11 Early-Producing Crops to Plant Outdoors in March

The first few sunny and warm days of the year are always a tease. Although seventy degree days make it feel like it’s time to transplant tomatoes and direct sow green beans, I always have to pause and remember that more cold days lie ahead.

When March arrives, it’s typically safe to plant many cool season crops outdoors—especially if you live in a warmer growing zone like I do. However, keep in mind that early planting doesn’t always mean an early harvest. Many plants tolerate the cold and can endure below-freezing temperatures, but not all mature quickly.

If you want to harvest your crops in April or even late March, check out this list of early March crops. All the plants on this list can tolerate cold, especially if you cover them with row cover. Plus, they’re ready to harvest in 30 to 60 days, allowing you to enjoy fresh veggies and herbs sooner than you may have imagined.

Slow Bolt Arugula

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Cherry Belle Radish

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Red Sails Leaf Lettuce

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Kale

	botanical name Brassica oleracea var. sabellica
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 12-24”
	hardiness zones 2-10

A staple in cool-season gardens, kale is an excellent crop to plant outdoors in March. Whether you’re seeking flavorful ‘Lacinato’ leaves for a salad or vibrant purple kale to enhance a soup, you can find a variety that will work well in your garden and kitchen.

Many people allow kale plants to grow more than a foot tall, then harvest the outer leaves while allowing the inner leaves to mature. If you want to harvest large leaves, space your plants 12 to 24 inches apart. You can directly sow the seeds in March, but transplanting seedlings will allow for an earlier harvest.

If you want to grow baby kale, I suggest directly sowing the seeds in rows. Dig a shallow furrow about half an inch deep, sprinkle the seeds, and cover them. Space the seeds about half an inch apart within the row and three to five inches between each row. You can grow any variety as a baby green, but ‘Red Russian’ has tender leaves and is ready to harvest in 30 days.

Since kale is susceptible to heat stress and often plagued by pests in the warmer seasons, remove your plants by mid-July. You can plant another round of fall kale in August or September.

Dill

	botanical name Anethum graveolens
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 6-36”
	hardiness zones 2-11

While a hard frost will kill dill leaves, this flavorful herb can handle temperatures as low as 25°F (-4°C). If you live in zones 6-10, March is the perfect time to plant dill in your garden. Varieties like ‘Mammoth’ produce aromatic leaves and lovely umbels of tiny yellow flowers.

You can directly sow the seeds or plant seedlings you’ve started indoors. Cool spring days allow you to pick dill leaves multiple times before warm temperatures and long days cause the plants to go to flower. Instead of removing flowering dill from your garden, leave the plants in place to support beneficial insects.

Spinach

	botanical name Spinacia oleracea
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 4-6”
	hardiness zones 2-10

Spinach is ready to harvest in as little as three to four weeks after planting the seeds. This means you can sow the seeds outdoors in March and enjoy a harvest by the end of the month! As long as you cut the large outer leaves, the plants will keep growing and produce new greens for continuous picking.

If you want to grow smooth baby spinach like ‘Oceanside’, keep in mind that each plant will only produce a few harvestable leaves each week. Therefore, plant at least a dozen if you want enough spinach for a salad. You can also allow the leaves to grow larger, especially if you’re growing a savoyed variety like ‘Bloomsdale.’

Spinach germinates and grows best in cool temperatures, so March is the ideal time to plant seeds outdoors in many growing zones. If you wish to harvest baby leaves, plant two to four seeds per inch, and space the seeds one to two inches apart if you intend to let the leaves mature.

Bok Choy

	botanical name Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 4-12”
	hardiness zones 2-11

Also known as pak choi or bok choi, this tasty veggie thrives in the cool spring weather. The plants don’t mind a light frost, so it’s fine to plant them outdoors before your last spring frost. However, you should protect the seedlings with row cover if you expect temperatures will dip below 30°F (-1°C).

You can sow bok choy seeds in your garden or start them indoors and transplant the seedlings. Both methods work well, but transplants allow for an earlier harvest. These larger plants are also better equipped to fend off attacks from pests like slugs and flea beetles.

Bok choy’s days to maturity and ideal harvest size vary by variety, so look at your seed packet for details. ‘Toy Choy’ will only grow six inches tall while other varieties can grow up to a foot tall. While you can cut the choy heads any time, waiting until the stems form a dense head will provide you with the largest yield.

