REAP what you sow
Just as the summer harvest hits top gear, it’s time to think about your autumn plantings, Gareth Carter writes
AUTUMN IS WITHIN SIGHT and this change of season is a significant one, it’s the kick-off of the planting season for establishing trees, shrubs, lawns — and spring bulbs.
The summer vegetable bounty should be good now as the fruits of labour are ripe for the harvest. Tomatoes can go for a while longer with fortnightly feeding with a fertiliser high in potash and regular watering. For those with late blight on their plants, continue with preventative copper spray Grosafe Freeflo Copper.
Spraying with Yates Mavrik or Success Ultra will protect tomatoes, potatoes and tamarillos against psyllids as well as caterpillars and whitefly, which often pillage this time of the season.
Zucchini plants continue to produce, as well as beans. It pays to harvest every second day to avoid large marrows, or tough, stringy beans. Cucumbers, rock melon and watermelon are producing now.
Potatoes planted in October and November will be coming ready now. If you want to store them, they can be dug up as the tops die down and put in a paper bag in a dark cool place.
Planting time
It’s time to start making regular plantings of winter vegetable seedlings. Brassicas particularly are a good winter crop but they take a reasonable amount of time to grow; 8-10 weeks for broccoli and 12-15 weeks for cauliflower and cabbages. Kales, silverbeet and pak choi are faster-growing.
Parsnips and carrots are best sown from seed directly into the garden and take about 16-20 weeks from sowing to harvest. Swedes are a little quicker at 12-16 weeks.
When planting leafy winter vegetables they should be covered with a bug net or sprayed with Yates Success or Mavrik to protect against white butterfly caterpillars and other insects.
As they get close to harvest the weather is generally cooler and the insect population has decreased so they are easier to grow without pest damage.
If delay planting, the vegetables will not be ready for harvest until spring. It is essential to get your winter vegetables planted out before cooler temperatures arrive and growth slows then halts.
Even if you have a small garden there are some good reasons to plant some winter vegetables; firstly the freshness of the product and knowledge of what has been sprayed on them or not, secondly cost; the cost of vegetables especially heads of broccoli and cauliflower skyrockets during the winter months.
Plus there is a fulfilment from harvesting and serving up plants from your garden.
Leeks
Leeks are a hardy vegetable affected by very few pests or diseases. The bigger the leek the more flavoured it is. Leeks are best planted in free-draining, organically rich soil. Apply generous amounts of lime to the soil a few weeks before planting, if possible.
Dropping more than one leak per hole is fine, but they will be smaller. Alternatively, the plants can be thinned and the thinnings can be added to soups and salads.
Keep leeks weed-free as they hate competing for light and moisture. Leeks can be safely left in the ground until needed.
Carrots and beetroot
It is time to make new sowings of carrot and beetroot for a tasty autumn/winter crop. I highly recommend the new Ican Chefs Best seed range. These varieties are bred for superior taste, improved pest and disease resistance and increased vigour and yield.
Some of the varieties are also more compact, and faster maturing, which results in a larger range from less space, and the ability to produce more crops through the season. Many are ideal for raised planter beds and container gardening.
When sowing seeds directly into the garden, ensure the ground is well dug over and broken down to a fine soil. Once germinated thin out plants for a better crop and keep moist and weed-free.
Protect seedlings with slug bait and feed regularly with liquid fertiliser Ican Fast Food. Very few pest and disease problems are encountered when growing beetroot.
Broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage
There are some important considerations when growing these winter staples. The areas of the vegetable garden, or plots where brassicas are grown must be rotated from crop to crop to avoid clubroot and the spread of other soil diseases.
Brassicas enjoy high levels of nitrogen and potash as it is the flower that is eaten in its immature form. Fertilisers such as Ican Vegetable Food give great results. Keeping plants well watered also encourages faster maturity.
A problem with growing brassicas in late summer and autumn can be the prevalence of white butterflies and their hungry caterpillars.
To give good protection you can use a bug net to stop the butterflies laying eggs on your plants. Otherwise, you can use one of several chemicals that are successful in controlling these voracious pests. Spraying bee-friendly Yates Mavrik is a highly effective method of control.
Try some other vegetables
It is time to plant all the winter greens including broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. Successions of lettuce should be continued, plantings of celery, spinach, silverbeet, rainbow beet, beetroot, carrots, swedes, turnips, radishes and peas can all be planted now.
Soil
The addition of well-rotted animal manures, mushroom compost or soil conditioners such as Yates Dynamic Lifter or Tui Sheep Pellets will do much to enhance the soil structure and fertility and you will have a good chance to harvest a decent crop.
Side dress with iCan Real Blood & Bone or iCan Organic Vegetable Food. If the growth is slow, and plants need a boost then fertilise with a liquid fertiliser such as Ican Fast Food once a week.
Gareth Carter is general manager of Springvale Garden Centre. For more gardening information, visit