The secret is out! What I plant in September and October.

Spring really hits my garden in a rush in September and October.  It’s the time of the year that I enjoy the planting of seeds or young seedlings.  I really enjoy the anticipation of a crop growing.  The waiting is all the more worth it when you get a good crop.  I reckon that this time of year, if you sit still long enough you can hear the veggies growing. 

Tomorrow is September 1, and that means that I need to put into place the planting plan I developed during winter.  Over the past 4 years I have recorded all of my plantings and the success or failure of the crop since I have moved here.  I have had a few colossal failures along the way I can tell ya!  As a result I have a pretty good idea of what to plant and when. If you don’t do it already, start recording what you do.  It really helps if you want to consistently harvest the best crops.  To get you started, here is my plan for the next couple of months.

Tomatoes. In early Sept I plant the first 6 plants.  I also sow seed of heirlooms now to plant in mid Oct.

Sweet Corn. Plant seedlings now and follow with 3 more direct sowing every 4 weeks.

Potatoes.  If you can get some quality seed potatoes plant them now.

Capsicum.  Early Oct, plant seedlings of sweet long yellow or californian wonder.

Beans. Sow bush bean seeds now and again in mid Oct.  I also sow climbing beans for drying now.

Zucchini, Cucumbers and Pumpkins.  Mid Sept sow direct and repeat if desired end Oct.

Lettuce.  Plant seedlings now and again in 4 weeks.

Spring Onions. Plant seedlings now and sow seed for transplanting in 5 weeks. 

Rocket, beetroot for salad leaves, perpetual spinach, radish, basil, parsley, silver beet, are all planted early Sept for a quick harvest crop.  
It's also a great time to put in Ginger and Rhubarb  

So that’s it.  All of my veggie secrets for all to see.  Hope it helps you get better results this year.  I’ll add more to the list as the plans develop.  

Tomato Envy!

Just a few Tomatoes from last year.

This year I intend to create some very serious neighborhood Tomato Envy!  I have plans to produce Tomatoes so tasty you will salivate at the very thought of them.  This weekend I prepared the soil ready for my first planting for the season.  In two weeks time I will buy from the local supplier Tomato plants that I will put into the newly prepared bed and they will thrive.   A second planting will soon follow and will consist of 7 varieties of heirloom Tomatoes that I ordered last week and they should be arriving in the mail very soon.   I intend to plant them around the 15th of October.  They will grow super tasty Tomatoes of all shapes and sizes and I reckon I will need to hire a security guard once the word gets out that they are ready.     The third and final batch for the year will be planted in December and I will be picking deep into autumn.

Chosen plot unprepared

I have a Tomato plan and I am working it.   Yep, you have got to have a plan!    First thing I did was to work out how many plants I wanted, allocate some space in a sunny location (around 6  hours of sun per day minimum) and prepare the ground.  Tomatoes can be quite fussy so this is what I did to prepare a 5 square meter patch.  I added roughly 1 wheelbarrow worth well composted manure,  3 cups of blood and bone,  1 cup sulfate of potash and a round 2 cups of a  balanced mixed fertiliser to cover off on any trace elements.  Tomatoes are hungry buggers but the trick is not to feed them everything up front but to ration their diets over the season.   So that job is done.  Next week I will check the PH of the soil and make an adjustment or two with garden lime.  Between 6.5 and 7.0 is best if you want to create maximum neighborhood Tomato Envy.  I will then get hold of 6 plants, mulch them with sugar cane and watch them grow. 

Foundation food

Pests can be a problem, so I plan for them too.  I minimise the risk by encouraging birds to hang around the veggie patch, they seem to take care of the caterpillars for me.  Tiny white flies can get out of control sometimes but I buy lacewing predators via the internet to solve the issue.  I also have a sticky trap set up to catch the odd moth or three.  I also do companion planting with Basil and Marigolds.  Basil discourages insects and the Marigolds deter the pesky nematodes from attacking the root system. 

The best 'Game of Thrones' predator 

Things I intend to do with my Tomatoes this year are firstly, compare the taste of a Black Russian Tomato bought at a nursery with the heirloom variety.  If my suspicions are correct, they will taste different.  Why I hear you ask?  Well I would not be surprised if the variety grown at the nursery is not actually the heirloom variety like it claims to be.  Watch this space.  I will provide you with a report which will determine if my suspicions are correct.    I also will freeze a lot of the cherries for winter soups and sauces maybe make sauce or even relish.  But one thing I will definitely do is cause abundant neighborhood Tomato Envy!

Ready to plant

From Coriander to Curry

Everything you need

What on earth am I to do with a bumper crop of Coriander? Take a look at this lot! 

 I have had no trouble this winter in producing the best looking crop of the season so far and it has left me with a pleasant problem.  After offloading some of it to friends and family I decided to get cracking and make some curry paste and freeze it.  So I got out Jamie’s ‘Ministry of Food’ and used his recipes (see here for recipes) for batches of Korma, Vindaloo and Rogan Josh curry pastes. 


So I whipped out the Thermomix and two hours later there is 1.5 kg of curry paste and 300 grams of coriander stalks cooling in the freezer.

