March is the turn into autumn. The sowing list shrinks to a handful of hardy roots and greens anywhere in the country, while the summer harvest is still coming in. What differs by region is how fast summer is ending. In Northland and Auckland, frost is still two months away and garlic is already going in. In Central Otago and the high country, March is the first month frost can arrive, and the warm-season crops finish this month.

Quick Answer: Sow These Anywhere in NZ

Six crops are inside their sowing window in every NZ growing zone this March:

  • Beetroot (sow August–May)
  • Carrot (sow September–May)
  • Lettuce (sow September–March) — last month
  • Pak choy (sow August–May)
  • Radish (sow August–April)
  • Silverbeet (sow August–May)

Their sowing months are the same in every zone. Lettuce closes at the end of March everywhere, and doesn't reopen until September. If you want lettuce through autumn, sow one more succession batch now rather than waiting for the current crop to run out. Basil, climbing beans, courgette, peas and spinach all closed in February, so March's list is the hardy core.

Five of the six are frost-hardy, so they cope with the cooler weather ahead. Pak choy is recorded as frost-tender, but March's cooling nights ease the hot-weather bolting that troubles summer sowings of it. Direct sow beetroot, carrot and radish. Carrots don't transplant, and an evenly moist seedbed is what decides whether you get an even row. Silverbeet is one of the few crops that keeps producing through winter once established — see Growing Silverbeet Year-Round in NZ.

Not sure which zone you're in? The NZ frost dates guide covers it by town.

Sub-Tropical: Northland, Auckland and Coastal Taranaki

This zone gets one extra crop this month: garlic, whose sowing window opens in March and runs through April. That's the earliest garlic goes in anywhere in New Zealand. The planting-window notes explain why: mild northern winters give garlic less natural cold, and an early autumn start is what keeps rust risk down here. The notes give planting depth as 5cm, with cloves 15cm apart, for a harvest in October–November.

Two Koanga Institute garlic varieties are sourced for this zone: Elephant and Rocombole Early Red. If garlic rust has been a problem before, read Rust and White Rot in NZ Garlic alongside this timing. Give garlic a well-drained, composted bed — cloves sitting in heavy, wet soil this early in autumn are more exposed to fungal problems.

Frost doesn't arrive here until May, so the harvest is still broad: tomato, courgette, capsicum, eggplant and basil all keep cropping through May. Three things are changing this month:

  • Feijoa harvest opens this month (March–July) — see feijoa varieties for temperate and sub-tropical NZ.
  • Climbing beans finish this month (harvest December–March). Further south, the bean harvest has only just begun.
  • Broccoli and onion are in their final harvest month.

Temperate: Most of the Country

The six anywhere-in-NZ crops are this month's whole sowing list. Garlic doesn't open here until later in autumn. Use March to clear finished summer crops and dig compost into the beds it'll go in.

Frost season here starts in April, so March is the last fully frost-free month. Harvests are at their widest:

  • Pumpkin harvest opens (March–June). Leave fruit until the skin resists a thumbnail, then cure it in the sun before storing.
  • Yacon harvest opens (March–April), a short two-month window.
  • Feijoa starts cropping (March–July).
  • Tomato, courgette, cucumber, eggplant and basil all keep cropping until April, along with capsicum.
  • Climbing beans and peas both run to May.
  • Broccoli and onion finish this month.

Cooler nights and heavier dew raise late blight pressure on tomatoes. Early and Late Blight on NZ Tomatoes covers prevention.

Cool/Mountain: Central Otago, Queenstown and the Central Plateau

Frost risk here runs from March to November. So March is the first month a frost can turn up here — a month before the temperate zone. The sowing list is the same six crops, and all of them can handle what's coming.

The harvest is where the earlier frost really shows:

  • Tomato, courgette, basil, eggplant and capsicum all finish their harvest windows in March, a month earlier than in temperate gardens. Pick everything you can while the plants are still standing.
  • Yacon's harvest window here is March alone, against March–April in the temperate zone. Lift the tubers promptly.
  • Jerusalem artichoke opens its harvest window this month (March–August), a month ahead of temperate gardens. The tubers can stay in the ground and be dug as needed through winter.
  • Pumpkin (March–June) and feijoa (March–July) harvests both open.
  • Broccoli and onion finish this month. Cucumber runs on until April.

Recommended Cultivars

These cultivar picks for March's sowings come from NZ suppliers:

  • Beetroot — Cylindra, Pablo F1, Detroit Dark Red (Kings Seeds NZ)
  • Carrot — Paris Market, Nutri-Red F1, Nutri-Yellow F1 (Kings Seeds NZ)
  • Lettuce — Joe's Winter, Finger, Devil's Ear (AKA Devil's Bit) (Koanga Institute)
  • Silverbeet — Ruby Red, Bright Yellow, Rainbow Lights (Kings Seeds NZ)
  • Garlic (sub-tropical) — Elephant, Rocombole Early Red (Koanga Institute)

There are no approved cultivar picks yet for pak choy or radish.

March Garden Jobs, Anywhere in NZ

These are general early-autumn jobs, not zone-sourced planting data:

  • Clear spent crops as they finish. Pull courgettes, cucumbers and beans as they tail off rather than leaving half-productive plants in beds that autumn sowings could use.
  • Compost the empty beds. Working compost in now gives autumn and winter crops a better start than leaving it until planting day.
  • Water at the base. With dew and cooler nights, keeping foliage dry helps tomatoes and cucurbits avoid fungal disease.
  • Cure pumpkins before storing. A week or two in the sun hardens the skin and makes them keep much longer.

Next Steps

For month-by-month sowing and harvest timing in your area, see the full planting calendar for your zone: