SOW & GROW

Jo McCarroll suggests jobs to do in the edible garden.

It’s still winter but spring will be here soon

And so it’s getting a bit exciting, my very dear chums, as there’s a lot to sow and plant in the edible garden! But don’t get ahead of yourself and plant outside anything too frost tender… even if the days are starting to warm up, the nights are still absolutely freezing. But you can sow tough legumes like broad beans and peas direct; cold hardy leafy greens like Asian greens (direct) and lettuces and other salad greens, silverbeet, spinach, kale and spring onions (direct up north but in trays in southern or inland regions); and suitable root crops like radishes, turnips and onions (direct). Plant seedlings now of kale, lettuces and other salad greens, asian greens, silverbeet, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, peas and broad beans almost everywhere this month (although maybe wait until late August in the coldest parts of the country). It’s a good time to chit seed potatoes ready to plant outside once the risk of frost has passed, up in the winterless north you might be planting them outside already. Plant more rhubarb, and new season strawberries should be available in shops now to bulk up your berry beds.

Start tomato, eggplant, chilli and pepper seed

August is a great time to start solanaceous crops from seed in trays undercover. Starting from seed now means when it’s warm enough to plant these crops outside, you’ll have decent sized plants ready to go. Plus it lets you grow more interesting varieties (last year I tried heirloom tomato ‘Scoresby’ which had been recommended to me by many readers, and it was fantastically big and flavourful). And, of course, growing from seed is far cheaper than buying plants!

But these heat-lovers need the soil to be warm in order to germinate reliably, so give them a bit of bottom heat with a seed raising pad. Don’t have a seed raising pad? The top of the fridge is an option; or last year I was doing gardening Q&A with my friend Jack Hobbs, general manager of Auckland Botanic Gardens, and he said he puts a pile of grass clippings in the bottom of a tub (like a Gubba bucket) in his glasshouse with a layer of sand and then the seed tray on top. The grass clippings decompose and generate heat which radiates through the sand warming up the seed tray. Brilliant!

Apply copper spray (if you need to)

Your fruit trees will be in blossom soon, so if you plan to use a copper spray to help prevent fungal and bacterial diseases like black spot and leaf curl you need to get it done after the buds have started to swell but before they show pink. The usual recommendation is one spray prior to bud burst and a second a couple of weeks after flowering but, as always, think carefully before you spray anything. I used to use copper pretty freely in my garden – it’s classed as organic after all – but I’ve become a bit more cautious over the years. Copper doesn’t break down in the soil and, if it builds up, affects beneficial soil bacteria and fungi, as well as earthworms. So if your fruit trees have persistent problems with fungal or bacterial diseases, consider other possible solutions – growing more resistant varieties, better airflow or improved orchard hygiene as well as (or maybe instead of) frequent copper sprays.

Grow your own kūmara tipu

A gardener in one of the Facebook gardening groups I am part of shared excellent instructions on growing kūmara slips, or tipu, several years ago, and said he learned this method 60-odd years before that. Take a cardboard banana box and three-quarter fill with hay or straw mixed with potting mix or soil. Lay on top about five store-bought kūmara (supermarket ones are fine) then cover them with soil to a finger’s depth and sprinkle with water (but do not soak). This is the nursery box. Don’t let it dry out. Keep it in a warm, sheltered spot. In about eight to 10 weeks you will have strong leafy growth at the top. Carefully unearth each parent kūmara and gently tease the tipu off (you can easily get dozens off each kūmara) and tie into bundles. Soak the roots of the tipu in seaweed tea for a week or two before planting and plant outside when it’s warm enough – usually around November.

Winter is the best time to move any deciduous trees or shrubs in the wrong place so act fast… although British gardening writer Alys Fowler says not to try and move anything taller than you are which I think is a good rule of green thumb! Don’t move evergreens or natives now though, they are best shifted in autumn; or subtropicals, which are best moved in spring.

Learn to love silverbeet

You will be shocked to hear that as far as I can tell (and I have Googled extensively) no one has ever – EVER – written a poem about silverbeet. Honestly, why not? What more could this dependable leafy green do to earn our love? It’s easy to grow and productive year round in much of the country, and highly versatile in the kitchen (especially if you grow the variety perpetual spinach which has a finer midrib). There’s not a lot to harvest in the edible garden in August so I challenge you, my dearly beloveds, to try and get excited about silverbeet. I mean frankly that shouldn’t be hard! You can saute it with garlic and butter, mash it up with kūmara or spuds, slice it into stir-fries, soups, fritters and curry, layer it into lasagne, use it to stuff gozleme, or remove the stalk and finely chop to use raw in salads or coleslaws. Just give silverbeet a chance, my friends, and you will not be sorry.

Gardening by the maramataka

The wet traditionally follows the cold – this month is known for the wet. It is also the month that we start to see the tohu or cues that tell us spring is imminent. Watch for signs of early flowering, lack or masses of flowering, new shoots, bird and insect behaviour to initiate our preparation for kōanga (spring). But before spring, we need to see out the winter. In te reo, the prefix “here” means to bind or support and this month is prone to winds, especially during the first week of the month according to the maramataka. The māra therefore will need your support to ensure plants are stable and not prone to damage. Pruning should be complete by now (that is part of the support against the winds) and waste material taken away. In the north, establish the early tāpapa or pārekereke (kūmara beds) to initiate the new season tipū for planting around October.