SOW & GROW

Jo McCarroll suggests jobs to do in the edible garden.

Get garlic in early and plant greens for winter and spring

Sow broad beans direct everywhere; and plant seedlings of Asian greens, winter lettuces, kale, spinach, silverbeet, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower and sow peas, radishes and coriander almost everywhere, although in very cold places focus on what you can grow in pots in sheltered spots or undercover, and wait until spring to plant slow-growing brassicas. You can plant garlic this month too (as I will be) as the bigger the bulb the better it will be able to withstand garlic rust come summer. I have written a lot before about garlic rust and how – to attempt at least! – to avoid it. But I saw a good tip in Kapiti Coast gardener Kath Irvine's book The Edible Backyard to dot garlic all through your vege garden rather than planting it all together. Garlic rust is highly infectious, but as with all fungal diseases you can minimise the risk of spread by reducing the proximity. This year I am going to try dotting it here and there to see if that helps. If you do the same, do remember to allow for the shade that will be cast (especially by space-hogging brassicas) as your other crops grow bigger.

Autumn is a great time to establish new growing spaces

I heard from a new gardener the other day who was keen to get growing but worried about the expense of “starting a garden”. So I reassured her she could absolutely grow her own without splashing out on designer raised beds and premium growing mix. Autumn is the perfect time to establish a no-dig garden: you basically just pile organic matter up and leave it a few months to break down. British no-dig guru Charles Dowding does this straight onto grass in the UK but I have evil kikuyu at my place, so I usually lift top layer of turf and layer a dozen or so sheets of newspaper and cardboard down first (the kikuyu makes its way in eventually, but this slows it down). I put a thick layer of compost onto that (about 15cm), then a layer of animal manure, then a layer of vege scraps, worm casings, dried leaves, sawdust and the broken down straw I grew potatoes in over summer (just use any organic matter you happen to have around). Then I put another layer of compost on the top and cover with cardboard or old wool carpet leaving the worms to mix it all up for me ready for spring.

There are some olives growing on street trees near me

My friend’s mother makes delicious pickled olives and she has shared her technique with me. Pick the olives, wash in cold water, then slice a couple of nicks into each one’s skin. That’s fiddly, she says, so have a good podcast ready and if you really can’t be bothered she sometimes just fills up an old pillowcase and bashes it with a rolling pin: the aim is just to break the skin. Put those olives into a bucket and fill with fresh water so all the olives are covered (an upside down plate on the top helps keep them submerged). Change the water every day for 10 days or so until they start to taste less bitter, throwing out any that float to the top and go mouldy. Then make salt brine (one part non-iodised salt to 10 parts water) and boil until the salt has dissolved. Flavour with sprigs of rosemary, pickling spices, garlic cloves or jalapenos to taste, and add a splash of red wine vinegar for black olives or cider vinegar for green ones. Drain the olives from the fresh water and pack into clean, sterilised (but not hot) jars, fill with cooled brine and top off with olive oil (to stop air reaching the olives). Put the lids on the jars and leave in a dark place for six to eight weeks, or longer if still too bitter. Sounds too complicated? Digby Law's Pickle & Chutney suggests picking ripe, black olives (the green ones are too bitter for this method), washing in several changes of cold water, bringing to boil a brine (5 teaspoons of salt per 2 cups of water) then adding the olives to the brine and boiling for one minute. Remove the olives and pack into clean jars, cover with the cooled brine, then a layer of olive oil on top before putting the lids back on.

You sometimes see it said you need to harvest carrots by the end of May. Ignore that unless you live in the coldest regions where soil freezes. Carrots will develop a woody centre if left in the ground too long, but they cope with light frost. In fact, it will make them taste a little sweeter.

Gardening by the maramataka

Naumai ki te ngahuru pōtiki (late autumn). We are at the tail end of the harvest season. Long-term annual crops need to be off field by now and the process applied to their storage complete. As we head to Matariki, ensure remaining tasks in the māra are completed and then we can look to rest during the short days as we head to the hōtoke or cold period. Be mindful that more northern regions have a milder climate so their rest period is shorter but based on day length rather than temperature. The new moon falls on the 1st of the month and full moon on the 16th. But we end the Pākeha calendar month on another new moon (on the 30th) which means we have a month dedicated to, and influenced by, this phase (Whiro) and for which we should be recognising the influence of the moon on our energy levels. Rest following the harvest work. Dr Nick Roskruge