A Detailed Explanation of Key Vegetable Planting Techniques for March

The spring breeze of March has stirred the grasslands back to green, and it is exactly the sowing season, with the traditional “Awakening of Insects” and “Spring Equinox” solar terms. So, what are the key vegetable planting techniques for March?

1. Seedling raising and planting out

Early-maturing cucumber and winter melon finish sowing and seedling raising within the first ten days of this month. Tomato, hot (sweet) pepper, eggplant, cucumber, Japanese mini pumpkin, watermelon, cowpea, four-season bean, spring radish and others are sown and raised as seedlings in small arch sheds this month. Vegetable soybean is sown and raised as seedlings this month; extra-early-maturing and early-maturing vegetable soybean are directly sown at the beginning of the month under small arch sheds plus plastic film with double-film mulching. Cucumber, watermelon, pumpkin, luffa, bitter gourd, winter melon, four-season bean and other varieties can be sown and raised as seedlings in open fields this month. Leafy vegetables such as shepherd's purse, garland chrysanthemum, cilantro and leaf lettuce continue to be sown. For Chinese chives propagated by seed for seedling raising, sowing begins in the last ten days of the month; if propagated by division, planting out can be done in the last ten days of the month. Spring cucumber in greenhouses can finish planting out in the first and middle ten days of the month. Wuyue Man, flat-head spring cabbage, late-spring lettuce, spring cauliflower and others can continue to be planted out. Greenhouse watermelon and others begin to be planted out in earnest this month. For strawberry seedlings raised in dedicated seedling beds, mother plants are planted out this month.

2. Greenhouse vegetable management

1. Temperature and humidity regulation

For greenhouse vegetables dominated by solanaceous fruits, on sunny days the door should be opened or the film at the edge of the shed rolled up appropriately earlier in the morning for ventilation. On cloudy and rainy days, the south door can be opened for ventilation to reduce humidity inside the shed. After 5 p.m., cover the film well to keep warm. When ventilating, take care to prevent cold wind from blowing directly into the shed. For greenhouse strawberries, the second inner film can be removed to strengthen ventilation.

2. Preserving flowers and fruits

For solanaceous vegetables, 4-CPA can be used to spot-treat flowers or spray the flower cluster, but take care not to spray repeatedly and try to avoid spraying the leaves. For cucurbit crops, plant growth regulators such as Guagualing can be applied to the flower stalk, ovary or sprayed on the flowers. As temperatures rise, the concentration of plant growth regulators used should be reduced accordingly. Watermelon, melon, pumpkin, bottle gourd and others can be given supplementary artificial pollination.

3. Topdressing

After fruit set or the start of harvest, topdressing should be applied appropriately, following the principle of light but frequent applications, with 10-15 kg of ternary compound fertilizer or 5-8 kg of urea applied per mu each time. Foliar spraying of 0.2% monopotassium phosphate and similar can also be used for extra-root topdressing. Carbon dioxide fertilization is advocated to increase the carbon dioxide concentration inside the greenhouse, improve the utilization rate of photosynthesis, promote plant growth and development, and improve yield and quality.

5. Pest and disease control

This month is prone to damage from gray mold, leaf mold, sclerotinia rot, downy mildew, bacterial diseases and others. Field management should be strengthened, attention paid to weather forecasts, and work done well in cold protection, heat preservation and ventilation for humidity reduction. Choose the appropriate pesticides, use emulsifiable concentrates as little as possible, and use more smoke agents and powders.

3. Open-field vegetable management

Mainly do well in cultivation management, clearing ditches for drainage, topdressing, pest and disease control and other work. Vegetables ready for harvest should be harvested and brought to market in time.

In addition, in March, northern regions can plant cold-loving vegetables: Chinese cabbage, white radish, carrot, potato, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, onion, lettuce, purple cabbage, celery, baby bok choy, Shanghai bok choy, cilantro, Chinese chives, scallion, garland chrysanthemum and others; southern regions can plant fast-maturing cold-loving vegetables: spinach, lettuce, baby bok choy, Shanghai bok choy, garland chrysanthemum and others.