Why Marigolds in the garden?

People have asked me why I grow Marigold plants in among my vegetable patch. Well, the short answer is that they stop bugs dead in their tracks.  The long answer is that I need them to kill nematodes.  Nematodes are microscopic white worms that have infested the soil that I grow all of my vegies in.   The mongrel nematodes attack the root system of my tomatoes and capsicums and wreak havoc with all of my carrots and beetroot in the warmer months as well as attack and a whole heap of my vegies. 

 

If you have an attack of nematodes in the garden you will notice a reduced vigor of your plants.  In hot weather it’s particularly noticeable.  What they do is cause:

Nodules on the roots,

Stunted root systems and plants, and

Deformed root vegetables.

The loss of vigor is because your plants are having their water and food supply reduced as the roots are being attacked.

For those who are attempting to minimise the amount of crap that you spray onto your vegies, Marigolds are brilliant.  The way it works is that the root of the Marigold produces a chemical that kills nematodes in the soil.   The nematodes are attracted to the marigolds rather than the other veggies and latch onto the roots and that is the end of them.  They do not reproduce because they are rendered sterile and the cycle is broken and your soil becomes healthier.   As a bonus, Marigolds also deter aphids, squash bugs, thrips, tomato hornworms, and whiteflies.

If a whole area is infested I plant the whole bed out and dig them in as a green manure crop when they are mature, or if the garden bed is not infested, I plant as a precautionary measure a couple throughout crops as they grow.   Frogs also love them.

Zucchinis Galore - Freeze them

It’s the time of the year that Zucchinis grow so stinkin’ fast that there is no way I can eat them as fast as they grow.  In the morning they are too small to pick, by the time you get home from work they are so big you can play baseball with them.  

The solution to this dilemma is to freeze them.  I tried an easy way of freezing them last year and they proved to be fantastic for soups throughout winter.   So try it, this works well. 

 From this - The harvest.

To this - 11 bags, 1.8 kg ready for the freezer.

Grated in a couple of minutes.

Cut, grated and the first couple of bags filled.

The Secret of what I plant in November and December

The November Veggie Garden

Things really heat up in my veggie garden in November and December.  There is a lot that I plant that will be harvested throughout Summer and into Autumn. I keep in mind that whatever I plant this time of the year needs to be able to handle the heat and humidity of the summer months.

I have developed a plan for my veggie patch based on the records of all of my plantings over the last four years since I have moved here.  This strategy helps me avoid repeating the failures I have had in the past (there have been a few) and also help me to repeat the success of the good crops.  So, here is my plan over the next couple of months.

Sweet Corn

Tomatoes. I will buy a couple of cherry tomatoes and plant in mid Dec.  With any luck I should be able to harvest these into winter.

Sweet Corn. Plant seed directly into the soil early Nov and again in early Dec. Here is how to do it.

Chilli.  I will buy a plant in Nov and put it in a spot that gets sun in winter so I can harvest late in the season.

Beans. Sow bush beans seeds now and again in mid Dec. 

Zucchini, Cucumbers, Rock Melons and Watermelons.  Sow direct into a warm spot now and stand back!  They will grow like stink.  I will plant zucchini again in mid Dec.

Ginger.  I have mine in already, but if you haven’t, buy a piece from the markets and get it in.

Herbs I will plant in Nov are flat leaf Parsley and Dill.

Bush Beans

Salad Greens grow fast this time of year if you keep them moist.  I will sow direct or plant seedlings when I have space in the garden available.  Crops like:

Lettuce.  Plant seedlings every 3 weeks.

Radish. Sow directly into the garden every 3 weeks.

Coriander. Sow seed into a cooler spot every 4 weeks.

Spring Onions. Plant seedlings every 5 weeks. 

Rocket, Beetroot, Watercress and English Spinach for green salad leaves every 4 weeks when I get a spot. 

Zucchini

So, the cats out of the bag and my secrets are out.  I will tweak this plan depending on the availability of space in my veggie patch, but it is a good plan!

If you want to check out what I planted in September and October, check out the blog where I spilled my secrets.  I adjusted it a bit as the months progressed because I needed to, but it is pretty close.

Ginger - ready to plant

Spuds! Spuds! and More Spuds!

Spuds. We love em in this house.

I grew 4 plants each of 4 types of spuds.  They were all planted on 22 June and each variety competed to be the first harvested, with the biggest yield.  Here’s the results, in order of productivity:

Deseree -3.8kg. (Harvested 14 October.)  The first to the finish line.  This was an early crop with an excellent yield.  Deseree have pinky-red skin with firm flesh which holds its shape when cooked.  They are versatile – you can boil, roast, or mash these babies.

