The Veggie Patch
This time in The Veggie Patch as promised, I will talk about spring.
I didn’t gamble on the late winter blast of snow that would cover most of New Zealand! I had just planted cauliflower, broccoli and bok choy plants alongside the broad beans that were 10cm high when they were covered with 16cm of snow. They were only covered for a day and have survived. Snow contains nitrogen and many other trace elements, which encourage growth.
If you had your patch dug during winter is should be ready to turn over for the spring garden. If not, you better get digging or we’ll be weeks behind! Our garden is ready to go.
Plant lettuce plants and if you sow a few lettuce seeds every three weeks to transplant out later on, you’ll have lettuce for salad all through the summer.
Carrots, radish, beetroot and parsnip can be sown now. If new potatoes are wanted for Christmas, now is the time to put them in. Buy certified seed potatoes for best results. As the ground is still cold, do not make a deep hole. Scoop out a hollow, sprinkle in a little general fertiliser, drop in the seed potato and cover over with a mound of soil to keep them warm. Hill soil up around the plants as they grow. This increases yield and makes harvesting easy too.
Yams are becoming a favourite veggie; plant seed from any garden centre about 4cm deep and 20cm apart. The idea is to plant them as a block because they grow tops that are quite large and this will stop them falling over your other veggies. As they grow, hill the soil up around them in the same way as the potatoes.
Sweet corn is another kids’ favourite: the end of October is a good time to sow them as they germinate quickly and don’t like any late frost. Use the block pattern as before to sow them rather than a row, as they grow very tall. This way they support each other and let that vital warm sun through for your other veggies.
If you have a tunnel house, tomatoes can be planted end of September along with cucumber, which we plant around them. Leave outside planting of tomatoes until the end of October. Potash is required for good flowering and fruit set. Apply some to each plant at planting as it takes six weeks to give good results. We use a product called Stump Rotter that works instantly. Use ¼ teaspoon around each plant every two months. Both tomatoes and cucumber like this.
This will keep you busy until next time. Happy gardening!
Jonsey
Reader question from last issue: Can I divide strawberry plants like I do rhubarb plants?
Answer: Strawberries grown runners of baby plants in their first and second years, which will give you a continuous supply of new, strong fruit-bearing plants. It is the natural cycle of strawberries, which is so clever; you only need to buy plants once to have a lifetime supply. Dividing an old plant will not give you worthwhile plants. So invest in some new plants and start your cycle.
