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Water retention is your main priority this time of year so consider adding products like mushroom compost if you don’t make your own compost. Mulching is an essential and you can’t go past an organic sugar cane mulch. Plan to water early morning or evening to reduce evaporation and to maximize the uptake for the plants. Installing an irrigation system to the vege garden will be the best investment you ever make, especially if you connect it to your water tank or town water with a timer. In these busy times we need to make things as easy as possible to ensure that we can enjoy the little pleasures in life….like growing veges.
This time of year allows for a wide range of vegetables, fruits and salad greens to be grown but the one that excites me most is planting out pumpkins. This fantastic vine produces many fruit which when handled properly can be stored for eating through the winter months. If you have the space in your garden (around 10m2) then try growing some pumpkin by first ensuring that the soil where you plant the seeds is well prepared with compost. Mulch the area well to reduce the weeds that will try to compete with the vine and water regularly should there be no rainfall. See our article here on assisted pollination, should you be low on bees & or insects in your garden and you’re finding that your pumpkins aren’t setting.
Creating some shade for your delicates like lettuce, rocket etc will ensure your produce doesn’t get burnt. Creating a structure can be done in many ways but I find the easiest way is to construct a tunnel. As shown in the image above the tunnel is created with stakes then irrigation hose pushed over the stakes to create the tunnel. The tunnel above is being used to protect Broccoli from Cabbage Moth during the Winter months but now can be utilized for shade by attaching some shade cloth instead. Happy growing and please share the fruits of your labour on our facebook page. We’d love to see what you have grown in your garden. |
