March in Florida is when things get real. This is your last shot at cool-season crops before the heat takes over, and it's prime time to get your warm-season garden going. If you've been waiting to plant tomatoes, peppers, and basil, stop waiting. This is your month.
Here's the deal: March is a transition month. What you plant depends on where you are. North Florida is still cool enough for greens and peas. South Florida is already sweating. Central Florida is somewhere in between. Let's break down what you should actually be planting right now.
Last Call for Cool-Season Stuff (North & Central Florida)
Lettuce & Greens: Zones 8b-9b, you can still sneak in quick greens early this month. Buttercrunch lettuce, arugula, spinach. They'll bolt when it heats up, but you'll get a few good weeks of harvest. After mid-March, forget it.
Peas: Sugar snap and snow peas can still go in early March if you're in North Florida. Plant them now, harvest in April before they quit on you.
Radishes: Cherry Belle or French Breakfast. 25 days and you're eating them. Plant them to keep yourself motivated while everything else is still getting established.
Carrots (North Florida only): Danvers or Nantes. Early March only, zone 8b. They need 60-75 days, so if you want spring carrots, plant them now or skip them.
Still planting cool-season or already switched to warm-season? What zone are you in?
Warm-Season Vegetables: This Is What You're Really Here For
Tomatoes (All Florida)
North Florida, this is your month. Don't wait. Central and South Florida, you should already have tomatoes in the ground, but if you don't, get them in early March. After that, it's too hot for good fruit set and you'll be fighting pests all summer.
What works: Celebrity, Better Boy, Florida 91 for slicers. Sungold or Sweet 100 for cherry tomatoes. Heat Set II if you're in South Florida and pushing it late.
How to plant them: Transplants, 24-36 inches apart. Stake or cage them when you plant—don't wait until they're falling over. Mulch heavy. Water deep and consistent. Inconsistent watering gives you blossom end rot and cracked fruit, and nobody wants that.
What's your favorite tomato variety? I'm always looking for new ones to try.
Peppers (All Florida)
Bells, jalapeños, habaneros—March is perfect. They're slow to get going but once they start producing, they don't stop for months.
Varieties: California Wonder for bells. Jalapeño M for heat. Habanero if you're serious. Sweet Banana peppers are underrated and produce like crazy.
Planting: 18-24 inches apart. Consistent moisture, but don't drown them. Mulch. Support the big ones when they get heavy with peppers.
Eggplant (All Florida)
Black Beauty or Ichiban (the long Japanese type). Transplants, 24-30 inches apart. Watch for flea beetles—they'll shred your eggplant leaves. Row covers help early on.
Squash & Cucumbers (All Florida)
Squash: Yellow Crookneck, Zucchini, Straightneck. Plant 1 inch deep, 24-36 inches apart. They take up space but they produce. Watch for squash vine borers—they're the worst.
Cucumbers: Straight 8, Marketmore, Ashley. Trellis them or let them sprawl. Pick them young. Big cucumbers are bitter and full of seeds.
Dealt with squash vine borers yet? Drop your prevention tips below because we all need help with those things.
Beans (All Florida)
Bush beans: Contender, Provider, Blue Lake. Plant 1 inch deep, 3-4 inches apart. Ready in 50-55 days. Pick them regularly or they stop producing.
Pole beans: Kentucky Wonder or Rattlesnake. Give them something tall to climb. They produce longer than bush beans but need more space.
Okra (Central & South Florida)
Clemson Spineless or Burgundy. Direct seed 1 inch deep, thin to 12-18 inches. Okra loves heat and humidity. It thrives when everything else is dying. North Florida, wait until April.
Sweet Potatoes (Central & South Florida)
Beauregard or Centennial. Plant slips 12-18 inches apart in mounded rows. They need 90-120 days and a lot of space. North Florida, wait until April when the soil warms up.
Herbs You Actually Need
Basil (All Florida): Finally. March is when basil can go in everywhere. Genovese for Italian food, Thai basil for Asian dishes, Lemon basil if you want something different. Transplants or direct seed. Pinch off the flowers to keep it producing leaves.
Cilantro (North & Central Florida): Last chance before it bolts. Calypso or Slow Bolt. South Florida, your cilantro season is done. It's too hot.
Dill: Bouquet or Fernleaf. Direct seed, thin to 8-10 inches. Self-seeds everywhere. You'll have dill forever.
Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, Sage: Perennials. Plant them once, harvest for years. Transplants, 12-18 inches apart.
Parsley: Italian flat-leaf or curly. Soak seeds overnight before planting. Takes forever to germinate but it's worth it.
What herbs do you actually use? That's what you should plant. Don't plant herbs you'll never cook with.
Flowers That Actually Serve a Purpose
Flowers bring in pollinators. Your vegetables need pollinators. Don't skip this.
Zinnias: Easy, colorful, heat-tolerant. Direct seed or transplant. Cut them and they produce more.
Sunflowers: Mammoth or Autumn Beauty. Direct seed 1 inch deep, 12-18 inches apart. Kids love them, bees love them, and they make good cut flowers.
Marigolds: French or African. Repel some pests, attract good bugs. Plant them around your vegetables.
Nasturtiums: Edible flowers. Attract aphids away from your vegetables. The leaves and flowers are peppery—throw them in salads.
Zone Quick Reference
North Florida (8b-9a): Last call for cool-season early in the month. Start warm-season mid-to-late March. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, cucumbers, beans, herbs, flowers. Wait on okra and sweet potatoes until April.
Central Florida (9b-10a): Transition zone. Quick cool-season crops early March, then shift to warm-season. Everything above works. This is your best month.
South Florida (10b-11b): Full warm-season. Tomatoes and peppers should already be in, but you can still plant early March. Focus on heat-lovers: okra, sweet potatoes, beans, squash, cucumbers, eggplant, herbs, flowers.
What zone are you in and what's going in your garden this month?
Real Talk
Water deep, not often. Shallow watering makes shallow roots. Deep watering builds strong roots that handle heat and drought better.
Mulch everything. 2-4 inches. Keeps moisture in, weeds down, soil temp stable. Pine straw, wood chips, shredded leaves—whatever you've got.
Watch the weather. North Florida can still get late frosts early March. Have row covers or old sheets ready. One cold snap wipes out tender transplants.
Stake and support when you plant. Don't wait until your tomatoes are falling over or your cucumbers are a tangled mess. Do it now.
Plant what you eat. I'll keep saying it. If you don't eat okra, don't plant it just because it grows well. Focus on what you'll actually use.
Want More?
I've got a complete Florida Garden Calendar with variety recommendations and month-by-month breakdowns for every zone.
If you're serious about growing your own food year-round, check out Grow Food Not Lawns or grab the Complete Florida Gardening Bundle.
Let's Talk
Drop a comment and tell me:
- What are you planting this March?
- What's working (or not working) in your spring garden?
- What crops are you most excited about this season?
Your experience helps other Florida gardeners. Let's build this community together.
Now go plant something.
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