Garden Notes for the Family Vegetable Garden: December

“Let your soil keep its clothes on” Robyn Guyton,

“Nature abhors a vacuum, just as I abhor the vacuum cleaner”         

Lynda Hallinan

Watering, weeding, mulching and ….eating!

December in the back yard vegetable garden is an exciting time. Everything you sow or plant will be enjoying the warm conditions and growing with great vigour. Get the kids outside helping especially once school has finished for the year – entice them with self-harvested peas and strawberries. If you got your new potatoes in early enough you should be starting to harvest them as well – even if you just reach in and pull enough from the soil to have for Christmas dinner. Early potatoes can be harvested once the flowers are fully open. Main crop ones take longer to mature and are harvested once the foliage has died down.  They will store over winter whereas early salad potatoes will not.

Keep moisture up to your garden and the weeds down. This is the month when your weeds can get away on you and compete with your food crops.   I hope you enjoyed the quotes above from a couple of great New Zealand gardeners.  Both remind us that bare ground is not the norm in nature so cover your bare ground in the garden with mulch, companion plants or green crops. Give the garden a good soak then mulch with whatever you have at hand – even grass clipping will work.  Planting companion plants or green cover crops in any gaps will prevent weeds, increase the good insects in your garden and look very pretty as well.  Then if you go away on holiday you won’t need to worry that you will come back to a shriveled weedy garden.  If you do go away arrange for someone to pop by once or twice  to soak the ground if needed and pick the crops which of course will be ready just while you are away! 

Jobs for this Month

Sow:  Beans, green leafy vegetables such as lettuces, spinach and winter brassicas.. Winter root crops such as carrots, parsnips, beetroot,  Swedes, turnips (for the southerners) can go in now.  Need well worked friable soil for the carrots, parsnip and beetroot. They have a tap root that needs to go straight down into the soil. Avoid fresh animal manure too as that tends to cause conditions such as club root.

Plant: Cabbage, Cauli, corn, celery, leeks, lettuces, spinach, courgettes, pumpkins, capsicums, chillies, tomatoes, (hothouse or in the north) Corn can still go in for warmer gardens.

Stake: Beans and peas. Dwarf beans and peas are a good idea for those starting out as they don’t require a frame like the others. They will benefit however from having twiggy sticks poked into the ground around them for support. This means they can put energy into fruiting rather than trying to stay upright.

Cultivate: Thin beetroot to 15 cm apart. Mound up main crop potatoes. Mulch along rows well with straw or whatever you have available.  Liquid manure green and fruiting crops such as courgettes, tomatoes, corn,  pumpkin etc but as it gets closer to harvest hold off on roots and tubers like garlic, onions and potatoes. They will need to be dry for harvesting.

Harvest: Garlic – traditionally starts on the longest day (21^st Dec). If you planted it around the shortest day or earlier it may be ready so if it looks close, stop watering now.  Pick peas and beans regularly to keep them producing. Asparagus: usually finish harvesting around mid-December to allow spears to grow out and store food for following season. Weed, mulch and leave to grow.

Eat: Lots of lettuces, herbs, spinach, potatoes, asparagus, beans, peas,  strawberries and other soft fruits.

Most of all have a lovely Christmas and hopefully your dinner will include some home grown produce!  

Crop Rotation Poster Christmas Offer

Big thankyou to Wendyl Nissen for including this in her great newsletter. If you don’t already subscribe but  are looking at ways to simplify life, slow down, grow your own food, shop locally and care for the health of our families and our country then you might like to check her site out.  You can subscribe to her newsletter.   http://www.wendylsgreengoddess.co.nz/

In the meantime here is an image of the poster. I have spent a lot of time reading a lot of books, talking to a lot of people, and growing a lot of gardens so I hope that this poster is not only quite gorgeous but a really useful tool. Especially if you are starting out in your garden and it just helps to have a starting point.  I certainly don’t think everyone should copy the exact design although it is quite classic and can look gorgeous all year round.  The principles will be the same whatever design you use.

I will update the December entry very soon for those already working off it and an introductory one in January for all of those who have had one included in their Christmas Stocking!

Again – hope to have Paypal up soon to make things easier but in the meantime will continue with Bank transfers or cheque. Just email me at pcw@countryhousenz.co.nz and let me know how many you want.  A single copy is $20.00+ postage. As a special Christmas deal if you order more than the one, multiple copies will be $15 each as long as you don’t mind me putting more than one into the same packaging tube.  Just put “Christmas Deal” in the subject line.

To all of those entering the Competition via Wendyl’s website – thankyou very much.  I plan on a replying to you all in the next day or two with results of the competition and a special deal for you all as well. 

Tea for Two with Te Radar

Lovely visit today at work from Andrew Lumsden - otherwise known as Te Radar.  Note the excellent enamel mugs - an acoroc free zone! Te Radar does some excellent work promoting growing our own food and living sustainably.  

Getting Organised for Christmas: Ideas for Gift Giving.

