6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in
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6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in

6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in 6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in

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GARDEN CALENDAR | Late spring Things to do in November Late spring means hotter weather and increased sunshine. The garden should be growing strongly, covering bare ground with lush green By Jennifer Stackhouse Vegetables COOL & TEMPERATE By late spring, soils are warming and seeds are germinating, especially in the vegie patch. In warmer zones, early plantings of tomatoes may already be flowering and forming fruit for a Christmas harvest. In cooler zones, if all threat of frost has passed, it’s safe to plant out summer crops such as tomato, capsicum, eggplant, cucumber and zucchini. Continue to shelter these new plantings from any late cold weather. Corn, too, can be planted now, sowing seeds or planting seedlings in blocks to aid pollination, as corn is wind-pollinated. Position corn to shelter smaller vegetables from hot summer winds. Also plant herbs in the garden or in containers. Liquid feed leafy crops every seven to 10 days for strong growth and keep plants well watered, especially if temperatures suddenly peak. TROPICAL Planting leafy greens in raised garden beds, troughs or other containers keeps their roots in well-drained conditions through the wet season ahead. Use a free-draining potting mix. Keep herbs disease-free by growing them in containers that can be moved into a bright and airy but sheltered spot to protect them from heavy rains. Despite these precautions, watch for powdery mildew, a fungal disease that produces a white, powdery coating over the foliage and stems of many plants. A milk 1 spray made from diluted full-cream milk (use at a ratio of one-part milk to nine-parts water) can keep mildew at bay if applied before mildew appears. It’s also a good time to plant starch crops such as sweet potato and taro as well as vegetables such as okra, snake beans and winged beans that tolerate humidity and grow well over summer. Also plant capsicum and chilli. Fruit COOL & TEMPERATE Ragged, skeletonised leaves on pear, cherry, hawthorn and related trees are the work of the pear and cherry slug. Look for the small, slug-like insects on foliage. Dust leaves with ash or powder to keep these pests away. The insects can also be squashed or sprayed with a pyrethrum spray (don’t spray while bees are around — wait until early evening). Passionfruit vines may be flowering, but often fruit is slow to form. Hand-pollinating flowers can encourage fruit formation. Regularly fertilise these hungry vines to keep them flowering and growing strongly. Apply pelletised chook manure, compost or other organic fertiliser to flowers and fruit. Prune trees that have fruited, including mulberry and loquat. TROPICAL Watch for aphids, caterpillars and grasshoppers on flushes of new growth after rain. Squashing these pests gives quick control. Grasshoppers are easiest to catch in the cool of the morning so, where grasshoppers are a pest, take an earlymorning garden stroll. Fertilise pawpaw, citrus and avocado using compost or a fertiliser for fruiting plants. Plant rosella seeds now. The plants are attractive and the fruit makes great jam or a therapeutic herbal tea. Prune fruit trees after harvest. Compost & soil COOL & TEMPERATE Keep on top of weeds by regularly pulling them from the soil and replenishing mulches. Add green weeds that are seed free to the compost heap along with spent crops such as peas. To avoid spreading persistent weeds such as tradescantia, soak them in a bucket of water for at least a week until they start to break down. The resulting liquid can be used as liquid feed while the decomposing vegetation, which should no longer be able to regrow, can be added to the compost heap. Weeds can also be fed to chooks to enrich their diets. In bushfire-prone areas, replace organic mulch with pebbles or gravel, or plant living mulches such as succulents or sterile agapanthus varieties that can slow the spread of fires and may reduce spot fires occurring during a fire storm. 2 TROPICAL Regularly remove weeds and cover bare earth with organic mulch to deter weedy regrowth and to protect the soil from heat and heavy rain. Seed-free weeds and those that don’t regrow can also be laid back on top of the soil to decompose. This returns nutrients to the soil where the weed extracted it. Use up compost from existing heaps by digging it into garden soil or by spreading as mulch over the soil surface. Using up compost also makes room for more prunings, spent plants and weeds as summer growth matures. As you prune and tidy the garden, chop up woody or long pieces to add to the compost pile and hasten their breakdown. 78 | Good Organic Gardening

Late spring | GARDEN CALENDAR 3 Feed for healthy growth • Feed all plants in spring. Water the soil before applying granular fertiliser (or apply after rain). • Always follow recommended application rates. Too much fertiliser can be harmful to the plant and is wasteful. • Add liquid fertilisers to a filled watering can (not the other way around). Stir to combine. • When adding fertiliser to soil at planting time, lightly cover the fertiliser with a layer of soil to protect the roots. • Store fertilisers in sealed containers away from moisture and sunshine and out of reach of pets. 6 7 4 CanStockPhoto, Scot Nelson, Martin Cooper, Kenpai, iStock 5 1. Rosellas have attractive flowers and fruit — great for jam and herbal tea 2. Hand pollination of passionfruit flowers can hurry things along 3. In bushfire-prone areas agapanthus is a good living mulch 4. Soak persistent weeds like tradescantia in a bucket to prevent their further spread 5. Too much humidity can bring on powdery mildew — here on okra 6. This slippery little fellow is a pear and cherry slug, Caliroa cerasi 7. Keep an eye out for grasshoppers and other pests Good Organic Gardening | 79

Late spr<strong>in</strong>g | GARDEN CALENDAR<br />

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Feed for healthy growth<br />

• Feed all plants <strong>in</strong> spr<strong>in</strong>g. Water the soil before apply<strong>in</strong>g<br />

granular fertiliser (or apply after ra<strong>in</strong>).<br />

• Always follow recommended application rates. Too much<br />

fertiliser can be harmful to the plant and is wasteful.<br />

• Add liquid fertilisers to a filled water<strong>in</strong>g can (not the other<br />

way around). Stir to comb<strong>in</strong>e.<br />

• When add<strong>in</strong>g fertiliser to soil at plant<strong>in</strong>g time, lightly cover<br />

the fertiliser with a layer of soil to protect the roots.<br />

• Store fertilisers <strong>in</strong> sealed conta<strong>in</strong>ers away from moisture and<br />

sunsh<strong>in</strong>e and out of reach of pets.<br />

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7<br />

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1. Rosellas have attractive flowers and fruit — great for jam and herbal tea<br />

2. Hand poll<strong>in</strong>ation of passionfruit flowers can hurry th<strong>in</strong>gs along<br />

3. In bushfire-prone areas agapanthus is a good liv<strong>in</strong>g mulch<br />

4. Soak persistent weeds like tradescantia <strong>in</strong> a bucket to prevent their<br />

further spread<br />

5. Too much humidity can br<strong>in</strong>g on powdery mildew — here on okra<br />

<strong>6.</strong> This slippery little fellow is a pear and cherry slug, Caliroa cerasi<br />

7. Keep an eye out for grasshoppers and other pests<br />

<strong>Good</strong> <strong>Organic</strong> <strong>Garden<strong>in</strong>g</strong> | 79

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