IT’S TIME TO TURN OVER A NEW LEAF
SALAD DAYS SET TO CONTINUE WITH NEW WINTER CROPS OF CHINESE VEGETABLES
LOVE them or hate them, the cabbage family, brassicas, have been an important source of plant nutrients for people through the ages. Brassicas in one form or another have been grown as a food crop by gardeners around the world since Europeans settled into communities and started farming about 6000 years ago.
When Chinese miners arrived in Australia during the gold rush in 1850, they brought with them farming skills which arguably prevented scurvy and saved the lives of the less skilled English free settlers and miners.
The Chinese market gardeners understood the poor nutrition of the Australian soils and with practical skills, born from years on the land, used what was around them to fertilise their gardens; animal and human manure, urine, blood and bone and compost.
The Chinese miners also carried with them a variety of seeds and were soon growing the famous Chinese cabbages wong bok and pak choi as well as a wide variety of other vegetables: kale, turnip, watermelon, beans, peas, celery onions, citrus, bamboo and every imaginable food crop still growing in Chinese market gardens today.
Brassicas like it cool, so in tropical FNQ plant them in late autumn and harvest in early spring. Cabbages do not like hot, humid weather as this will cause them to flower and run to seed; they are a winter crop.
All brassicas require a rich, deep soil with a pH around 6.5. As our soils are mostly acidic, a good cup of dolomite will need to be sprinkled over every square metre of the planting area. Add a wheelbarrow of aged compost and another of manure; alternative the raking from the chicken cage or some cow manure. Mix the manures with the soil and leave for a week or two. Meanwhile, sow brassica seeds in punnets for planting out towards the end of May. Once the seedlings have germinated ensure the growing area receives four or five hours of direct sunlight every day.
In coastal FNQ the cabbage is beset with pests but these creatures can be outwitted with a little knowledge of their likes and dislikes and some good old-fashioned companion planting.
The principal of companion planting seeks to grow together plants that have beneficial attributes to share. All alliums, onions, chives and shallots, off-gas sulfides which disguise the smell of the cabbage moth’s host plants, which in this case are all members of the brassica family.
Plant cabbages or any brassicas 30cm apart and between the inter-rows of the mature alliums to dramatically reduce cabbage moth caterpillars.
Remember the alliums must be sufficiently mature before they are able to provide a protective chemical ceiling above the brassica.
Lettuce is quick to grow and early to harvest. To use all the garden space, plant lettuce in between the well-spaced cabbage plants. This will fill the space between the plants, outcompeting weeds and protecting the soil in rainy weather.
The quick-growing lettuce will be harvested before the brassicas grow to fill the space.
Other brassicas that can be planted now are broccoli, wong bok, bok choy, kale, turnips, kohlrabi and radishes.
Cauliflower, also a brassica, is problematic in the wet tropics with seasonal showers causing fungal growth on the flower. Brussels sprouts will not set on the coast but can be grown on the Atherton Tablelands in cool areas.
Broccoli is grown for its dense flowering head which is seldom attacked by insects, however can be prone to soft rot if left too long on the plant, so harvest early.
Wong bok has a delicate flavour and is traditionally used in stir-fry dishes. It is also the cabbage of choice for making kimchi. Wong bok will only form a firm heart in cooler weather. It needs two months to grow to maturity before harvest, so seed needs to be sown between May and June for harvest before spring.
Bok choy or pak choy is fast-growing and can be seeded directly into the garden, with some plants harvested early to thin the seedlings when they are 10-20cm high. Bok choy is ready to harvest just over a month from planting.
Kale and collard green leaves can be tough if grown in hot weather, so for sweet kale leaves plan to grow in the coldest months. Kale is a large vegetable and as the leaves are harvested it will grow quite tall. Some staking may be needed.