SOW & GROW

Jo McCarroll suggests jobs to do in the edible garden.

The new year is here!

I usually think gardeners should take a break in January and spend the month reading in the shade with a cool drink… it’s so hot, and it’s been a tough year. But you can, if you want, still plant seedlings of lettuce (give it afternoon shade in midsummer or it will bolt), basil, silverbeet, spinach, even cherry tomatoes. You can also sow coriander, but give this prone-to-bolting herb afternoon shade too, or hold off until autumn. And sow more Asian greens, carrots, beetroot, lettuces, radish, rocket, swedes and turnips down south, and even a few more dwarf beans in northern regions. You can put in another round of potatoes, but if you had problems with psyllid in previous years I probably wouldn’t, as the population of this sap sucking pest will be peaking this month. And if you are not too limp with heat after doing all that, you can start your winter crops, the likes of parsnips, kale, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflowers, leeks (and brussels sprouts if you are down south). But white butterflies are everywhere right now, so protect the seedlings with a physical cover like a net as soon as they appear.

What to do before heading away on holiday

I’ve said it before: access to water in the soil is the key to your garden’s survival in your absence, so water deeply and mulch well. Also pick and eat or process absolutely everything you can on continuously cropping edibles such as beans or courgettes, even if they are not ready – if the fruit or pods are left on the vine to mature, the plant will think it has set seed for the next generation and the production of edible pods or fruit will slow or stop. In the ornamental garden before you go away, deadhead all your flowering plants, removing not just the spent flowers but the open blooms, so hopefully you’ll return to a display of new blooms rather than seed pods. Even though it’s terribly busy getting organised to go away, spend a few hours weeding before you go and you won’t regret it. Everything is growing like crazy, and those weeds are likely to set seed plus, as they grow, they are competing with your plants for the available water and plants under water stress are more vulnerable to pests. So if you have ever come back to terrible infestations of aphids or green vege bugs, look to your irrigation.

Faster pasta

Your tomatoes should be coming on stream now or very soon, so I thought I would share my favourite summer supper, which is an extremely fast, extremely easy no-cook tomato pasta sauce. The recipe is from a special edition on tomatoes published by NZ Gardener 13 years ago and I’ve been making it on the regular ever since. Chop up three large tomatoes, toss in a bowl with two minced cloves of garlic, the juice of a lemon, a generous handful of chopped basil, salt, pepper, olive oil and (optional but recommended) a finely chopped chilli. Let it sit for an hour or so then stir through pasta. Canterbury gardener Candice Harris (@nzgardener) also shared a recipe last year for lazy pasta sauce which I am keen to try: fill the bowl of your slow cooker with tomatoes, two diced onions, a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of sugar (and an optional splash of balsamic vinegar). Cook on low for 24 hours, stirring a couple of times. Blend to make smooth (if you like) and eat or freeze for later.