Fresh out of my garden to make the curries I picked bunches of lush coriander, and some red and green chillies.  I also pulled out of the freezer some of my own ginger, garlic that I had preserved in oil, and then grabbed out of the pantry some of my dried chillies that I had preserved earlier this year and coriander seeds that I grow heaps of every season. Other spices required we already had in the cupboard. 

Once you have the ingredients it’s not rocket science and only requires pushing buttons on the Thermomix.  The incredible aromas while toasting pepper, coriander seeds and cloves filled the house.   The coriander was so fresh you could hear the ‘crunch’ as the knife sliced through the stalks.

For those of us that are interested in what we eat, I have not added any preservatives to the paste.  So every time I want a curry, it will be fresh out of the freezer.  Or, I can use the frozen coriander stalks in a stir fry.  It woks rather well.

Want to know how to grow the best crops of coriander?  

The (not so) King of Peas

As much as I hate to admit it, not every veggie crop in my garden is the resounding success story I want it to be.  And to further rub salt into my wounded pride, is the fact that one of the easiest and most rewarding crops has been rather dismal this season.  Peas – snow and sugar snaps. 

The wife has not been happy with me.  So this is serious.

I have burned in quiet humiliation while less experienced veggie growers have eagerly described how their own beautiful crops are producing peas in abundance.  Everyone else has a plethora of long, green, crunchy pods that are as sweet and large as cucumbers, while mine have produced just a few small handfuls of peas - a miserable 10% of my expected returns.

Why is it so? (as the late Professor Sumner Miller would ask.)  Glad you asked.  A couple of reasons - or excuses, if you prefer:

• the framework I built for the peas to climb on this season was made with string, which did not provide enough stability during windy weather; 
• we’ve had a lot of wind this winter, so as a result the flower buds got blown about and knocked off; and,
• you guessed it, no flower buds equals no peas. 

I have planted a couple of rows of snow peas to make amends and to ensure my pride remains intact for future crops, this time I have made damn sure my framework does not have a piece of string within cooee of the joint.  I have given my pea babies a nice, solid piece of timber frame with solid wires to climb up instead. 

Then, my people, I shall be the King of Peas once more. Other veggie growers will view my lush beds with admiration.  The wife will be proud of me and I will be able to share them with others.  Soon we will again enjoy an over-abundance of large, long, green, crunchy peas as big as a surfboard. Yes we will. And all will be well in my garden kingdom once more.  So, how did your peas go?

How to grow Asparagus

The first week of August over the past three years marks the start of the Asparagus season in my veggie patch.   Today is marks the start of August and I can’t wait.  I am eagerly awaiting the crunch of lightly steamed fresh Asparagus!  They taste fantastic fresh out of the garden in comparison to the store bought stuff.

Asparagus spears

Four years ago I planted my first plants and I have been enjoying them ever since.  I had never grown them before so I started by doing some research online and took the plunge.   It turned out that growing them is quite easy.  I chose a variety called ‘Mary Washington’ and I reckon I made a good choice.  I bought four plants and a year later got three more.  Seven plants are more than enough.  In fact, they say that seven plants will give a family of four a good feed at least twice a week for the season.  Considering there are two of us I had better work out a way to preserve them this season.

Interested in growing them?  

They are not hard to grow, in mid winter chose a location that is sunny and has well drained deep soil, add plenty of organic matter and dig it in deeply.  The Asparagus crowns (best if they are 2 years old) need to be placed in a trench 25 cm deep and covered with soil.  They are best topped with 5 cm of Sugar Cane mulch and watered.  It keeps them cool in the heat, keeps the moisture in during summer and the weeds at bay.

First season growth

'Mary Washington'

In August a few small thin spears will appear and they should not be cut – no, don’t even think about it.  The first year of spears need to be sacrificed for the future health of your plants.  Throughout the spring and summer more and more spears will appear and the plant will progressively get taller and taller.  Mine got to about 1.5 m the first year.  The tangled mass of fine foliage will start to yellow in late autumn and when they are completely yellow you should cut them off at ground level and toss the lot into the compost.  Clear away all weeds and rubbish and let them sit through winter undisturbed.  Mid June I start to get them set up for the next year.  I check that all of the irrigation is working, give them a reasonably heavy dose of manure pellets and cover them with 5 cm of sugar cane and wait.

Once the second year spears start to appear they can be harvested for around 10 weeks and then you stop and let the shoots grow to maturity.  You gotta let the shoots grow so that the crowns recuperate and develop the next seasons spears.   From the third year onward they are established and you could extend the season a bit longer depending on the vigor of the plants.  Last year I harvested them for 12-14 weeks.  When I stop cutting them I fed them again with manure pellets and let them go.  They will grow over 2 m and will need support to keep them in check a bit.  I use stakes and string and occasionally a bit of a trim is in order so I can walk past.

Late Summer - first year

Treat them with respect and you can harvest them for up to twenty years from the same spot - apparently.  I guess I'll just have to let you know.

I do keep an eye out for Slugs and Snails because the young shoots are vulnerable, but otherwise I have never had any pest trouble with Asparagus.

Have any of you grown Asparagus before?  How do you grow them?  Share your experiences and while you are at it let me know the best ways to preserve them.  I am expecting a bumper crop this year.