Ask Dave Epstein: What to plant in your garden in mid-March

Bowls of apples sit on a table on a rooftop next to a garden.

Dave Epstein is a meterologist who partners with GBH News to provide daily weather updates and weekly higher-level conversations on Morning Edition.

Gal Tziperman Lotan is a digital producer for GBH’s Morning Edition.

March 12, 2024

Jeremy Siegel: On a sunny Tuesday, you're listening to GBH's Morning Edition. It is chilly now, but we do have a beautiful day ahead and a warmer week ahead.

Paris Alston: To break down the forecast and more, we are joined by GBH meteorologist Dave Epstein. Morning, Dave.

Dave Epstein: Good morning.

Siegel: So Dave, best week so far this year to get outside, huh?

Epstein: Yeah. Pretty nice. Pretty nice for sure. I think, you know, I'm trying to think whether or not that's actually true, but, sure, it's a good week. Lot of sunshine, into the mid 50s. And we are fast getting by winter here. Still some good skiing. They got anywhere from four to as much as 14 inches of snow up across ski country during Sunday. So, some good skiing the next couple of days.

Alston: And it looks like sunshine at least the next few days. Then I know things will turn cloudy. But while the sun is shining, Dave, and of course, with spring right on the horizon rolling in strong, hopefully, folks are going to be tempted to do things like get in the garden. I imagine that's true for you. Do you have any advice for people who are going to do that early?

Epstein: Yeah, so we've had a lot of rain to begin this month. So right now the soil is still pretty wet. And one of the things I always recommend is not traipsing around the garden with the wet soil because you'll compact it. And then when it dries out, it actually gets too hard. It's not good for the plants. But if you want to start doing a little bit of gardening, you know, maybe adding some color, you could certainly put some pansies in if you can find them this time of the year. I think that temperatures, even though they may go below freezing, pansies, can handle down into the 20s. So, you know, maybe a pot of those on the stoop or something like that, or in the garden, will add a little bit of color. If you want to plant some peas, fava beans, those can certainly go in this time of the year. I would maybe keep them covered during any really wet and cool, damp weather that we have ahead, because that will help them from rotting. You can put just some plastic over them or something like that. And other than that, it's still a little bit early, but you can be starting seeds inside. Not tomatoes yet. Still a little bit early for that, but certainly starting some of the other things, like lettuces and kales and onions can be started and should have been started. Beets, you could start inside. So things like that are ready to go.

Siegel: So a nice week to get an early start on the garden. But it's a big change right now from the recent weather that we've been seeing: Certifiably rainy and windy over the past few days. I know spring — the start of spring — is usually rainy, but how wet has this March been in comparison to what we usually see?

Epstein: Yeah, so we've had 4.19 inches of rain so far in the first — we're day 12 now. But you know, most of that came in the first 10 days. That was the third-wettest first 10 days of March on record. So fairly wet. If we didn't rain another drop, which is unlikely, the rest of the month, we'd still have an above-average month for March. I don't think that's going to happen, but it gives you an idea that, you know, we've had all of the rain we usually get in a month in the first 10 days. So yeah, it's been certainly wet out there. The next few days will be dry. We've got a clear night tonight, by the way. If you want to check out Starlink, that SpaceX thing where they release the satellites, 7:39 p.m., it will go from northwest to southeast. It will cross the sky for about four minutes. So kind of interesting to see if you can get somewhere. You don't even need to be super dark, but you can see it and it's kind of fun for the kids.

Siegel: It'll be clear enough outside?

Epstein: It'll be clear enough tonight to see it. Yeah. For sure. So a good thing.

Alston: Oh, nice. A lot of things we'll be looking out for in the skies in the coming weeks with those eclipses right around the corner. So, Dave, not only has it been pretty wet, but it's been windy, too. I mean, even this afternoon we are expecting some windy conditions. Why is that?