Getting Organised for Christmas: Gift Shopping

If the words “25 Days until Christmas” fill you with dread then let me help you take the “dread” out of “dreadful”.  If Christmas carols playing in the shops – in October! - and the increasingly strident calls to spend stress you out then its time to stop, make a nice cup of tea or coffee, and sit down with your notebook.  A little bit of planning will go a long way to relieving that stress and protect you from the frenzy. 

1.  Make a list.

Start by making a list of who you think you need to buy for and then consider it.  If you are a parent then of course concentrate on your own children and partner and perhaps your parents as well. But for your adult brothers and sisters  - have the conversation with the extended family about expectations and maybe come to an agreement about what level of gift giving is expected. You certainly don’t want to get into financial strife buying expensive gifts for those you don’t need to.  I do like the idea of giving something inexpensive but gorgeous or useful especially if you will see them on Christmas Day and you will be sharing gifts.  Something handmade, a good bottle of wine or nicely packaged cheeses, preserves, chocolate etc will go a long way to ensuring a day of treats for extended family. So agree on who you are going to buy for  and shorten your list and stress level.  

2.  Ask them. 

Once you have your shortlist – ask them what they want!  Depending on the age, get them to write a letter to Santa and sometimes it doesn’t matter what their age is. It is helpful to have a 3^rd person involved – even if that person doesn’t actually exist. Share that list around the family.  This does not mean that you get everything on their list of course but it helps to know what is in their heart.

3. Budget.

Budgets are important especially if you are on a tight one yourself. It’s hard to find the balance between ensuring you meet family expectations of gift giving and not getting yourself into debt that is going to be with you months to come.  Prioritise your list. You will probably want to spend more on your immediate family for example and come to another arrangement with those outside that group.  Don’t go over your own allocated total budget of course but prioritise it accordingly.

4. Buy during the year.

Sorry about this one – I am sure you say this every year. But buy during the year as you see something you know someone will like.  It is just too hard to go shopping for those hard-to-shop-for-people too close to Christmas. But when you are out and about during the year or reading book reviews often you see something that you just know someone on your list would love.  Purchase them then and store them under the bed or elsewhere in your Christmas stash.  If you don’t do this already, keep an eye out for a really nice old suitcase or box or even a plastic storage box that you can make your Christmas Stash box. 

5. Things that are good to have but probably not on their list.

Kids like a certain amount of bulk in their gift sacks -doesn’t seem to matter how old they are. I use this time as an opportunity to give good towels and linen etc. Good opportunity to train them up to like quality as well. So buy really good linen at sales during the year – you can never have too much good quality white linen. Introduce them to the notion of high thread count so they know not to buy cheap polyester sheets. If they are students they will appreciate this as tight budgets don’t usually stretch to such items. I know it can be more expensive but it is better for our world if we buy less stuff but what we do buy is good quality and supports smaller ethical businesses. This category would include anything that helps young people to be organised such as good storage items, desk tidies, shelves etc. There are lots of really nice matching ranges out there now you can find in stationery shops or speciality shops. I always include a good diary as well.

6. Support your local businesses.

If you live in a small town, treasure the shops you have before they disappear. Be mindful if you are shopping on line from off-shore sites. We are going to lose our local mainstreet retailers if we are not careful, especially clothing or bookshops. Think about the cost to our country in the long run.  This applies to services as well. Vouchers for lawn mowing or garden maintenance for example can be much appreciated by some family members.

Support local producers, suppliers and other small businesses.  It’s a hard world out there competing with cheap imports but it is important for the health of our country that we support the clever craftspeople, artisans and other businesses that are NZ based.  Look around your area first to see who you can buy from.

7. Buy ethically.

Again – think about the long term consequences of what you buy. Better to buy something of quality that is going to last rather than cheap stuff that you know will be not far off the landfill. Better to buy something that you know has been sourced fairly. Trade Aid shops have a good range so check them out.  See Number 6.

8. Make stuff yourself.

Lots of magazines for this time of the year have recipes for homemade gifts in them. I always have a journal or notebook on the go so I for the past couple of years everyone in my circle has received a fabric covered notebook made by me. In fact it was suggested by some cheeky person that I start a business called “Not Another Bloomin’ Journal”. (they used another word which I won’t use here). Look out in your local area for craft classes – there are lots of beautiful things you can make. Handmade cushions, knitting, preserves, cakes all included.

9. Gift thoughtfully.

Think about the person you are giving to.  If it is your parents or grandparents and they are in the older age bracket, it could be that they have enough stuff and don’t really want any more. They might prefer to be given a voucher for something special that they might not otherwise take the time for themselves.  It could be that you make it a group gift – get together with your brothers and sisters so all can contribute to something you know they would appreciate. Or you could do pledge to do something yourself such as your time. Some suggestions include; dinner at a nice restaurant, a weekend away,  tickets for show, concert, garden tour, festival, fishing trip, a trailer load of horse manure for the garden.(near the top of my list), help in the garden – lawns mowed, hedges trimmed, raised beds made, or housekeeping help.

