11 November 2024

The seeds we sowed five weeks ago are now ready for planting.  November is the month of planting basically all our summer crops.

I could have had our seedlings in a week ago, but I’ve been too busy.  As a result, as you’ll see, they started to go a bit yellow in parts – a sure sign they’re ready to be planted out.

All summer crops do best planted in lush garden beds, so I make sure I add compost (bought or homemade or worm farm vermicast), a nitrogen source like chicken manure or sheep pellets and our all-round fertiliser.

The two Lebanese cucumber go in at the end of the onion bed to grow up our screen.

The three pumpkins go in this bed that soon will be their own, but I’m working around some lovely cabbages which are almost ready.

I’ve had trouble finding the Zucchini Partenon hybrid seed, but finally got some, and they’ve just germinated.  They’ll go in this bed too in a couple of weeks.

The sweetcorn are a bit more compromised with existing cabbages, but I’m working on the assumption that they’ll grow quickly, more quickly than the cabbages, and get their heads up and out of the cabbages to connect with the sun.

The eggplants and capsicums go in here.  I’m planting a few more capsicums this year, as truly their sweet crunchiness is a stunning addition to the summer salad. We recommend adding a small handful of gypsum to the planting hole to help prevent blossom end rot.

The garlic was looking so promising this year, but at the last hurdle, they succumbed again to rust, then in came the black aphids and it was all over.  Remind me NEVER to try and grow garlic in Auckland again!  The bed now hosts some reliable Cos and Iceberg lettuces, just planted.

I have rock melon and watermelon plants to go in but just need to create some space.  They’re not huge yet and are a lovely autumn treat, so I have a little bit of time to sort that.

The birds went nuts in the tomato beds looking for worms, even uprooting a whole tomato plant, and in the end I netted them.  I’ve planted out little marigold plants and am just waiting for the basil to grow a tiny bit bigger before adding them to the beds as fellow companion plants.

And the early potatoes have been hilled up as much as I can, which is never enough for their height, so I add straw around them for extra support.

Happy summer vegetable planting!

 

From Jan and Rob

4 Responses

    1. I am in India at present dreaming about my garden at home. I love your blogs and it keeps me connected to the ups and downs of real gardening. Thank you.

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