1. Good Organic Gardening - January-February 2016

GARDEN DIARY | Mid-summer
Things to do in
January
Summer in Australia is a season of extremes. Prepare for it to be very hot,
wet, dry or windy, depending on climatic conditions. This is the season of
floods, fires and cyclones, all of which take their toll on gardens
By Jennifer Stackhouse
Vegetables
COOL & TEMPERATE
Avoid the worst of the day’s heat by gardening
in the cool of the early morning. Use this time
to water and tend crops, check for pests,
remove weeds and spot vegetables that are
ready to harvest. On very hot days, shade
crops to prevent sun damage. Repeat this
inspection in the evening, paying particular
attention to plants that need extra water.
Make sure tomatoes are well watered to avoid
blossom-end rot in fruit. If some crops are
failing to form fruit — particularly cucurbits,
including pumpkins, squash and zucchini — try
hand pollination (transferring pollen from male
flowers to receptive female flowers). In fruit fly
zones, protect all soft vegies (such as tomatoes
and capsicum) from fruit fly attack. These pests
become more active as summer progresses.
Use fruit fly baits or traps and, where possible,
cover individual fruit with exclusion bags or
nets. Regularly liquid-feed all edibles, especially
leafy greens, and make new plantings of
successful crops to keep the harvest coming.
Keep weeds under control by hoeing between
rows. Cover any bare soil with a thin layer of
organic mulch to help deter weed growth.
TROPICAL
Harvest vegies while they are small and tender.
In the heat and humidity of the wet season,
crops such as zucchini and cucumber quickly
over-mature. They become large, seedy and
watery and are best fed to the chooks. Leafy
crops, too, can become tough and bitter as
they age, so always harvest them regularly.
Replace mature crops with fresh sowings.
Shade new plantings to protect them from both
heat and heavy rains. Sweet corn, sunflowers
and climbing crops on a trellis, such as Ceylon
spinach, provide a natural source of shade for
the vegie garden. Combat powdery mildew with
regular applications of milk spray (one part
whole milk to 10 parts water) or just pull out
badly affected plants.
Fruit
COOL & TEMPERATE
Mow or weed around fruit trees and deeply
water trees, shrubs and vines at least once a
week if rain is scarce, but reduce watering of
fig trees. Feed most fruiting trees and shrubs,
including apples, apricots and blueberries.
Keep up fruit fly protection for still-ripening soft
fruits, including raspberries. Use baits, traps and
exclusion bags. Protect ripening fruit from birds.
Use nets or reusable fruit baskets that snap
over fruit clusters to protect crops against birds
and bats. If using nets, use only white knitted
nets that are less likely to snare birds, bats
and reptiles. Stretch nets so they’re taut, avoid
overly large nets that pool on the ground where
they may trap small reptiles and regularly
inspect nets to free any trapped animals.
TROPICAL
Keep harvesting summer fruit, including
avocados, custard apples, mangoes, pawpaw
and passionfruit. Hand-pollinate passionfruit
flowers if fruit is slow to form. Check flowers
regularly for ripe pollen to transfer to the
sticky female part of the flower. Use a dry
brush or cotton bud to transfer pollen. Bottle,
freeze or dry excess crops. If fungal diseases
are evident on fruit or foliage, apply a copperbased
fungicide approved for organic gardens.
Also, keep organic fruit fly baits fresh by
regularly reapplying and protecting them
from rain. Apply fertiliser to avocado, banana,
If cucurbits are failing to
fruit, try hand pollination
custard apple, jackfruit, loquat, passionfruit
and pawpaw, especially after periods of heavy
rain, which leaches nutrients from the soil.
Compost & soil
COOL & TEMPERATE
Chop up green prunings and seed-free
weeds to add to compost heaps, layered with
dry leaves. Compost is developing rapidly,
so regularly use compost from the heap,
spreading it over soil as natural mulch. This
protects soils, keeps them cool and deters
weed growth. Heaps should be moist but not
too wet. If there are extended periods of heavy
rain, cover heaps that are too wet. Conversely,
if the weather is hot and dry, compost heaps
can dry out and may need to be watered and
turned. Keep worm farms in a cool location as
hot spells can kill worms.
TROPICAL
Summer storms continue to leach nutrients
from soils, so renew mulches or simply
lay down chopped-up prunings, including
chopped palm and fern fronds, to protect the
soil. Apply fertilisers including potash to rapidly
growing vegetables and fruiting crops. In
fallow vegie beds, plant a green manure crop
to add fertility to the soil in time for dry season
planting, or cover soil with a layer of mulch.
Use the cooler evenings to do vigorous
work such as digging, spreading mulches or
turning the compost heap.
Shutterstock, Jana Holmer
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