Pinkeyes – 3.5kg. (Harvested 18 October.) These little beauties have been the envy of every ex-Tasmanian in the area.  They are versatile too, but we love em just boiled and dobbed (generously) with butter (real butter, that is) and flakey salt.  We usually cook extra so we can have leftovers cold in salads the next day.  We also love these fried with rosemary, or just anyhow you want to cook them. These babies are so beautiful.  They are a much anticipated arrival every year in this house, and it’s a treat to sneak into the garden and dig a few early ones to have as a special treat.

Kipflers – 3.25kg. (Harvested 23 October.)  These small, long, finger-shaped spuds were a surprise and delight when I grew them for the first time last year as an experiment.  And definitely worth growing again and again.  They are a gorgeous buttery spud, great for boiling or baking. They hold their shape when cooked and leftovers (if you have any) are great in lunches the next day.  These would be close to our favourite spuds in flavour.  

Bintjes – 2.60kg. (Harvested 1 November.)  By now we are almost buried alive in spuds but we have yet another 2.6 kilos of my favourite carbohydrate. Big, oval shaped spuds with yellowy flesh provide an excellent yield for the latest maturing crop. 

Since mid October we have been scoffing spuds – Pinkeyes, Bintjes, Kipflers and Deseree.  We have spuds stuffed into every storage orifice in the house. Problem is, we have another harvest coming, with another 4 plants each of the same 4 varieties above, due for harvest very soon!  What the hell are we going to do with all these spuds?  

We will be knee-deep in spuds for a while yet.  And.....[pause for effect] loving it!

Summer Pests! – The Dreadad Two Spotted Mite and how to get rid of it.

As soon as it starts to warm up in late spring I keep an eye out for the inevitable explosion of pests that want to rob me of my hard earned veggies.    Without fail each year one of the most aggressive culprits attacks – the Two Spotted Mite (play Jaws music here). I expect them to appear around October or November, as the temperature starts to climb. 

Magnified Two Spotted Mites

The Two Spotted Mite so small you can hardly see them, but you can see what they do to your plants.

Which of my veggies do they attack:

Cucumbers, Zucchini, Pumpkin, Watermelon, Rockmelon, Strawberries, Beans, and Soya Beans (Edamame).  I am sure that they are not too fussy, and attack other plants also.

Yellowing on the edges of the Cucumber leaves

What look out for:

The plants may start to slow in growth and lose vigour for no apparent reason.  There also will likely be a discolouring of the leaves similar to what you would expect if your plants were experiencing a lack of nutrition in the leaves. 

So when it is a hot day, I turn the leaves over and look for little black spots that are about the size of a pinhead on the underside.  If you look very closely you may see them moving around slowly.

Some Options on what to do:

1. Use pesticides and spray  -  Not my preferred option because of the other insects around the garden that I am quite fond of.  Not to mention the frogs, lizards, birds, and all manner of animals. Also you could cause an imbalance and breed chemical resistant ones so your problem will be compounded.

First signs on Cucumbers - under the leaf

2. Keep the garden humid  - A better option, the Mite enjoys living in dry habitats, so keeping it moist will reduce the chance of an infestation.  You will not stop them though.  I have a moist garden and they move in every year without fail.

3. Use a biological control - The way to go I reckon.  The first year these little buggers attacked my patch it took me some time to find out how to control them.  What I wanted was a garden friendly way to control them and the best solution was to catch another little animal to predate on them.  I found that hard to do because I didn't know what to look for so I bought 2000 predators that feed on two spotted mites.  They are called Persimilis or in plain English, the Three Spotted Mite - your new best friend.

Beans - still healthy but a prime target

I order my new friends on the internet and a couple of days later they arrive in the post and I formally introduce them to the Two Spotted Mite.  The relationship becomes quite one sided, which is unfortunate for the Two Spotted Mite, but is good for me. Basically, the three Spotted Mite brings an appetite to the relationship and the Two Spotted Mite contributes the food. 

It takes a couple of weeks to have your veggie patch ecosystem balance itself. Have no fear, your veggie plants to bounce back.  It has worked well for me for three years now. All summer I will be able to find both populations of Mite on my veggie plants, but it is not a problem.  There is a balance that works. 