10. Teach your children to give.

Help your younger children to learn to give to others. Allow them some extra pocket money to get a little something for others in the family. Framed artwork or photographs can be very precious to grandparents. They can also make their own vouchers for services such as a day’s help in the garden, or a breakfast in bed for parents or grandparents.  Just make sure they fulfill their promises!

11. Regift

I don’t mean repackage something that you have been given but don’t like. I mean you might have something beautiful in your home that you would like to pass on to someone who may appreciate it. A beautiful piece of china, jewellery, book, furniture or clothing for example. I like the idea of simplifying your life and reducing clutter. If you can brighten up someone else’s life while doing that then it’s a good thing. Retro and vintage are all desirable now so you just may have something in your cupboards or wardrobe that the younger generation might love and can bring some new life to.

12. Gifts that keep on giving #1

I believe that we should all be planting trees and growing our own food. Encourage others by buying them a fruit tree, native tree or any kind of tree. If they are a young family setting up a garden, then get everyone to buy them a fruit tree for example. That way they will remember who gave them that tree. If they are in a flat then include a  big pot and a bag of potting mix.  Herbs, seeds, garden tools, books, seed trays, and my lovely vintage crop rotation poster would go nicely in this category.

13. Gifts that keep on giving#2

Magazine subscriptions are often appreciated.  There are so many titles out there and something to suit everyone.  Check out various loyalty schemes you have such as Flybuys for example – you can often redeem your points on subscriptions. Buy the December copy of whatever you have ordered and include a gift card with the subscription voucher in it. This is a good one for blokes as well. Plenty of car, motorbike, fishing, hunting, shed titles out there.

14. Books, Books, Books

Spend an afternoon in a book shop and you will find something for everyone. Lots of good books by NZ authors will be on sale now.  Include second hand book shops in your search. Wrap up a pile of second hand books on a subject you know will interest them with brown paper and string.

15.  Food and cooking

Again for those young adults who are on their own good cook books are a great gift. Good pieces of kitchenware are also much appreciated. You can also put together your own collection of favourite recipes to give to your children. Ask the grandparents to do the same – a great way to carry on family traditions. Put them in one of those journals mentioned in Number 8 so they have their own personalized cookbooks which they can add to themselves and begin their own traditions.

16. Electronic gear. I know this has been noticeably missing from any part of my list but will probably be on your teenager’s list. Don’t buy violent electronic games for anyone fullstop.  Nobody’s life is improved by that.  As far as mobile phones, ipads etc, get advice from a convenient teenager as to what is on-trend just now so you don’t buy something old hat.  Parents of teenagers will know how conformist they are and it is just a waste of money buying something they wouldn’t be seen dead using. If all else fails vouchers are good. Same with music and clothing. Don’t dare presume you know what they will like – an I-tunes voucher or music shop voucher might be appreciated.

17. If you are a bloke and don’t know what to get for the women in your life; go to a really nice gift shop and ask the woman behind the counter to help. Tell her what your wife/partner likes to do for a hobby, what her favourite colours are, what size she is, what her tastes are. It would be helpful if you knew some of the answers to these questions but in case you don’t, give as much information as you can and make a note to self to find out for next year.  If the shop is local one chances are they may have an idea of what she would like anyway. There are plenty of shops I go in and would be quite happy with anything from their range.  Get them to gift wrap it of course. If you are caught short, a good gift voucher from a store, an expensive bottle of champagne and a diamond ring are all good fallback positions.

18. Get organised.

Buy lots of wrapping paper and really good quality sticky tape. I hate that cheap stuff that you spend 10 minutes you don’t have trying to find the end and then it breaks as you finally peel it off. Wrap things as you buy them and don’t leave it until Christmas Eve.

19. Create Happy Traditions.

Christmas is the time when everyone becomes a traditionalist. Children who are all grown up and modern will want to make sure family traditions are adhered to. This is an opportunity to create good and happy memories. In our household that includes torturing husbands and partners by listening to Mariah Carey and Cliff Richard – not usually included in year round music choices but part of our family tradition.  Make your own family traditions. Make collecting fresh vegetables or berries from your own garden part of the traditions. Get the little ones shelling peas with the grandparents. Harvest new potatoes to go straight into the pot. Pick a bowl of berries. Set the table beautifully with candles and good china.  Give yourself permission to let go of traditions that are no longer useful too.  If washing dishes is an issue for you then use paper plates instead. Go to a Christmas service together the week before. Join in with Christmas Carol singing. Watch your favourite Christmas films together.

20. Finally!  Plan your Christmas Day and share out the jobs. Nobody likes a martyr so don’t take on all the work yourself. You can give all the most expensive gifts in the world but if you are stressed and grumpy you are likely to spoil the day for all. Don’t fuss about mess but have plenty of rubbish bags available for used wrapping paper. Don’t worry if someone eats their whole packet of scorched almonds before lunch. It’s one day of the year. Don’t worry if the meal is not ready at a particular time – just eat when ready. Use paper plates if washing up is a pain. Don’t worry about an evening meal if you have eaten your festive meal during the day. Put out some good fresh bread, leftovers and salad and let them everyone help themselves. Spend the afternoon reading your new books, magazine, playing games, at the beach.

