Garden Notes for
the Family Vegetable Garden
July
Planning the Family Vegetable Garden –
Timing.
Well
we have been flooded and frozen for much of last month so even though my broad
beans are up and some of the garlic is poking through not much is going on
above ground. Avoid walking on or
digging in cold wet soil so July will continue to be about planning not
planting. Now is a good time to get a good 5 year diary or journal the family
can use as a garden diary to help with planning and management.
We
talked in last month’s column about planning what you may want to put in your
vege patch and this month we are going to talk a little bit about timing. It
can get confusing for a beginner to try to figure out how long crops will take
to grow, when to plant and when to harvest. We see vegetables in the shops and think that we can go
and plant those and expect them to go through their growth cycle in a few
weeks.
That’s
not going to work. Most plants will take up to 2-3 months from planting to
maturity so you need to think ahead and plan. You’ll find that gardeners are
always thinking ahead - planting in autumn for spring harvest, planting in
spring for summer harvest, planting in summer for winter harvest etc. Some
plants grow best in the cool weather of autumn and winter and others appreciate
that long sunlight hours and heat of summer. Work out what you want to grow, when those crops are in
season, how long they take to grow and work backwards from there.
Jobs for this Month. Generally speaking it is too
cold and wet for seed sowing but you can start peas and broad beans off in pots
in a warm spot indoors. Save your toilet rolls to start seeds off in indoors
ready for planting out in early spring.
Sow. Garlic and shallots. Broad beans. Sow
indoors; cabbage and cauli, onion, silverbeet and spinach.
Plant: Asparagus, bok choy, brassicas, onions,
rhubarb.
Cultivate: Asparagus beds
should have a top dressing of well composted manure. Keep
an eye on your young plants and protect from the worst of the weather. Good
thick mulch will work for smaller plants make sure mulch is not touching the
plants – they could rot. Drink bottles with the bottoms cut off are good too. Use some of the ash from your fireplace
to spread across the beds – non treated wood ash of course.
Harvest: Brusssels sprouts, silver beet, leeks,
Swedes, brassicas
Prepare: Early crop potatoes can be started off
(chitted) in a cool airy spot to prepare for planting after frosts.
