Harvesting at the right time is just as important as sowing seed and planting out seedlings at a good time. Our parsnips are perfectly ready for harvest. They’re great roasted or made into soup – just a lovely subtle taste for winter.
Our kumara are also harvested. It was a confusing season and I think I may have left them in the ground a bit too long as their skins are a bit leathery. I was confused by the growth in the plants when the rains came and talked myself into leaving them in the ground.
This year on Rob’s recommendation, once hardened off and wrapped individually in newspaper, I’m packing them close together so they retain a bit of moisture. Last year they dried out too much in storage.
So our green manure crop is now sown. Lupins are fail proof, but mustard, oats, buckwheat all make good green manure crops.
Planting out my second lot of brassicas now. They’re going where the strawberries were – fruiting crop to leafy green crop rotation. The strawberries will have taken a lot of nutrients out of the soil, so I’ve trenched in vermicast from our worm farm down the middle of the bed, added well-composted chicken manure, given it all a good fork through, the plants went in and then I applied our rock dust round each plant. Brassicas are in the ground for a good period of time, so they need feeding.
And I’ve sowed probably my last round of brassicas too, as growth slows down to almost a standstill in the next three months. These guys are now ready for pricking out.
I’ve got new Strawberry Camarosa plants from Awapuni Nurseries and those have been planted in a specially prepared bed (alongside some bandy-legged cavolo nero kale – producing too well to pull out!). While I was making up the bed, the plants got a soak in liquid seaweed to give them a good start.
Firstly I applied sulphur prills to the soil because strawberries like a slightly acidic soil and are prone to fungal disease. Then I made troughs and added chicken manure into the troughs.
The troughs got covered over to make mounds. In went the plants, then they got a handful of Morganics fertiliser round each of them.
I popped the last of our barley straw in the new troughs to keep it all stable. I’ll put more straw round the plants themselves in time to come so the fruit isn’t sitting on soil. A good water in with the liquid seaweed we soaked the plants in and the bed is netted.
As the plants grow their roots will ultimately reach the nitrogen source and get a boost.
A regular application of liquid seaweed to the whole garden is a good habit to get into. It builds soil structure and increases disease resistance in plants.
And lastly, now’s a good time to pinch out the tips of your broad beans to make them a bit bushier to support more beans and so they’re more robust plants all round.
Happy winter gardening!
From Jan and Rob
4 Responses
I’d love to have your comments on measuring the brix level of plants. Do you do this and if so how do you know how to correct it? I understand that pests are less attracted to plants with high brix levels.
Yes, we measure Brix levels. Check this page out for a bit more information on Brix levels… https://organicediblegarden.co.nz/2014/07/13/the-importance-of-great-soil/ It takes a while to correct levels and feel confident that your soil is healthy and alive. There’s no simple additive that you can use. It’s about adding good quality compost – your own homemade or Revital make a good one… https://revital.co.nz/growwell-organic-compost/ Using the Morganics fertiliser https://organicediblegarden.co.nz/product/morganics-fertiliser/ which has a base of rock dust and the addition of seaweed as well as lots of minerals, makes a big difference. A nitrogen source like sheep pellets or chicken manure helps to build up nutrient density. It’s a work in progress that gets better the more you work the soil ☺️
Not a question but just wanted to say thank you for sharing such valuable knowledge. I’ve been watching your YouTube videos for a few years and just realized you had an up to date blog, how good! We bought our first home and are setting up gardens, you’re channel is so valuable to us, thank you!
Thanks for your feedback Jahanna. Appreciated 🙏