November Produce Swappers Gardening Tips

IN THE GARDEN
Wow this wintery weather has set back our summer veggies but as long as you are ready to head out and cover precious seedlings from the odd late frost (believe it or not we might still get one, but hopefully not) then it is all systems go in the veggie garden. Plant, plant, plant! We have such a short season here so it’s really important to get all your summer crops in ASAP

Plant now (Transplant seedlings): Beetroot, beans, basil, capsicum and chillies, corn, cucumber, cucamelons, eggplant, kale, leeks, lettuce, Asian greens such as pak choi, tatsoi and mizuna, Malabar spinach (climbing spinach), pumpkin, silverbeet and rainbow chard, spring onions, tomatoes, tomatillos, zucchini and squash.

Sow now (Seed direct into the garden): Bush and climbing beans, beetroot, carrot, corn, cucumbers, gourds, lettuce, parsnips, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, spring onions, sunflowers, turnips, watermelons (smaller varieties generally do best here), zucchinis and squash.

Late spring is a great time to rejuvenate citrus trees. As soon as you see the first tips of new growth appearing you can begin to water fortnightly with a liquid fertiliser such a fish emulsion, a seaweed/fish emulsion mix or homemade weed tea. Citrus will respond well to a dose of trace elements at this time of the year too, and this can help to resolve chlorosis (yellowing of the leaves with dark leaf veins remaining). Having said that, chlorosis can also occur over winter in our area due to a combination of cold and poor drainage so if your potted citrus has this problem then be sure to check that the mix hasn’t compacted and that drainage holes are clear of debris. It’s a great time to repot them if you haven’t done so for a year or two into a mix of two thirds potting mix/one third compost or aged cow manure (must be completely mature). In the garden drainage may be helped with the application of gypsum in dispersive (sodic) clay soils. For a simple home test to determine whether you have dispersive clay try out test number three in this excellent article about understanding your soil type by Deep Green Permaculture. Then take a look at this example of how gypsum can be used to improve the water absorption, drainage and structure in sodic soils. Science!

It’s been another horrible year for leaf curl in peach and nectarines (one of the down sides of a wet winter/early spring). It’s too late to treat them now although you can remove badly affected foliage and take steps to support the health of your tree with seaweed liquid fertilizer or weed tea made using comfrey or dandelion, a good layer of mulch and regular watering. The fungus dies off once the weather warms up and so you can look forward to a second flush of much healthier looking leaves in the next month or two, however without treatment the problem will recur again next year.

Put a reminder in your calendar for Autumn to clear up and dispose of the fallen leaves and spray with copper, spray again in July, and, the most important time – at bud swell in late winter/early spring. *The recommendation has changed in the last ten years or so from using copper oxychloride once a year at bud swell to using Copper (cupric) hydroxide (sold as Kocide Blue) three times over the dormant period as described above. This is the recommended regime for organic certified orchards. If you have used cupric hydroxide for a few years you can mix it up by spraying with Bordeaux mixture at bud swell.

Many cherry and plum trees are exhibiting signs of curly leaf too, however these trees are not affected by the leaf curl fungus. Instead, when you unroll the leaves you will usually find aphids hiding and sheltering inside the rolled leaves that have been damaged and distorted by these pesky sap-sucking insects. They can be controlled using eco-oil, a soap-based spray or neem oil, and badly affected foliage can be removed and either placed in a bucket of soapy water or burned. I rarely bother treating aphids and prefer to let them get cleaned up by predatory insects and small birds – but this is one instance where you may need to take action if your trees are very badly affected.

Get to know your garden helpers: Spring is a time of abundant growth, which brings with it all kinds of pests. However, as is nearly always the way in nature, a boom in pest numbers soon brings with it a jump in the population of predators! Insects such as ladybirds are already colonising aphid-ridden leaves and stems, with their crazy alien-looking larvae hunting down and eating aphids by the hundreds before pupating and then transforming into their more recognisable adult form. Hoverflies are appearing, as are lacewings and praying mantis. If you look closely at aphid infestations over the next month or two you may start to notice empty aphid shells with a neat round hole in the middle of their back – this is the aftermath of parasitic wasps, who pierce the skin of aphids to lay their eggs inside their body. Later the larvae hatch and eat their way out, killing the aphid in the process. Ouch.

Many beneficial insects eat pests at their larval stage but rely more on nectar in their adult form so planting nectar-rich flowers in the veggie garden is a great way to ensure that they hang around. Alyssum is a fantastic small and compact flower from the brassica family that is particularly loved by parasitic wasps but also many others. Planting different herbs and flowers (single flowers are preferable to doubles for pollinators) in and around your patch will also supplement food for foraging honey bees. Larger numbers of bees will improve the cropping of many veggies and fruit trees once they become regular visitors to your garden.

Many small birds like native honeyeaters also make up their diet with insects and larvae and so by ensuring that there are flowering shrubs and shelter around the garden and, even better, a clean water source like bird baths, you can take advantage of them as pest controllers in the veggie garden and orchard also.

One final thing: remember that caterpillars = butterflies and moths, so don’t be too hasty to squash or spray them, especially if you are not sure exactly what species they are. At this time of the year a chewed leaf is (mostly) a good leaf and you may be rewarded for your lack of action with a summer garden full of beautiful native butterflies, who, incidentally, are also excellent pollinators.

Happy gardening!

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