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.
PLANT CELERY
Celery is an essential vege for flavouring winter soups and stews. Although it’s too late to sow seeds, it’s not too late to transplant punnets of shop-bought seedlings. Their stalks won’t reach the size of supermarket celery bunches, but the slender baby stems and tender leaves have just as much flavour. Mulch around the plants and water deeply at least once a week. As a rule, half a dozen clumps of celery (or one punnet of seedlings) is usually sufficient to supply a family, but when you’re planting late, plant a few more.
SOW BROAD BEANS
South Island gardeners swear by slipping broad beans into the soil before Anzac Day, giving them time to germinate and reach a good size before the worst of the 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.
VERMIN-PROOF YOUR SHED
If you’re storing your kūmara or pumpkins 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.
GROW YOUR OWN LIMES
Limes ripen from late autumn and through winter, but you can still use the unripe green fruit for zest and juice before it’s ripe – a squeeze here and there really lift those soups and stews to the next level.
(Overripe limes will turn yellow and often have dry flesh). The best limes for New Zealand gardens (plant autumn) are Bearss and seedless variety Tahitian.
Limes aren’t as hardy as Meyer lemons. In cooler climates, try the limequat Eustis - a hybrid between a Mexican lime and a kumquat.
Kaffir limes are prized for their aromatic foliage, rather than their wrinkly, brainlike fruit, but they won’t tolerate even a sniff of frost. Plant one in a pot and offer a sheltered safe haven over winter. Kaffir lime leaves are essential for Thai curries – or pop one in when boiling rice for a wonderful zesty aroma.
Deciduous fruit trees won’t be available until June, but garden centres are placing their orders now, so if you want a special variety, such as Luisa plums, the ever popular apple Monty’s Surprise or Slack Ma Girdle for cider, put your order in now.