Plant flavours for winter soups and stews

Easter Weekend always comes at a good time for us autumn gardeners, like Labour Weekend, in spring.

Those extra days and great weather allowed us to get into full swing clearing the garden of unwanted weeds and preparing the beds for our winter vege (some of which we began propagating in late summer – cabbages and Asian greens in particular).

This week we’ll continue adding organic matter and compost to the soil and carry on planting and sowing those greens that add plenty of flavour to our soups and stews.

And speaking of hearty food, be mindful of where you’re storing those recently harvested pumpkins and kūmara – mice and rats are looking for a home. winter cold. In warm areas, broad beans sown now often bloom before winter, providing an early crop. Sow seeds 3cm deep in a sunny spot and water regularly. in your shed you will want to stop any vermin from getting at them. Mice and rats are looking for cosy inside billets to spend the winter months. It’s unlikely you’ll want them setting up home among your stored veges, saved seeds or overwintering dahlia and begonia tubers, so defend your shed with wire mesh over any small holes or cracks, draught-stop strips under the door and humane traps baited with peanut butter (their favourite snack, aside from your carefully grown veges). Placing items in the shed in sealed containers also helps if a rogue vermin happens to get in. Wire mesh under the compost bin also stops pesky rats tunnelling in but lets soil microbes do their job. Turning the compost heap regularly may also dissuade rats from staying put.

CANDICE HARRIS Save the seed of celery and use it as a spice. In fact all parts of celery are edible: the leaves, the stems and even the roots.