer. Plus, you're going to get lots of harvest from all those seeds that are going right in the soil right now. Now, let's talk to the number ones. These are the gardeners that have no more chance of frost. And I am so super jealous of you right now. So you want to put some nasturtiums inside your garden directly by seed. These I love planting right on the corners of all my raised beds. They're going to grow over the edge of the bed. The coolest thing about this plant is it's beautiful, it's luscious. You can eat every single part of it, and it helps with pest control. It's a must. Next up, we've got pole beans. So if you haven't planted tomatoes or bigger plants on your trellises, this is your opportunity to cover your trellises so super quickly with a plant that's going to be so productive. So pull beans. You want to plant by seed directly at the base of all your trellises. Beautiful plants. In a very short time, you'll have tons of beans in, like, 60 days. Next up is basil. This is a purple basil I love, but you could do Greek or Genovese basil. This will grow really well. If you plant seed directly in the soil, it's going to take longer, obviously, than if you buy a plant, but so much cheaper, and you'll get so much more production for like 1/100th of the price. Not even exaggerating. Next up is zucchini. So if you're wanting to fill out your beds and you don't have a bunch of tomatoes or peppers that you started earlier because you missed my January and February videos, then zucchini is a great way to catch up. Zucchini squash. These can go by seed directly in the garden. They're going to take up a whole square foot. I like to grow them on the edge of the garden so they kind of trail off tons of fruit. 55 days from now, you're going to have zucchini bread in May. I'm jealous. Next up is cucumber. Also A great way to cover trellises. If you don't have tomatoes yet. Cucumbers are going to grow 55, 60 days right up the trellis and give you tons of fruit. We're talking pickles by the middle of May. So while those things are growing outside, you could just let that happen. But I want to give you a little tip. This is what I did when I lived in Houston is I would start things for the hot season around now so I can move things out into my garden in May when all these spring plants start to stress out when it's like 95 degrees. So eggplants, they do not mind the heat. They'll grow great in the middle of the summer. Great thing to start indoors. Okra. Love it or hate it, it is a great filler for the garden and the flowers are gorgeous. Start these indoors so you can move them out in May when the temps really heat up melons. This muskmelon cantaloupe thrives when it is super hot, but you want to get a jump start on the growth of it. So start these indoors as well so you can move them out in May. Pumpkins, gourds, anything that is in the cucumber family that takes over 120 days needs to start inside so you can move it out early May and it's going to grow all the way through the summer. You'll have harvest in the fall and then sunflowers. There is nothing that helps me get through the heat of summer more than a sunflower. Start these by seed indoors. You can move them out as early as mid April, early May. You're going to have these things towering over your garden giving you a little bit of shade in the middle of the heat of the summer. You won't regret it. If you like simple garden instruction like this, you are going to love my class that's happening today. I'm teaching you in the garden game plan workshop. I'm going to share the three key things that I figured out that you have to get right in the garden to make it easy, stress free and so much fun. So you can sign up for the class. It's completely free right below this video and I hope to see you there. Finally, let's talk about our number twos. I'm a two if you're a two. Hi neighbor. We are in the middle of our cool season right now. We're waiting on our last frost date. But the good news is there is so much we can be growing in March in our garden. So let's Talk first about what we want to put directly in the soil. This is a perfect time for carrots. If you don't have carrots in the ground yet, now is your moment. You're going to sprinkle these, give them about 2 to 3 inches between each one, put them directly in the soil. You don't need to cover it with frost. Cloth. Cloth. You should have carrots to harvest by the end of May. Next up, we've got beets. Last year, I filled two of these beds with beet seeds, and, man, I did not regret it. I had beets all summer long. They were so delicious. This is the time to get them into the soil. Next up, we've got herbs like cilantro and dill. These are two herbs that a lot of people sell in the middle of summer, and it's just too hot. You're going to go to plant stores in the middle of summer and they're going to have plants, plants of dill and cilantro, and do not buy them. These plants are made to grow when it's cool outside. So put these seeds in the soil. They're going to warm up as the spring warms, you're going to have tons of herbs that make your salad taste so delicious. Next up, we've got lettuce. Really, any kind of lettuce. This is the time that it shines in the garden. I love this Paris island. It's like a romaine lettuce. My third child, Rebecca, she's obsessed with Caesar salads right now, so I'm about to wow her with some homegrown Caesar salad. You can do it, too. And last but not least to go out into the garden this month is calendula. This is a beautiful flower. I love to grow it right over the edge of the beds. And you can make teas with it, tinctures with it, and you can also prevent pests. Calendula is what we call a trap crop. It will attract pests to it, which means it'll keep them off your plants. All these other beautiful things, they won't touch it because they'll be eating the calendula. So while all those beautiful plants are growing outdoors, it's a great time to start some things in indoors that you can get going to plant out at the end of April when your frost dates are over. Smaller tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, pear tomatoes. These are great to start indoors right now. You can move them out as your last frost pass. Serrano peppers, these smaller peppers. These are great options to start indoors as well. They are going to take a little bit longer, but not nearly as long as those bigger peppers. I also love to start some marigolds inside. These are not frost tolerant, so you need to wait until after your last frost to go outside. But why not get a jump start so you can have these beautiful flowers ready to go as soon as it warms up. Also, jalapeno peppers. If you've never grown peppers before, my experience is this is the easiest one to grow. It's great to get started indoors so you can move it out when frost is over and then corn. This year I'm going to try my hand at growing some corn down the middle of some of my beds. And you want to get a head start with corn because it is a very long crop. It's over 100 days in the garden, so. So it's a great thing to get this started indoors and then you can move it outside as soon as frost has passed. Now, I'm sure you heard me say cold season, cool season, warm season, hot season. And you're like, nicole, what's with all the seasons? And this is what I mean. So as gardeners, we care less about planting zones and more about planting seasons. And in our seasonal planner bundle, we guide you through what to do each and every season of the entire year. So you can get all four of these planners at a 50% off discount. I'll put a link to it right below this video. If you love step by step instruction, just like you've gotten in this video, you're going to love these planters. Now you're probably thinking, Nicole, 10 plants just for me. I've only got one little raised bed. Don't worry, I have a planting method that will show you how to fit all those plants all together in just one garden bed. You can watch that video right here.
