What to do in the edible garden
From broccoli to spinach, it’s all about picking the right varieties if you want the best results.
If you’re a vege gardener, now’s the time to get outside and make the most of the summer sun. For best results, make sure you’re picking the right varieties for your garden. And it never hurts to try something new. Scallopini, anyone?
Here are some other tips to get things growing this December.
The best broccoli for you
Broccoli is typically grown in the cooler months of autumn and spring, but you can extend the growing season into the warmer months if you plant heat-resistant varieties.
‘‘Summer Green’’ tolerates warmer weather and can be sown from spring through to late summer. ‘‘Green Midget’’ produces an initial compact 20cm head followed by a secondary flush of 10-15cm heads around the cut stump.
If you prefer huge heads, opt for ‘‘Green Dragon’’ or the commercially grown F1 hybrid ‘‘Marathon’’ (McGregor’s and Egmont Seeds). Or try ‘‘Gai Lan’’ (Kings Seeds), ‘‘Green Sprouting’’ (Yates) or ‘‘Broccoletto Rapini’’ (Egmont Seeds). These tender side-sprouters all taste like broccoli.
Time to repeat sow
Hot weather and water stress cause some plants to flower and set seed, like rocket, radishes and coriander.
If the inevitable happens, just leave the flowers for the bees and sow more seeds to get a new patch underway.
How to grow chives
Chives are the smallest members of the onion family and one of the most ancient culinary herbs.
A low-cost method of planting chives is to buy and plant the hydroponic plugs sold as fresh herbs in supermarket. They adapt readily to garden soil.
Otherwise, sow chives in trays or jiffy pots filled with seed-raising mix and cover very lightly with soil.
If using plug trays, sow 10-15 seeds per 3cm cell to be planted out as clumps. Germination takes 14-21 days.
Plant seedling clumps around 25cm apart. Water regularly; daily in pots.
Fill gaps with dwarf beans
Make use of any gaps that appear in the garden after harvesting produce. Dwarf beans are quick to grow and certain varieties can produce pickings in as little as 7-8 weeks.
Dwarf ‘‘Top Crop’’ is an excellent producer and can be repeat sown at fortnightly intervals over summer for a constant, copious supply.
Dwarf ‘‘Admires’’ combines the flavour of scarlet runners with early maturity and stringless French beans. Slice, blanch and freeze the surplus for winter use.
Plant yard long beans
Also known as snake beans, the lengthy pods on this quirky legume can grow 60-100cm long but are best picked when around 40cm.
Erect trellis and sow seeds where plants receive all-day sun. Once seedlings are established, feed regularly with tomato fertiliser.
Give scallopini a go
Scallopini, the courgette’s scallop-shaped cousins, are a doddle to grow. Just make sure you eat them when they’re around 7cm in diameter as the large fruit is pretty flavourless.
‘‘Jaune et Verte’’ is a pretty yellow-cream scallopini that develops green stripes when fully mature.
At this time of year, seeds can be sown directly into the garden, or sow in trays and transplant when big enough. Grow in full sun and dig in plenty of compost before planting.
Pick the right spinach
New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia expansa) is a spreading coastal plant that grows on the edge of sand dunes.
It copes well with hot, dry weather when real spinach throws in the towel.
Or grow perpetual spinach (Beta vulgaris), a form of silverbeet (and the same species as beetroot) with smaller leaves and thinner stems.
In recipes, it can replace spinach or silverbeet.
Harvest spuds, plant lettuce
Green leafy crops like lettuces are ideal for following in the footsteps of potatoes in your overall crop rotation plan. This works particularly well if you dig your spuds as needed for each meal rather than all at once.
Given that lettuce grows and bolts to seed quickly in warmer weather, it makes sense to stagger your planting anyway.
‘‘Drunken Woman Fringed Head’’ is slow to bolt and easy to pick leaf by leaf. ‘‘Little Gem’’ is also slow to bolt. It has small, crisp Cos-style leaves perfect for scooping up mouthfuls of guacamole or wrapping around spicy morsels of grilled meat.
Other lettuces that are somewhat tolerant of heat include ‘‘Great Lakes’’ (crisphead), ‘‘Marvel of Four Seasons’’ aka ‘‘Merveille des Quatre Saisons’’ (butterhead), and’’‘Red Sails’’ (leaf lettuce).
This guide is an extract from NZ Gardener magazine’s Garden Diary 2022, which is available now. For more monthly garden advice and knowhow, check out NZ Gardener magazine.