While the warmer, sunnier days are becoming more frequent, now is time to get more vegies in the ground.
By now hopefully you have sowed most of your summer vegetable seeds and raised some beautifully strong seedlings to transfer to your beds. If you aren’t sowing this year, get out to your local nursery and buy some ready-made ones. The soil temperature is on the up and it is time to plant all your babies in their place and watch them flourish. With the exception of capsicums and chillies, pretty much everything can be planted now, including your tomatoes.
There may still be a late frosty spring morning or two around the corner, so keep an ear on the weather reports and protect your new sensitive plants – in particular cucumbers, pumpkin, tomatoes, potatoes and strawberries. Any sign that we’re expecting a cold snap overnight, you can cover up these plants with old sheets or blankets and spread a thick layer of straw mulch around to make sure the soil is well covered.
If you are still growing some broccoli, cabbage or rocket, which I suggest you should be, the pesky little cabbage white butterfly will be hanging around a bit now. You can protect the beds from this pest by making a simple tunnel covered in netting. There are many ways to do this, either using materials you have lying around at home or purchasing ready-made. Essentially though you will need to use a number of hoops to create a supportive frame which the netting is then draped over, pulled tight and fastened to the garden bed or soil.
The local and introduced rats and mice will be on the move again now too, so keep an eye out for them.
With the realisation that we are in store for a wetter than usual summer courtesy of another La Niña cycle, fungal issues may be more prevalent this season. A little funky fungus here and there doesn’t cause much concern; however, if an outbreak of fungal wilt or mildew sets in, you don’t want to lose your entire crop. There are a number of biological fungicides on the market that can assist you in clearing up the problem, but it is important in these conditions to continue to monitor your crops every few days. Same goes for your fruit trees.
I suppose there are some positives about having a wetter than usual growing season: we don’t have to be as concerned about keeping our crops watered, and moisture loss from the soil may not be as problematic. Still, a well-mulched garden and functioning irrigation system will always lead to better results.
May the season be long and fruitful, with plenty of sunshine days.
HAPPY GARDENING!
Drew Cooper, Edible Gardens
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