Radishes

	botanical name Rapanus sativus
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 6-12”
	hardiness zones 2-11

If I had to pick a spring crop to give kids and beginner gardeners a sense of satisfaction, it’s the radish. These roots spring to life in the lengthening days of March and April, producing colorful roots in as little as 28 days. The large seeds easily germinate outdoors, so you don’t need to worry about fussing with transplants.

Radish varieties range from small, tender roots like ‘French Breakfast’ to larger types like ‘Miyashige White Daikon’ that beg to be fermented or cooked. While you can try to plant any radish outdoors in March, smaller varieties are more likely to form roots before warmer temperatures cause them to bolt.

Cilantro

	botanical name Coriandrum sativum
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 6-12”
	hardiness zones 2-11

While you may think of cilantro as a summer crop that pairs well with tomatoes and peppers, this herb grows best in cool weather. Planting seeds or transplants outdoors in March allows you to enjoy a flavorful crop yield in April.

You can plant the seeds in a row, spacing each one about an inch apart. Another option is to transplant clusters of seedlings, leaving six inches between each group of plants. When the leaves are large enough to harvest, cut them a few inches above the ground so the smaller leaves can continue to grow.

Turnips

	botanical name Brassica rapa subsp. rapa
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 6-12”
	hardiness zones 2-11

Turnips offer a double harvest. Their sweet, crunchy roots are tasty when roasted or sautéed, and the nutritious greens add depth and color to soups, quiches, and stews.

Salad turnips like ‘White Lady’ are especially good candidates for March plantings. Their roots remain smaller and more tender than cooking turnips, which means they’re quicker to mature and delicious when eaten raw. Given the right temperatures, a turnip crop can mature from a March planting in as little as a month.

Since turnips are root vegetables, they grow best when you sow the seeds directly in the garden. Plant one to two seeds per inch, then thin the seedlings so they’re one to three inches apart.

Lettuce

	botanical name Lactuca sativa
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 4-12”
	hardiness zones 2-11

All types of lettuce flourish in cool weather and can withstand light frosts. Planting these greens in March allows you to harvest tender and sweet lettuce before warm temperatures cause the plants to become bitter.

You can directly sow lettuce seeds in the garden or transplant seedlings. Transplanting is ideal for lettuce varieties that you intend to harvest as mature heads—’Buttercrunch,’ ‘Freckles,’ and ‘Parris Island Cos’ are a few examples. You can expect to harvest these heads approximately 45 to 60 days after transplanting.

If you want to enjoy homegrown lettuce ASAP, grow baby greens that are ready to harvest about a month after sowing. You can grow any lettuce variety as a baby green by planting multiple seeds per inch, but mixes like the ‘Farmer’s Market Blend’ and ‘Chef’s Choice’ offer various colors and textures in a single seed packet.

Arugula

	botanical name Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 3-8”
	hardiness zones 2-11

Arugula is at its best during the cool days of spring. The lengthening days help the greens grow quickly, while the cool nights keep them tender and free from bitterness.

These baby greens are easy to grow in raised beds, containers, and other types of gardens. Sprinkle the seeds in a row, placing a few seeds per inch. Cover them with a dusting of soil, water thoroughly, and wait for the seedlings to emerge a few days later.

You can cut the baby greens when they’re a few inches tall—they typically reach this size three to four weeks after planting. If you cut the leaves an inch above the ground, the small leaves will continue growing and provide another harvest.

Parsley

	botanical name Petroselinum crispum
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 18-24”
	hardiness zones 2-11

Although parsley can survive the winter in many areas, its biennial nature means it will go to flower in the spring. Planting parsley plants each spring allows you to enjoy a new flush of flavorful leaves. The plants can tolerate frost, so it’s fine to plant them outdoors a few weeks before your last frost date.

Parsley seeds are slow to germinate and grow, so transplanting seedlings is the best method. Purchase seeds like ‘Plain Parsley’ and sow them indoors six to eight weeks before you plant to transplant the seedlings outdoors. You can add the herbs to a raised bed or container, or plant them directly in the ground.

When properly cared for, parsley plants will continue to produce new leaves throughout the year. Harvest the largest leaves and allow the smaller ones on the plant to mature.

Broccoli

	botanical name Brassica oleracea var. italica
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 18-30”
	hardiness zones 2-11

Broccoli plants can tolerate light frosts, so planting them outdoors in March works well in zones five and above. Transplanting is preferred to direct seeding, but either option is fine. No matter which planting method you choose, space the plants 18-24” apart.