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.
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!