 Don’t forget to take the time think of the real story of Christmas – the promise of peace, joy, reconciliation and giving to others. Don’t buy into the mad consumer message of spending what you don’t have on things people don’t want or need. Think of those who may be on their own and include them. Enjoy your day and the people you choose to share it with whoever they are. Merry Christmas everyone!

Elderflower Champagne.

  

Elderflower Champagne

Quite possibly two of the loveliest words in the English language!  Distilled summer.   Elderflowers are in full swing in hedgerows and paddocks all over the country – seems to be a great year for them.  Some see this plant as a weed but it is quite medicinal and such an asset. Champagne from the flowers, cordials from the fruit. Good reason for us to  leave the hedgerows alone to provide food for human, animal and insect foraging. 

Time to get some Champagne made. I might have left my run a little late for Christmas Day – should have made it last week as it will need 6 weeks to be ready. Still plenty of days of summer after Christmas though so give it a go.

This recipe is by my friend Carolyn Youngman, a creative and talented gardener from the village of Hampden here in Otago. She is the author of a booklet called “Head of the Thicket: Gardening in North Otago” which is a delightful account of a year gardening in the area.  These types of books are like gold to me – great tips from experienced gardeners.  It is still available either from Vanessa’s Café in the village – along with some rather excellent coffee – or by contacting the author at cmy53nz@gmail.com.

The Recipe

For this recipe you will need 7 large Elderflower heads –about the size of a lunch plate or saucer, a clean plastic bucket and some bottles. Start with recycled small sized fizzy drink bottles and lids.  (750ml or less) 

Dissolve 500g sugar in 2 litres of hot water in your clean plastic bucket.

Add 2 and a half litres of cold water.

Add 2 tablespoons of white or cider vinegar plus the juice of 2 lemons.

Add flowers

Leave in a covered container for 24 hours. The timing is important – try to be exact.

After the 24 hours is up, strain and bottle.  Caroline notes that she used to use a sieve but the little bits that did make it through looked a bit like fly legs which is not a good look for champagne on the lawn.   So she does hers though a muslin cloth.

Put into plastic or glass drink bottles that you have saved.  750mls or less preferable.

Leave in a cool dark place for 6 weeks.

Chill before serving. Enjoy.

There are a quite a few recipes on line and our hero Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has some good suggestions.  All makes entertaining reading

Delicious Broad Bean Recipe by Penelope Baldwin

Baby Broad Bean Puree with Feta, Mint and Lemon

Baby broad beans are best used here as the older beans develop a skin that can become bitter and leathery. If beans are larger than the thumb nail, removal of the second grey tinged skin is time consuming but worth the effort!

v 2 Cups baby broad beans (or a combination of broad beans and fresh or frozen peas)

v 1 small clove of garlic

v 100ml cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil

v 100g creamy style feta (or cream cheese)

v Handful of fresh mint

v Lemon

1-    Blanch the broad beans and/or peas in boiling water for 1 minute then immediately plunge into ice-cold water to fix the bright green colour. If using larger beans, the grey outer shell should be easy to slip off now.

2-    In a food processer, place ½ the beans, grated clove of garlic, ½ the mint and ½ the feta (if using cream cheese, add it all now). While the motor is running slowly add the olive oil drop by drop. A little water can be added if necessary to thin the puree. Add the remaining half of the beans and pulse so they remain in chunky pieces. Season with salt and pepper, taste and add more lemon if you like.

3-    Serve on toasted crusty bread rubbed with garlic and top with crumbled feta, ribbons of mint, lemon wedges and drizzle with olive oil.

November in the backyard vegetable garden Crop Rotation Cycle

Busy time in the backyard vegetable garden.

Bed 1.

November is an inspiring month in the backyard vege garden. Everything starts to grow and you might even start getting to harvest some of the fruits of your labour!  Certainly up in the warmer climes your broad beans will be getting ready to pod.  Liquid feed as they gear up to fruit. No more sowing broad beans though – they prefer the cooler growing weather.

Just about everything can go in now that it has warmed up. Sow beans directly into warm soil. I have beans sown last month that are up – germination will increase this month with the warmth.  I will plant some more corn plants this month in that bed and push a climbing bean beside it as a support.  Otherwise use bamboo or wood stakes to form support. I am trying out organic Borlotti beans as well as the regular French butter and green beans.  Get the kids out planting beans and peas.   Dwarf beans are a good option as you won’t need to stake them. A row of green and a row of butter beans looks good on the plate.

Bed 2.

Keep sowing and planting lettuces and other green leafy vegetable. If you like the sowing thing start sowing brassicas to be ready for summer planting and winter eating. I have put some plants in and will watch and see how they do with the pesky white butterfly and it’s equally pesky green offspring around. Some people wait until autumn to plant out when  the threat is over.  All gardens are different so get to know your garden. Observe what goes on and when and make notes in your diary. This is the way to learn what works and what doesn’t.  Think about how some plants grow to maturity earlier than others – in this bed you can have quick growing lettuces interspersed or in a row next to your slower growing brassicas.  Plant your other green leafy crops such as silver beet, asian greens etc as well. Keep sowing for regular planting.

