What to Plant in March Canada

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What to plant in March in Canada depends entirely on your zone — this page answers it for every band. March is the main indoor sowing month across Canada — tomatoes, peppers and brassicas. On the coast, peas and spinach can go directly into the ground as soon as the soil is workable. Inland, the ground is still frozen or saturated.

SoilCommander Editorial Team

Canada vegetable growing guides · Checked against Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada plant hardiness data

Every Canadian growing guide is written and maintained by our editorial team for real Canadian growing conditions, and checked against Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada hardiness and frost-date data and provincial agriculture guidance before publication.

Mar 28

Vancouver's average last frost

6-8 wks

Before last frost: tomatoes

Coast only

Outdoor sowing starts here first

March planting by region

Band	Sow outdoors	Start indoors	Plant out	Harvest now
Long season Zones 7-9	Peas, spinach, radish and broad beans as soil becomes workable.	Tomatoes, peppers, brassicas.	Onion sets late month.	Overwintered greens, leeks, purple sprouting broccoli.
Medium season Zones 4-6	Nothing — soil is frozen or waterlogged.	Tomatoes, peppers, brassicas — the main sowing month.	Nothing.	Stored crops.
Short season Zones 2-3	Nothing.	Tomatoes, peppers, brassicas.	Nothing.	Stored crops.

March garden jobs

Start tomatoes, peppers and brassicas indoors, counting back from YOUR last frost.
Keep seedlings under strong light and pot on before they become root-bound.
On the coast, sow peas and spinach as soon as soil is workable.
Prepare beds only where soil is not saturated — working wet soil ruins structure.
Warm inland beds under black plastic to bring soil temperature forward.

Common March mistakes

Sowing outdoors inland because the air feels mild — soil is the limiting factor and lags weeks behind.
Starting cucurbits in March; they resent a long indoor period and should wait until about four weeks before planting out.
Digging saturated clay, which compacts it for the whole season.
Forgetting to pot on tomatoes, which stalls them permanently.

Turn March's jobs into a written plan. The Canada Vegetable Garden Planner (printable PDF) has frost-date planning pages, bed layouts, crop rotation, a sowing log and a harvest tracker — 70 printable pages.

More Canada planting guides

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I plant anything outside in March in Canada?

On the Pacific coast, yes — peas, spinach, radish and broad beans once the soil is workable. Everywhere else the ground is still frozen or too wet.

What should I start indoors in March?

Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and brassicas. This is the main indoor sowing month for most of the country.

How do I warm up cold spring soil?

Cover the bed with black plastic or a cloche two to three weeks before sowing. It routinely brings soil temperature forward by a week or more.

Last updated 25 August 2026

Relevant next steps

Turn This Month's Jobs Into A Plan

Month-by-month advice works best when it becomes a written sowing list, bed plan, and follow-up task list.

Printable garden plannerRecord this month's sowing dates, crop rotation, and bed tasks. Seed starting setupChoose trays, labels, compost, and indoor sowing tools before you start. Full planting calendarCompare this month with the rest of the UK growing year.

Plan the next step

Use the printable SoilCommander planner for your region to turn this guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and weekly garden tasks.

Get Planner

What to Plant in March Canada