The gardener’s diary … AUGUST

It’s all go this month: planning ahead, sowing crops and planting seedlings for a spring harvest. Can’t get away from it, there’s a bit of cleaning and tidying to do too.

Thinking ahead

● Sit down and plan where you want your spring crops to go in the vege patch. Think about their heights, how long they will take until harvest and position them so they will all receive sun. Think about crop rotation so you are not depleting the soil by planting the same veges in the same place.

● There’s still time to plant fruit trees if you haven’t already, but get a move on, it’s best if they are in the ground before there’s too much spring growth.

● When the weather is fine, weed the beds and dig over the soil ready for planting. Dig in compost and sheep pellets to replenish nutrients.

● If you have feijoa trees, prune the older, tangled branches. Feijoas fruit on new season’s growth.

● Put a layer of mulch (pea straw, straw, lawn clippings, compost, strips of newspaper) between plants to deter weeds and to keep the soil moist.

● If necessary, thin out seedlings such as beetroot, radishes, lettuces, carrots.

● Clean seed trays from last season before you use them again to prevent fungal problems and bacteria. Dry in the sun.

Plant

Broad beans, cabbage, cauliflower, globe artichoke, lettuce and mizuna. In warmer areas: peas, silverbeet, spinach, shallots and onions, potatoes, pumpkins

Fruit trees — all the citrus and stonefruit — along with quince. Berries: blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and blackcurrants

Harvest

FRUIT: Lemons, limes, mandarins, oranges and grapefruit, tamarillos, kiwifruit and rhubarb

VEGETABLES: Mizuna, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauli and cabbage, cavolo nero and spinach, carrots, leeks, parsnips, silverbeet, turnips, winter lettuces, rocket, avocados, olives