Vegetables from the garden are cucumber, gherkin, courgette and beans.
OPINION
Gardens are generally dry around the countryside at the moment. However, with March not too far away, autumn and the change of season is within sight.
This change of season is a significant one, it’s the kick-off of the planting season for establishing trees, shrubs and lawns. It is also the season for planting spring bulbs.
At the moment, the summer vegetable garden bounty is a good one for the gardener as the fruits of one’s labour are ripe for the harvest. Tomatoes can be continued for a while longer, regular feeding, i.e. fortnightly, with a fertiliser high in potash and combined with regular watering will ensure that your tomatoes continue to produce.
For those where late blight is common, continue with preventative copper spray Grosafe Freeflo Copper if there are signs of it on your plants.
Spraying with Yates Mavrik or Yates Success Ultra will protect tomatoes, potatoes and tamarillos against psyllids as well as caterpillars and whitefly, which often pillage the plant and fruit at this time of the season.
Zucchini plants continue to produce, as well as beans. It is best if you do a regular harvest every second day to avoid some large marrows and beans which will become tough and stringy. Cucumbers, rock melon and watermelon are all producing now.
Potatoes that were planted in October and November will be coming ready now. If you want to store potatoes for use later in the year they can be dug as the tops die down and put in a paper bag in a dark cool place to store.
This week is time to start making regular plantings of winter vegetable seedlings. Brassicas particularly are a good winter crop, they do take a reasonable amount of time to grow; 8-10 weeks for broccoli and 12-15 weeks for cauliflower and cabbages. Kales, silverbeet and pak choi are faster-growing.
Parsnips and carrots are best sown from seed directly into the garden and take approximately 16-20 weeks from sowing to harvest. Swedes are a little quicker at 12-16 weeks.
When planting leafy winter vegetables they should be covered with a bug net or sprayed with Yates Success or Mavrik to protect against white butterfly caterpillars and other insects.
As they get close to harvest the weather is generally cooler and the insect population has decreased so they are easier to grow without pest damage.
If we are to wait to make plantings at this time the vegetables, particularly the longer maturing ones, will not be ready for harvest until springtime. It is essential to get your winter vegetables planted out before cooler temperatures arrive and growth slows and later halts.
Even if you have a small garden there are some good reasons to plant some winter vegetables; firstly the freshness of the product and knowledge of what has been sprayed on them or not, secondly cost; the cost of vegetables especially heads of broccoli and cauliflower skyrockets during the winter months.
Plus there is a fulfilment from harvesting and serving up plants from your garden.
Leeks
Leeks are a hardy vegetable that have very few pests/diseases that affect them. The bigger the leek the more flavoured it is. Leeks are best planted in free-draining, organically rich soil. Apply generous amounts of lime to the soil, a few weeks before planting, if possible.
Dropping more than one leak per hole is fine, but the leeks will be smaller. Alternatively, the plants can be thinned as if growing carrots and the thinning can be added to soups and salads.
Keep leeks weed-free as they hate competing for light and moisture. Leeks can be safely left in the ground until needed.
Brussels sprouts
Brussels sprouts are one winter vegetable that needs to go in early to get good height on the plants before the growth stops in cooler weather – the number of sprouts you get is almost 100 per cent determined by the length of the stem.
Like its brassica cousins of broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, Brussels sprouts will perform best in rich fertile soil.
They, too, like the leeks, prefer an alkaline soil so the addition of lime before planting is beneficial.
The biggest pest to Brussels sprouts is the white cabbage butterfly and caterpillar which can be easily treated by the use of Yates Mavrik or Yates Success Ultra.
A non-spray alternative is to completely enclose the plants with a fine-meshed bug netting where the butterflies cannot reach the plants to lay eggs and thus preventing caterpillars from gaining access to the plants.
Companion plants said to deter white cabbage butterflies and keep the caterpillars away from brassicas includes oregano, mint, hyssop, thyme and rosemary.
Planting sage and dill with your brassicas is said to improve their growth and growing with chamomile is said to improve the flavour.
Carrots and beetroot
It is time to make new sowings of carrot and beetroot for a tasty autumn/winter crop. I highly recommend the new Ican Chefs Best seed range.
This is a range of 15 of the best vegetable seed categories. These varieties are where there has been a focus on breeding for superior taste, improved pest and disease resistance and increased vigour and yield.
A number of the varieties are also more compact, and faster maturing, which results in a larger range from less space, and the ability to produce more crops through the season. Many are ideal for raised planter beds and container gardening.
The following carrot and beetroot are in the range with the following description.
Beetroot Red Lightening; sweet and tender. Strong and vigorous early maturing, upright grower, producing uniform size deep red globe-shaped roots. The best variety available.
Carrot Europa; strong, vigorous germination and rapid growth. Long straight carrot with good disease resistance and tolerance to bolting. This is best home garden carrot yet developed.
When sowing seeds directly into the garden ensure the ground is well dug over and broken down to a fine soil. Once germinated thin out plants for a better crop and keep moist and weed-free.
Protect seedlings with slug bait and feed regularly with liquid fertiliser Ican Fast Food. Very few pest and disease problems are encountered when growing beetroot
Broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage
These are winter staples but there are some important considerations when growing brassicas (broccoli, cabbage etc). The areas of the vegetable garden, or plots where brassicas are grown must be rotated from crop to crop to avoid clubroot and the spread of other soil diseases.
Brassicas enjoy high levels of nitrogen and potash as it is the flower that is eaten in its immature form. Fertilisers such as Ican Vegetable Food give great results. Keeping plants well watered also encourages faster maturity.
A problem with growing brassicas in late summer and autumn can be the prevalence of white butterflies and their hungry caterpillars.
To give good protection you can use a bug net to stop the butterflies laying eggs on your plants. Otherwise, you can use one of several chemicals that are successful in controlling these voracious pests. Spraying bee-friendly Yates Mavrik is a highly effective method of control.
Try some other vegetables
It is time to plant all the winter greens including broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. Successions of lettuce should be continued, plantings of celery, spinach, silverbeet, rainbow beet, beetroot, carrots, swedes, turnips, radishes and peas can all be planted now.
Soil
The addition of well-rotted animal manures, mushroom compost or soil conditioners such as Yates Dynamic Lifter or Tui Sheep Pellets will do much to enhance the soil structure and fertility and you will have a good chance to harvest a decent crop.
Side dress with iCan Real Blood & Bone or iCan Organic Vegetable Food. If the growth is slow, and plants need a boost then fertilise with a liquid fertiliser such as Ican Fast Food once a week.
Have a great week!
Gareth Carter is general manager of Springvale Garden Centre
Comment: Planting a range of trees will give fruit at different times of the year.