Healthy Zucchini

It gets too cold in winter and the Three Spotted Mites die out.  So I recruit a new batch of willing Three Spotted Mites every year and all is well in my Veggie patch over summer.

If you are interested in where I get them from here is a link.  Bugs for Bugs.  You get what you ask for - bugs!.  $50 will have them delivered to your door.  I’ll let you know when my new employees arrive.

If you want to see more detail on Two Spotted Mites, the Royal Botanic Gardens Fact Sheet is pretty good.

Go check your garden.  I dare you, go on. I would be interested to see if you can find them.

Square Metre Salad – Week three Progress Report

The third week has ended and this week it has been all about growth.  The Square Metre Salad Plot has been growing really fast.  Check out the initial setup and weekly reports here.

The Watercress is growing so fast that I have cut some already and put it on my salad.  It is the first time I have grown it and it has been a surprise that it took only three weeks from sowing – not bad at all.  Nice slightly peppery taste. 

Things to do this week.  Thin the Mini Carrots.  Make sure they are spaced 20 mm apart.  Because they are Mini Carrots and they will only be small when I harvest them so I don’t need to thin them out too much.   If your plot is looking a bit hungry, give it another dose of liquid fertiliser. 

Watercress.  Ready to eat after just 3 weeks

Things to watch out for this week.  Watering – again it’s meant to be warming up so keep the moisture up.  Also Snails and Slugs will think your plot is just the best restaurant in the street so watch out for the little buggers.

So how is your plot looking?

Coriander

Lettuce

Spring Onions

Square Metre Salad - Week two Progress Report

The second week has ended and all of the seed has germinated and the Square Metre Salad Plot is growing fast.  Check out the initial setup of the plot here.

End of week 2

It took until day 12 for all of the seed to germinate.  The Mini Carrots, Coriander and Beetroot are the late comers for the plot and join the Watercress, Rocket, Radish, and English Spinach now all above ground.

What I did this week:  I thinned out the Radish seed so that they are 4 cm apart.  I also have removed the weakest Rocket plants so that I have only 3 plants in each spot.   The plot received a weak dose of liquid fertiliser and everything is rearing to go.

Spinach Day 8

What needs to happen this week:  More thinning!  The Coriander will need to have excess removed so they are spaces at about 2 cm apart.  In a couple of weeks I will remove every second one to thin it further. Carrots will be spaced at 2 cm apart  also.

What to watch out for:  Watering is the biggest issue at this stage.  This week is meant to be a bit windy and the temperature is on the way up so keep the water up to the plot so that it does not become stressed.

Carrots emerged Day 12

So,how is your plot going?

Beetroot Day 9

Check out how to set up a plot here.

Coriander Day 12

Sweet Corn – a Taste of Summer

One of life’s great pleasures is picking Sweet Corn, cooking it and then eating it with gusto.  You know summer has arrived when you are savoring Sweet Corn lathered in butter and sprinkled with salt…….Oh yea!

If you want some, get it in the ground now.    I sow four separate plantings of Sweet Corn in a year to get a continuous supply for months.  The first of September is batch one, followed by three more sowings a month apart.

Sweet Corn - some EASY Rules!

Sweet corn requires rich soil with plenty of nitrogen and moisture. Even good garden soils may need some fertiliser to produce a top-quality crop. Aged manure and/or compost, mixed well into the soil, will do the trick. Growing corn in an area that had healthy beans or peas the previous year is a good thing to do because these legumes contribute more nitrogen to the soil. Cornstalks growing with ample moisture and in well-prepared, fertile soil can be expected to produce two ears per stalk and reach 2 meters in height.

Sow two or three seeds 30-35 cm apart, in rows 30-36 cm apart.  Sow the 3-4 cm deep.  Because corn is wind-pollinated, plant it in blocks rather than in a long single row, which would result in poor pollen distribution on the silks.   I plant 15 plants in a space 1.2 m x 1 m.  You can buy plants if you prefer but make sure they are young, growing lushly and not stressed in then punnet.

  

Three reasons for a poor Sweet Corn crop!

Lack of water is number one. Water it well after planting or sowing. Good soil moisture is critical for the germination. As plants grow and weather becomes warmer, watering frequency must increase.

I soak seeds overnight before planting.

Lack of nutrients is number two. Fertilise when plants are 30-40cm high with a high nitrogen fertiliser. Keep soil moist because it is critical for plants to form tassels and silks and to develop ears. Ears should be ready to harvest about 3 weeks after silk emergence. Harvest sweet corn when kernels are well-filled, tightly packed and when a thumbnail puncture produces a milky substance.

