May Produce Swappers Gardening Tips
IN THE GARDEN:
If you are growing broadbeans then it’s a good idea to put stakes around the perimeter of your broad bean patch and tie string around them to keep them upright and prevent wind or rain damage. This will be especially important when they pod later as they become top heavy and can fall over or break. Munch on some soft, green leafy tips while doing this job – delicious! Broadbean greens are a fantastic winter staple in salads and soups. If you haven't planted yet then consider setting up a frame using a piece of reo mesh: Lay the reo on the garden bed and use it as a grid, planting a bean in each square. Put a wooden post in each corner (or more if you are using a large sheet) and then, as the broadbeans grow you can lift the reo, tying it up higher as the crop grows. This is the most awesome and easy way to ensure that you don't get snapped stems on top heavy plants.
Once peach and nectarine trees have lost their leaves it’s time to spray with Cupric hydroxide (syn. Copper hydroxide) for the first of three applications needed over the dormant period to eliminate curly leaf. The second application should be applied in deep Winter (July) with the last, and most important application getting sprayed on trees at bud swell, just prior to blossoming. Leaf curl is a fungal disease that overwinters in the cracks and crevices on branches and stems so applying this copper spray multiple times will ensure that all of the spores are reached *This is an organic-approved method.
It’s time to lay mulch over any bare areas of the garden to insulate the top layers of soil against the cold and enable earthworms and other beneficial soil inhabitants to continue to work their magic. Although we have had recent rains it’s always a good idea to water garden beds prior to applying mulch, and it doesn't hurt to sprinkle some blood and bone on the beds first to help provide the nitrogen that microbes need in order to break down the mulch over time to improve the soil.
Although it’s tempting to get in and prune off untidy foliage/ spent flowers and seed heads, just make sure that you don’t heavily prune anything from now on that is in any way sensitive to cold or frost. That older growth will be shielding sensitive new leaves and shoots so it is often better, if you’ve missed the early Autumn window, to leave a bit of scruffiness until Spring.
Keep an eye on garlic plantings and get out any small weeds as they germinate. Garlic resents competition and also doesn’t like to be disturbed, which is more likely to happen if weeds are pulled later, once they have a more extensive root system. Mulching around garlic plants can help to control annual weeds as many of them prefer to germinate on the surface of the soil with exposure to daylight.
Chooks will appreciate a steady supply of greens and extra protein (from worms and insects) as we head into the colder months and so free ranging is especially important at this time of the year. Free ranging chooks can also do a great job of cleaning up over-wintering coddling moth and pear and cherry slug larvae from the base of fruit trees. Sprouting wheat grain in a big jar on the sink is also a great way to boost the protein and nutrient availability for your chooks at this time of the year
It's olive season so it's time to preserve them if you are lucky enough to have a crop. I've used several different recipes over the years but this year I am changing it up and using a recipe similar to that used by some Italian friends of mine (who happen to make THE most delicious olives!) AND it's from olive royalty - Mt Zero Olives themselves. It's also wildly simple which I love. Recipe HERE.
Barfold Olives also offer small-scale pressing so if you have an abundance it could be worth looking into getting your own olive oil pressed (Olives usually yield somewhere around 10-20% depending on variety and season: 10kg olives yielding 1-2lt of oil. 'Olives to Oil' is a project that 3000 Acres runs at CERES. People bring in their home/urban or wild foraged olives which are then put together and pressed, with the oil being distributed later and they get roughly a 10% yield so this might be a good percentage to work to if you are working out $ per litre to have yours pressed, then any additional oil is a bonus.) We have planted an olive hedge at our place with this as our long term plan. Olives grow exceptionally well here and are tolerant of our frost, wet winters and dry summers. Make sure you harvest them so that they don't become a weed risk.
SOW NOW (sow seed direct): Broadbeans, coriander, Last chance garlic, parsley, borage, calendula, poppies, nigella, cold season green manure mix (although bulk sowing broadbeans as a single green manure crop might be the best option over the next few months)
PLANT NOW (plant now as seedlings): rocket, mustard greens, mizuna and mibuna, bok choy, lettuce (protected spots only - cloches are great or pots/boxes under a verandah), onion, spring onion, snap dragons, pansies and violas, calendula
*You may (no pun intended) be able to get away with planting brassicas and other Winter veg now but depending on what the season does you might find that they sit and sulk until Spring without much growth and then bolt to seed. If you have gaps in the garden it’s still probably worth giving it a go to see what happens. Factors like micro-climate/protection from wind, frost etc. and raised bed areas will affect success so it’s always good to experiment. Greens like lettuce and silverbeet can be still be put in now in planters under a verandah or in a sheltered area close to the kitchen for ease of harvesting.
Some crops are better left now until early Spring though and they include peas (unless you have a polytunnel) and carrots.
Happy gardening!