Bed 3.

If it was too cool or windy at Labour weekend then get your tomatoes in the first few weeks of November. Make sure they go into a warm spot – either protected by wall or in a hot house of some sort. They are gross feeders so should be loving all the manure you put in over winter and now well rotted. Keep moisture up until fruit set next month.  Also plant capsicums and chillies and auburgine.  Plant out your earlier grown courgettes, pumpkins, cucumbers  or sow direct into the ground.  Sow basil in any gaps – this herb is more like a green leafy vege in cultivation needs – it prefers warm rich soil rather than the dry bony soil of the more Mediterranean types.

Bed 4.

How are your early potatoes doing?  Mounding up is something you might have heard granddad talk about if you are a young gardener.  You will need to do this especially for your main crop. Use extra soil dug from beside each row – you will quickly learn why you need a bit of space between rows! If you have plenty of compost use that and top off with straw or mulch of some kind. The reason you mound up potatoes is to provide extra growing area and increase your crop. The plants will grow further and therefore have more tuber growing capacity. It also stops those spuds near the surface to not turn green. You don’t want to eat the green bits as they are poisonous.  Hopefully your early planted potatoes are going to contribute to Christmas dinner! 

Get your kumara in if you are in the warmer northern parts of the country. As with potatoes you might like to have a separate bed somewhere else if you have the room but if you can slip a row in – go for it. Traditionally you plant Kumara when the Shining Cukoo starts to call in spring.  They will take up to 5 months to mature though so if you still haven’t heard the bird – plant anyway!

Meanwhile in the other parts of your root crops bed dig over the part you want to grow your carrots, beetroot or parsnip in.  It is important that this is well cultivated as these root crops don’t like lumpy bumpy soil. They want their strong root to go down directly into the soil.  Sow direct into the ground. Once your bed is nicely dug over, firm up the bed (seeds like firm soil to anchor into) then make a furrow.  Carefully sow the fine seeds down the row.  Some people mix with sand to make it easier but otherwise use your forefinger and thumb to space out as much as you can.  Later on you will thin them out. I read somewhere that an old timer warned against touching parsnip seed with your bare hands. I should experiment with that but it could explain why parsnip can be a little difficult to germinate.  Once you have sown this seed cover with a thin layer of soil, water gently but well and then cover the row with a wide board, hessian sack or similar to protect while germination takes place. Keep watching though and remove the covering as soon as the seeds start to emerge.

Jobs for this Month

Sow:  All leafy green salad veges such as lettuces plus winter veges such as cabbage, cauli, broccoli etc. Beans can be sown direct 15 cm apart and 5 cm deep. Sow beetroot seed about 1 cm deep. Carrots. Sweet corn 15cm apart groups to aid wind pollination. Main crop potatoes.

Plant: Plant out seedlings you have been growing indoors in pots as weather warms and days get longer. Onions, pumpkins, tomatoes, capsicums, courgettes, celery.

Cultivate: Keep weeds at bay by hoeing or hand weeding. Mulch. If your early potatoes are up you can mound up now and mulch with straw.

Harvest: Broad beans, asparagus, lettuces, silver beet and lots more.

Fertilise: Keep the liquid fertilizer up to your garlic bulbs as they will be putting on some size underground now. 

A Great Day - we have bees!

I am very happy that we finally have bees on our land.  My clever father in law has been making boxes for a beekeeper as he himself has been interested for a long time and is learning all about them.  So we are the lucky recipients.  Had the day in the garden yesterday and as I walked back I was delighted to see bees sitting on the dandelion flowers and enjoying the borage I have planted under the fruit trees.

Crop Rotation Poster

Here is an image of the Crop Rotation Poster. Sorry I haven't posted this sooner but still finding my way round the new technology.  Which reminds me - I will have some easy pay options coming soon. In the meantime if you want me to post you one of these gorgeous and useful wall charts email me at pcw@countryhousenz.co.nz with your address, number you want and I give you my bank account details for payment.   Happy Gardening!

Crop Rotation Poster: Notes for October for your Family Vegetable Garden.

The Crop Rotation poster is a great reminder for what to grow where and when in your family vege garden.  As it is in note form because that’s all I can fit on the poster, here is this months extended version of what to do in your garden.

October is a great time of year in the garden where the sap is not only rising in the plants around us but also in our inner gardener. Resist the urge to plant before the soil is warm enough though. The weather can still be changeable with frosts likely.  Sow seed under cover in a warm spot if in doubt. Towards the end of this month is better for some plants but plenty to get on with in the first few weeks.  If your family has made a list of what they want to eat, get them started on sowing and growing now for the summer harvest.

Bed 1/ Group 1.