Epstein: Yeah. So this afternoon's winds will be gusting between 20 and 30 miles an hour. So certainly less than yesterday, but still notable. The reason we get wind in the first place is that it has to balance the atmosphere. So wind is nature's way of moving air from one place to another, because nature would like everything to be completely even. Obviously it's not. We're a planet with different ways in which the sun heats the planet and all of that. So you get low pressure up in eastern Canada, there's less air up there. You get high pressure to our west, there's more air over there, literally. And the wind is trying to move the air from, in this case, the west to the east, or from southwest towards the northeast. And that's why we're getting so much wind. Eventually, as the pressure kind of evens out, you get less wind. That'll happen overnight tonight and tomorrow. There'll be barely any wind because the pressure across the northeast will be fairly even. So, there's no reason for wind because everything's kind of pretty much even until the next time things get off kilter again. And that'll happen sometime this weekend.

Siegel: Looking ahead at the rest of March, are you expecting the warm temperatures we're starting to see this week to stick around?

Epstein: Yeah, I mean, temperatures are above average for the month so far, and it does look to me like we're going to remain above average on average. Doesn't mean we're not going to see some cooler weather at some point during the month. We absolutely can. But as you know, we talked about, the three of us talked about this a while ago, that it just does not look like there's any prolonged cold or snow in the forecast. And now once we get by Sunday, now you're by the middle of the month and it gets more and more difficult. Not impossible, obviously, to see a snowstorm, but it's highly unlikely that we're going to see any more, you know, major snow this year. Again, could we? Absolutely. But it's just not likely.

Alston: Well, that is GBH meteorologist Dave Epstein. Dave, thank you so much.

Epstein: You're welcome. Good to be here, guys.

Siegel: You're listening to GBH news.

Meteorologist Dave Epstein is our go-to person for pressing weather questions on everything from winter blizzards to summer droughts. He’s also a horticulturist, meaning he’s an expert in anything that grows leaves and flowers. GBH's Morning Edition asked our audience for weather and gardening questions, and Epstein graciously answered them on the air. This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Have a gardening or weather question for meteorologist Dave Epstein? Tweet him @GrowingWisdom, email us at thewakeup@wgbh.org, or text 617-300-2008.

With temperatures in the 50s, how can I prepare my garden for spring?

Epstein’s forecast shows lots of sunshine and highs in the 50s, which means one thing: It’s time to think about gardening.

“If you want to start doing a little bit of gardening, you know, maybe adding some color, you could certainly put some pansies in if you can find them this time of the year,” Epstein told GBH’s Morning Edition co-hosts Paris Alston and Jeremy Siegel. “Pansies can handle down into the 20s. So, you know, maybe a pot of those on the stoop or something like that, or in the garden, will add a little bit of color.”

People looking for an edible garden can use the coming days to plant peas or fava beans. You can also start with indoor seedings for onions, lettuces, kale or beets.

“I would maybe keep them covered during any really wet and cool, damp weather that we have ahead, because that will help them from rotting,” Epstein said. “You can put just some plastic over them or something like that.”

Of course, it would be impossible to completely rule out a late-season cold snap or snow storm disrupting gardening plans. But it’s getting less and less likely, Epstein said.

“Temperatures are above average for the month so far, and it does look to me like we're going to remain above average on average,” he said. “That doesn't mean we're not going to see some cooler weather at some point during the month. We absolutely can. … But it just does not look like there's any prolonged cold or snow in the forecast.”

One thing to keep in mind: Beware of over-compacting wet soil. Boston has seen 4.19 inches of rain in the first 10 days of March, the third-wettest stretch of early March on record, he said.

“Right now the soil is still pretty wet,” he said. “And one of the things I always recommend is not traipsing around the garden with the wet soil because you'll compact it. And then when it dries out, it actually gets too hard. It's not good for the plants.”

Why has it been so windy out?

Tuesday afternoon will see winds gusting at 20 to 30 mph, Epstein said.

“The reason we get wind in the first place is that it has to balance the atmosphere,” Epstein said. “Nature would like everything to be completely even. Obviously it's not. We're a planet with different ways in which the sun heats the planet and all of that.”

Right now, for instance, there are low-pressure areas in Eastern Canada and high-pressure regions west of Boston.

“There's more air over there, literally,” he said. “And the wind is trying to move the air from, in this case, the west to the east, or from southwest towards the northeast. And that's why we're getting so much wind. Eventually, as the pressure kind of evens out, you get less wind.”

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