Early spring in the Crop Rotation Calendar

(September in the Southern Hemisphere and March in the Northern)

As we come into September, early spring here in New Zealand, it’s time to get the first of our main plantings in the ground.  It’s a good time to rotate your garden beds – if you use the Crop Rotation Poster then follow the plan and it will keep you on track with where everything should go but you don’t have to necessarily build a garden exactly like this.  It doesn’t suit everyone – but the principles of rotating families of plants will be the same.  

For me, and my garden at Bellbird Hill, I am finally getting raised beds and paths.  I have been making do for the past few years as we have not been living on the property and have not been able to pay full attention to it, but its all coming together now.  In fact the garden is going in before the house – priorities sorted.  My 4 central beds are 4x3m and that is quite big. You could easily keep the proportions but take the size down to fit what you have – say 3x2m.  That’s the beauty of creating gardens. Each one will be unique to fit in with the space you have plus all the other variables that go into making a garden.   I also definitely recommend paved paths rather than grass.  It just reduces the amount of work needed and you want to be spending your time on growing food for the family – not mowing paths.

Year 1. Bed 1. 

I have now done a full 4-year cycle. So back to Year 1!   Which means in Bed 1, the top left bed, I have sown peas, broad beans and left a patch for sweetcorn.  The other space will be French beans, both dwarf and standard which won’t go in until November when the soil has warmed up.  Runner beans will go in the border where they can climb up the fence. Peas and Broad beans prefer cooler temperatures to grow in so as we lifted carrots, beetroot and parsnip (root crops previously grown in this bed) I got the legume seed in.  And of course the nitrogen fixing qualities of the beans will enliven the soil ready for the following years crop of leafy greens.

Year 1. Bed 2,

Bottom left, is for green leafy vegetables that follow on from where we grew legumes last year.   You probably will still have silverbeet (Chard) growing in another bed from the previous season so time to get some more in in your newly prepared bed.  We grew some gorgeous rainbow silverbeet from which we collected seed in autumn so will be getting that sown into punnets this month. I will also be popping some seedlings in to get a head start. Spinach can go in as well. The hens are starting to lay and there is nothing like poached eggs and freshly picked spinach for breakfast. The joys of growing your own!  Succession sowing and planting of brassicas can go in now for autumn and winter eating.  The traditional spacing of brassicas such as broccoli, cauliflower or kale is to make the space between the rows as wide as the plants will grow in height. As they will be in the ground for a long time, this means that you have these big gaps of bare ground that you have to keep weeded or mulched for that time.  A good idea is to interplant with quicker growing crops such as lettuces and other salad greens.  They don’t take as long to grow and actually lettuces appreciate a little shade, as they tend to bolt if too hot. 

Year 1. Bed 3. 

 This bed is where the heat loving Mediterranean vegetables will be going so too early to plant anything yet but keep getting the soil ready. No lime where you are planning on planting tomatoes but plenty of well-rotted manure, compost etc.  Pumpkins and courgettes are heavy feeders and like plenty of moisture so lots of humus and carbon in the soil will hold the moisture.  If the bed is empty, turn a corner into a compost area and cover with black cloth to heat it up.  If you sowed a green crop get it dug in now to give the soil time to be ready for late October planting.  Sow seed for these crops now but they will have to be in a hothouse or inside where its warm. 

Year 1, Bed 4.  

Make sure this garden is well dug over for root crops – no bulky manures where you want to plant tap roots such as carrots or parsnips.  You can divide the beds up into areas and give each one a bit of special treatment.  The allium family does like lots of feeding and compost so put them on one side (onions, leeks, celery) and the other root crops on the other. Plant a row of new potatoes if you have room – or plant them in the side border.  Get your earlies in now if you want to eat them at Christmas time. Cliff Kidney, Jersey Bennes, Rocket etc.

Perennial Beds.

Rhubarb will need to be fed, mulched up with plenty of manure and water if the weather is not bucketing down like it was in Auckland when I was up there over winter.  Which reminds me to remind you – if your soil is sodden – don’t even bother working it.  Occupy yourself with sowing seeds indoors so you will be ready once conditions are more suitable.  If you must do something put a plank down to walk on and keep any disturbance to a minimum.  Strawberries will need to be weed free and have fresh straw down. I have my first asparagus spear up already!  It seems early but it might be because we put down a good mulch of beautiful black compost that warmed the soil up.  So exciting.  Who needs to go out when you can stay home and watch your asparagus spears growing? 