 This bed has been set aside for legumes such as beans and peas. In my plan I have also added sweetcorn for a couple of reasons. One is that I couldn’t fit them in with the other heat loving plants in group 3 and because they like nitrogen I put them in with the legumes. The other reason is that they have been traditionally grown by some Native American Indian tribes with climbing beans for centuries.  The corn provides the support for the beans to climb up and the beans add the nitrogen to the soil for the corn to take up. They also add pumpkins which cover any bare ground in between. It is called the Three Sisters method and I love the idea of the garden working together like this.

 All of these plants like it warm with rich soil so if you haven’t already done so dig over the bed again adding plenty of compost or manure, blood and bone, lime and potash.  Leave till later in the month in the south for planting but start off your seeds in trays under cover. I am planting out my sweetcorn plants then pushing a climbing bean seed in beside it. This should give the corn time to get going before the beans want to use it as a support network. 

Most other types of beans (French, bush, dwarf etc) prefer soils to reach a temperature of 15 degrees  before they will germinate which is why it’s a good idea to sow in pots indoors while waiting for it to warm up.  Remember that runner beans should go in a dedicated spot as they are perennial –which means they will come back year after year. A climbing frame of some sort at the back of each border bed is a good idea.  If this is your first year of the crop cycle then use the back of the border bed 1, Sow your Scarlet Runner seed and leave in place for the next few years.  The good thing about this is that when those new runner beans start to emerge from the soil then you will know that the soil is warm enough to plant your other beans. In the main bed I suggest you plant dwarf French beans as you won’t need climbing frames.

In the rest of the bed you can keep liquid feeding broad beans.  All beans and peas will need plenty of moisture to them and will appreciate a good liquid feed at least every fortnight.  In some warmer areas you should be starting to harvest these. Watch for black fly pests. A good companion plant for broad beans is what is variously known as “poached egg plant”,  Meadowfoam or

Limnanthes douglasii.  Hover flies love this plant and will eat any neighbouring blackfly while they are visiting. I have ordered my seeds from Kings Seeds (NZ) Ltd. 

http://kingsseeds.co.nz/shop/Flowers.html

Peas sown earlier on should be growing well.  Make sure they have some good support structures to climb up or plant some rows of dwarf peas. Keep sowing every couple of weeks to ensure a good succession. It is traditional in NZ to have at least enough peas planted to get enough for a meal on Christmas Day. Grandparents and little ones then have the fun of shelling peas together in time for the big feast.   Peas and children go together well though so if you are doing this with the family, peas are a must.  Include snow peas for their delicious nutty crunch in summer salads.

Bed 2/Group 4.

Group 4 will be your root crops, tubers and alliums.  Which means potatoes potatoes potatoes.  I know they do take up a bit of room but it is still worthwhile to have a row or two of new potatoes as well as some delicious main crop for later. Potatoes are sub tropical and don’t like frost so protect any new growth from frost.  Plant seed potatoes 15 cm deep, spaced at about 40cm apart.  I follow Kay Baxter from the Koanga Institute who advises digging a trench and lining the bottom with comfrey leaves. It also means that I have to wait for the comfrey to grow!  (which it is now under my fruit trees).

Garlic – bulbs are forming at this time of the year so keep up the liquid fertilizer at least every 2 weeks. You can side dress with blood & bone. Keep the water up and mulch.

On the other side of the garden bed to where you have potatoes give the soil a final dig over to prepare for parsnips, beetroot and carrots, turnips, Swedes or kumara if up north.  This is because these crops like a little lime but potatoes don’t.  The soil will need to be friable so the roots can go straight down and don’t add any fresh manure which can lead to club root.

Celery and leek seed can be sown now for planting in December.

Bed3/Group3. Heat Loving fruiting plants.

This is the bed for your heat loving plants so you will be busy later in the month with Labour Weekend being the traditional time for planting out tomatoes, courgettes, cucumber, pumpkins, capsicums, eggplants etc. You can still sow seed indoors in a warm spot ready for planting out when the soil is warm enough.  In the south it might be worth buying in 2-3 grafted plants as they seem to get a headstart on the others for the shorter growing season. However if you are lucky enough to have a hothouse then get your home-sown seedlings in by all means. I am putting my tomatoes in the border bed so can only fit 3-4 which should be enough. If it is warm enough to grow them, try putting the cucumbers behind to grow up the netting fence. Pumpkins can go in the corners of the border bed and spread along in front of the tomatoes. 

Marigolds are good companion plants for this bed. Any gaps plant heat loving herbs such as basil. The rest of the bed will soon be taken up with courgettes, capsicums etc.

Bed 4/ Group 2.  Leafy Greens and Brassicas.

Plant and sow lettuces every few weeks to ensure a good supply over the summer. Plant out silverbeet, spinach, cauliflower and cabbages. Asian greens such as Pak Choy will grow quickly now. Sow other brassicas to get ready for later planting.  Keep up the liquid feeding of growing plants.

Happy gardening!

October in the Family Vegetable Garden.

Looking ahead to a “Labour” Weekend in the garden

October is probably one of the busiest months of the year for the garden especially towards the end of the month with Labour weekend being the great traditional NZ planting weekend. You can start sowing seeds well before then to be ready for the big weekend. As you sow your first lot of seeds, kick off your succession planting cycle by purchasing some punnets of well grown plants from your local garden centre or store and get them into the ground.   