Mixing varieties.  Don’t make the mistake of mixing varieties.  Pollination with other types can result in tough, starchy kernels and they are rather tasteless.

Peat pot seedling after 10 days. Ready to plant!

So that's it.  Now get on with it!  Plant your Sweet Corn.

Oh yeah, I can taste them right now.

Square Metre Salad - Week one Progress Report

The Square Metre Salad Plot - Week 1

The first week has passed and it's time to give the report on how the Square Metre Salad Plot has been going. Refresh your memory, if you need to, by taking a look at what was planted.

It took just 3 days to see the first green shoots of the Watercress arrive.   I did sow it thick and it seems every seed decided to germinate.   Day 5 the Radish and Rocket appeared and day 7 the English Spinach and Beetroot are just emerging.  The Basil, Spring Onions and Lettuce have become established and have started to grow. 

Rocket - day 5

What I did this week:  Other than check on progress often I did absolutely nothing. Yep that's right!  I just watched and waited. It stayed moist because I have my water system set with an automatic timer to give it a light misting every day for 10 minutes. 

What needs to happen this week:  The Radish will need to be thinned so that plants are spaced at about 4 cm.  Then I will remove the weaker Rocket seedlings so that each spot has 3 plants.  If the weather stays warm I may even thin the English Spinach and Beetroot seedlings.  The whole bed will also be given a dose of liquid fertiliser.  For such small seedlings I will halve the recommended dosage so that I do not over do it.  The other thing to do  is to spread some snail bait.  Nothing more tasty to a snail that young seedlings! I expect to see the Mini Carrots germinate in a couple of days.

Watercress - day 3

Radish  -  day 5

So, have you planted a plot yet?   
Here is the link to easily do it.

How to stop your Coriander from bolting to seed!

Coriander can be frustrating to grow. It can easily 'bolt' to seed and discourage the best intentions of any veggie grower.

There are many reasons they bolt. Some of them are because:

• the stress of transplanting seedlings,
• they dried out at some stage,
• they have not been fed properly,
• the pot they came in has been too warm,
• the plants you bought were too old, or 
• a combination of the above.  

They can be fussy! But do not despair, they are well worth the effort.  So be persistent is my advice.  Coriander is one of my favorite herbs.  We use it all year round and I will be in serious trouble if I don’t have a steady supply of fresh coriander growing in the garden. 

Ideal conditions: best times to grow are in spring, summer and autumn.  Coriander likes a sunny spot, well-drained soil and a steady supply of both water and fertiliser. In summer, I grow it under shade and it does ok.  To have a continuous supply sow a batch every 4-5 weeks from Nov-Mar and every 6 weeks for other months.  Rows that are 50-75 cm in length should be enough if you are as keen on coriander as I am.

Sowing seed: the single most important thing you can do is to sow fresh seed.  It will always give the best results. Sow seed 5 mm deep in rows which are spaced at 20 cm.  I sow the seed rather thickly, around 5-10 mm apart.  They tend to be quite crowded when they come up, so when the seedlings have 1 - 2  leaves I pull excess plants out until they are spaced about 5-10 cm apart.  Don’t waste these seedlings; use the ones you pull out on your salad.  For the best germination results, keep the surface moist but not too wet.  It will take around 10-14 days before you see the tender green shoots emerge.

Planting seedlings: if you want to grow seedlings bought from your local garden centre, carefully separate the little seedlings from each other and transplant 10 cm apart.  Try to buy the smallest and healthiest looking seedlings rather than big ones.  The big ones are more likely to bolt to seed.  

Fertilising/watering: plant coriander in good quality soil with plenty of organic matter and keep the soil lightly moist. Fertilise monthly with a liquid or soluble plant food and you will be richly rewarded. 

Harvesting/cooking: you can snip off as many leaves as you need, and more will grow back, but you can also pull up the whole plant if you like. I tend to start using the plants when they are quite young by pulling out every second plant in the row.  If using the whole plant, use it all - the leaves, stems and roots. Stems and roots have the strongest flavour and, if crushed, chopped and cooked, add a lot of flavour to dishes.   I store cut coriander stems in the freezer for stir-fry cooking but the best way to keep it is by making curry paste.  Check out what I did a couple of weeks ago making curry paste.

  

If you want to grow coriander for the seed, to use as a spice in cooking, or to keep for sowing, I'll write about that soon. 

Good luck and get sowing!