So, lots to do and as the days get longer and the weather warmer and more settled, nature sees to it that you will want to be out in the garden.  Enjoy spring and the promise it brings.

September in the Backyard Vege Patch.

Ah – the promise of Spring! The 1^st of September is always a day I look forward to. Even though the spring equinox is not technically until around the 20^th of the month, we now definitely notice the longer days, the warmer temperatures and the movement of sap in both plants and ourselves. We find our green fingers itching to get into the garden.  And how wonderful that those early harbingers of spring, the narcissus family and its friends have such bright and beautiful flower. So joyful after the bare bleak grey of winter days. Spring however can still have a wintery sting in its tail so while there will be warm mild days – don’t be fooled into planting delicate crops too early.

As the soil warms up you can start sowing more robust crops direct into the ground but others will have to be sown in trays indoors or under a cloche.  Broad beans and peas for example can go in the ground, as can root crops such as carrots, parsnips, swedes, turnips and beetroot.  Potatoes can be started off indoors in a warm spot to “chit” or sprout – or you can plant them straight into the ground as long as you have a cloche or protection from the frost. They won’t grow till the conditions are right anyway but get them in as soon as you can if you want new potatoes for Christmas.  It’s too early in the cooler parts of the country for the heat -loving summer crops such as tomatoes, courgettes, pumpkins, sweetcorn etc but you can start them off in trays indoors to get a head start.

Plants to grow in early spring. 

Sow direct into ground: Brussel Sprouts, broad beans, carrots, parsnips, beetroot, potatoes, onions, lettuce, peas, parsley, Garlic, shallots, swedes

Sow indoors in trays for planting out later: leeks, lettuce, celery, sweetcorn, beans, pumpkin, marrow, cucumber and tomatoes, chillies, capsicum, courgettes.

Plant: Brussel Sprouts, cabbage, caulis, lettuce, parsley, silverbeet, spinach, asparagus. Remember to harden off seeds grown indoors before you put them into the garden.

Garden Notes for the Family Vegetable Garden - February

Delicious month in the garden.

Its been a mixed season weather wise so far this summer so unless you were able to keep water up to your garden you may notice differences from previous years in harvesting. My potatoes were later this year due to the cold snap in November but they are still going and still delicious!  Harvest your early potatoes and keep mounding up main-crop ones giving them a good mulch to keep protected from the burning sun.  As you harvest your potatoes, dig over the ground and sow a crop of onions.

 

Get your garlic out of the ground as well if you haven’t already.  By now it won’t be growing anymore and leaving it in the ground will reduce quality and the likelihood that it will store well. Dry off somewhere handy for a few weeks then brush off any leftover dirt, trim the roots, braid and store in a dry spot.  I harvested my garlic in January as I planted it all on the shortest day and dug it up not long after the longest day.  I was wondering what to follow it with so as it is still my root crop rotation bed so I am experimenting to see if I can get another crop of potatoes out of it before winter.  This is the great thing about the backyard vege patch – try things out and record what you have done. Each patch is different – you just need to learn what works in yours. You can also sow flowers or other quick growing crops in any bare patches. Keeps away the weeds and provides another harvest before winter.

Talking about weeds – the old adage about “one years seeds equals seven years weeds” is true – especially when it comes to dock etc.  If you don’t have time to dig them out by the roots then at least snip off the seed head and put into a bag for burning.

Jobs for this Month

Sow.  Beetroot, bok choy, winter brassicas, carrots, radishes, silver beet, swedes, turnips, onions. 

Plant: Punnets of winter brassicas, celery, leeks, lettuces, silverbeet, spinach.

Cultivate: Keep hoeing when you can and mulching, knowing that the mulch will be dug in over winter to build up your soil for the next season.

Harvest: Lots to eat in February with all your fruiting vegetables such as tomatoes, beans, courgettes, peppers, cucumbers, sweetcorn, potatoes and then pumpkins coming into their own. Keep picking to extend the season.  Then get busy preserving your harvest for later use

Save: Save seed also – select a really good plant, including herbs, and leave to go to seed.  Harvest on a warm dry day.