Succession planting is the practice of staggering your sowing or planting over the growing season. We do this for a number of reasons, but mainly so that you don’t have your crops all ripening at once. You want to avoid that in the family vegetable garden especially with crops you can’t store or preserve.  A good rule of thumb is to sow or plant every 4-5 weeks or so.  If you have raised plants in trays, sow the next lot of seed the same day you plant out your seedlings.

Some of the more tender crops you can start under glass or indoors in a warm space in early spring.  This is important here in the south to make the most of our growing season. Tomatoes for example are easy to grow from seed but you need to get in early or they will not ripen before the autumn days start to cool on us.

Jobs for this Month

Sow: Peas, beetroot, swedes, turnips,  lettuce, carrots, parsnips, parsley, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauli, leeks, silverbeet.

Sow under cover in a warm space: tomatoes, capsicum, pumpkin, courgettes, cucumber, celery, sweet corn, beans

Plant: Punnets of brassicas, celery, peas, leeks, silverbeet, lettuce, potatoes, asparagus.

Cultivate: Keep any weeds at bay with regular hoeing and mulching. Liquid feed growing plants at least fortnightly especially your garlic crop.

Harvest: Broad beans, silverbeet, asparagus, lettuce etc

Garden Notes for the Family Vegetable Garden: September.

 The New Year in the Kitchen Garden

Spring has officially arrived and with it the start of the gardener’s New Year.  Time to get sowing and planting. Just watch out though – spring may be in the air but it won’t necessarily have made it into the soil yet.  In the meantime start seeds under cover so you will be ready to plant when the conditions are right.  

This is a good time to get your garden beds planned for good crop rotation. There are lots of good reasons to follow this age old practice. Grouping families of plants together in one bed with similar cultivation needs means it is easier for you to prepare the beds to suit that crop.  It also breaks the cycles of pests and diseases that can occur if you plant the same crop in the same place year after year. If you kept doing that you would also deplete the soil of the nutrients that family of plants needs.  Different plants access food from different depths of the soil. Tap roots for example will dig deep and access nutrition that say shallow rooted plants like tomatoes or lettuces won’t.   An easy crop rotation plan to follow will be to divide your main annual beds into four  and every year move the crop to the next bed in a clockwise way

1.Legumes: Peas and Beans	4. Root Crops: eg carrots Potatoes, onions
2.Leafy:eg Lettuces, Brassicas, silverbeet	3. Fruiting & Heat loving eg tomatoes, pumpkins

 If you are starting out in your garden and want a good basic garden plan including crop rotation check out the Crop Rotation Poster advertised above. 

Jobs for this Month

Sow direct into warm spot: carrots, parsnips, beetroot (early crop) potatoes, onions, lettuce, peas, parsley. Brussels sprouts

Sow indoors in trays for planting out later: leeks, celery, corn, beans, pumpkin, marrow, cucumber,

Plant: Potatoes, cabbages, caulis, lettuces, parsley, silverbeet

Cultivate: Any crops that have come through winter such as broad beans, brassicas, silverbeet and garlic will all benefit from a weekly application of liquid feed.  Keep asparagus plots clear of weeds and start applying liquid fertiliser once new growth appears. If your rhubarb is putting up seed heads cut them off. Keep hoeing soil between rows to keep weeds down of mulch between rows.

Harvest: Cabbages, broccoli, silverbeet, parsley, broad beans, asparagus.

Starting Out in Your Vege Garden: Choosing Your Site.

Choosing your site: Aspect, Shelter, Drainage and Close to the kitchen.

Aspect for us here in NZ means north facing – find the sunniest spot you can. Plants won’t thrive without the sun.

Full sun, shelter from strong cold winds and free-draining deep soil is the ideal for your garden.  You will want to avoid cold frost pockets and too much shade. Find a north facing spot and put up some shelter in the south end (for the southern hemisphere) to start with.  If you can “borrow” a neighbour’s fence that is a good start and even better if that is corrugated iron, brick or stone as those materials will absorb heat and radiate it back onto your plants.  My dream garden would be one of the old walled gardens in Britain – the stone walls provide shelter and thermal mass, releasing heat back into the garden at night and moderating the temperatures. They also provide shelter from the wind and somewhere for climbing plants to grow or for espaliered fruit trees.  So if you’re lucky enough to live in an area where there is lots of natural stone then go for it!

You do need to watch for patches of wind turbulence with solid walls though.  Shelter trees can be a better option as they break up the wind rather than stop it and move the turbulence elsewhere.  If you are going to plant a shelter hedge then why not choose a fruiting hedge. Try feijoa, blueberry, currant, rosemary, cranberry, guava.  These plants are obviously going to be permanent so you will still need to keep a couple of metres between them and your main vege patch to ensure the plants don’t rob your vegetables of nutrients.  You will see in my plan that I have put in a Feijoa hedge on the western end of my garden – it is evergreen and hardy and provides delicious fruit in early winter.

The prevailing wind for much of NZ is a westerly so shelter on that side is important – bearing in mind that you still want as much sunlight as possible. The permaculture model would be to have a semi circle of mixed shelter with the highest shelter at the back (southern end) graduating down to lower at the eastern and western ends.  Maybe a blueberry hedge on the western side and a fruiting currant down the east?  Or evergreen cranberry makes a great well behaved low growing evergreen hedge.  These hedges will take some time to grow so if you are able then get some shelter cloth in to provide the first few years of shelter.  Doesn’t look so good but it will provide the necessary shelter for your garden in the meantime.  Trellis is a good option as it can support shade cloth, it will break the wind without diminishing sunlight and provides great support for you climbing plants. Picket fences are gorgeous as well  – even if you only have it on two sides.  Then you can make a little gate with an archway for a rose to climb over……

Avoid the ubiquitous Leyland cypress though. If you can’t keep it well trimmed it could turn into a 25 metre high dark monster, sucking the life and light out of your garden as well any relationship you may have had with the neighbours.  Leave those for the farm paddocks where a commercial hedge trimmer can get in.  If you already have a hedge maybe of olearia or pittosporum as many seem to be where I live, then don’t pull it out. Keep nicely trimmed and count your blessings.

Drainage

Your soil will need to be free draining and ideally not too much of a clay pan base.  Deep topsoil is of course the ideal but if you are have the choice between that and the sun I would go for the sun and put in drains. A simple way to test your soil for it’s drainage is to dig a hole about 30 cm deep and fill with water. Give it 30 mins and if the water hasn’t drained out you have a problem. If it is really bad then get some expert advice and drainage laid. Otherwise raised beds will go a long way to help. You then also have the opportunity to build up the soil in those beds by adding compost, manure, carbon etc.

Close to the Kitchen.
Another name for this sort of gardening is the Kitchen Garden and in order to use it properly it needs to be near the kitchen.  We want to eat what we grow but we don’t want to have to pack a picnic to go fetch the veges. Site it close to the back door or kitchen door so you can pop out and collect what you need for your meal. Makes it easier to slip in a bit of weeding and cultivating as well.  If the best spot in the garden has now been taken up with a BBQ and out door dining, plan your garden around that. An earth pizza oven looks gorgeous set in a vege/herb garden with the added advantage of being able to pick your herbs or tomatoes to go straight on your pizza. And a spot to have a table and chairs to sit at with  your cup of tea and survey your beautiful and productive garden is priceless.

Continuing to hurtle headlong into last century....

Continuing to hurtle headlong into last century ------- turning back the (non-digital) clock continues in our household with the recent Trademe purchase of an Olivetti Studio 46 typewriter. I had bought some really gorgeous Donna Demente printed paper from her studio in Oamaru and it just seemed wrong to either handwrite or use the computer on it. So now got my typewriter. We are going off grid at some stage so all the low tech stuff is going to be useful again.

Looked on the internet and of course found there was  a site dedicated to this model. Seriously. Here is what they had to say about this practical work of art.

Starting Out in Your Vegetable/Food Garden: Late Winter

August is a great month in this part of the world to get everything ready for the coming new season. It’s not too late to get new beds laid out and the ground prepared for your spring planting. I love the idea of turning your whole backyard into a food garden – incorporating vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, berries, nuts, herbs and flowers. Doesn’t that sound delicious? The best thing about it is that it will not only be good for you and your family but it will be good for the land itself, the birds, the insects and bees etc.  You will save money in the long run, you will know where your food comes from and what has gone into growing it, your whole family can be involved and any surplus you can share around the neighbourhood.

 My New Garden

We have recently moved to a block of land and I am also making a garden out of a bare patch of land so if you are starting out – you are not alone.  I will include some pictures and plot progress as I go along although at the moment the orchard just looks like a whole lot of sticks in the ground. We have been very lucky that not only was this piece of land previously owned by an old organic pioneer by the name of Trevor Ross, but that he ran a composting operation on it. There are piles of compost dotted over the land – gardening heaven. I know he must have used nettle as there are also lots of nettles but they have their uses.  Also planted was a good shelter belt on the south and west of the property  plus rows of native trees here and there.  There are  walnuts and pinenuts and a fruit cage that contained 100 or so cherry trees in bags. We have planted some of those out into the ground as I am not a fan of that type of growing and we have taken the opportunity to get in some gooseberries, blueberries and currants under the bird netting.

So if like me you are creating a garden from lawn or a bit of paddock then you have a great opportunity to set the foundation for a magnificent garden. Even if you are working with an existing bed or you have inherited an old patch, let me introduce you to a plan of gardening that incorporates a good level of design, utilizes the organic principles of crop rotation and permaculture, and enables you to not only feed yourselves but be a beautiful space to be in.

Some of the things to consider when designing this garden are the following;

1. Choosing your Site – Shelter and Aspect

2. Garden Size and Design

3. Marking out the beds

4. Preparing the ground – getting rid of the weeds

5. Preparing the ground – building up the soil.