MARCH - PREPARE, PLANT AND HARVEST
TIME TO HARVEST...
Summer crops are coming to an end...
Cut off trusses of unripe tomatoes before the weather turns cold and ripen them on a sunny windowsill. This will stop early frosts splitting them!
Harvest kumara when the tops start to turn yellow, or on the day of the first frost and leave in the sun to dry. Generally, they're ready 5 months after planting. Kumaras grow deep, so dig deep! Medium sized unblemished kumara store best so use the large ones first, or any impaled by the garden fork. Ensure the skins are dry before storing in a cool dark place - scrunched up newspaper in the open boxes keeps them dry.
Lift main crop potatoes, spread out to dry, then store in hessian or paper sacks in a cool dark, well-ventilated place.
Pick the last of your basil crop before the cooler weather arrives.
Harvest pumpkins and leave them out in the sun to enhance their flavour and enable their skins to harden.
Melons should be ready to harvest now. You can tell when it's time by the fragrance. Melons that are ready to be picked have a sweet, fragrant aroma, at the opposite end of the stem.
Check the stem of watermelons, if it's dried out and brown it is likely ripe.
Red onions need to be used fairly soon after harvesting as they don't last the way the brown onions do; keeping red onions in the fridge extends their life considerably.
Garlic should be harvested by now or it will become tough and lose some of it's flavour.
TIME TO PLANT...
As the summer crops are harvested dig over the soil, adding in compost, blood and bone and a dressing of lime, in preparation for winter crops.
Plant winter vegetables as soon as possible to get good crops in winter when growth pretty much stops – kale, spinach, pak choi, mizuna, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, savoy cabbages, silverbeet, brussel sprouts, leeks.
The bundles of leeks that we sell in-store are nearly over for the season, so don't delay.
Pak choi makes a good 'in-between-the-seasons' vegetable option as it grows quickly and fills in the gap between summer and winter vegetables.
Pot up herbs and place in a sunny spot so you can use them during winter.
Remove runners from strawberry plants and pot up to plant out in winter.
Divide rhubarb every few years, after the leaves have died back in autumn. Carefully lift the rhubarb crown and using a sharp clean knife or spade divide the crown into half or thirds. Ensure each part has at least one healthy bud and a decent portion of roots. Replant immediately.
As the weather starts to cool, plant new fruit trees, preparing the soil with compost and using a slow release fruit food after planting.
TIME TO PRUNE...
Prune out all the fruited canes of raspberries, cutting down to the base and stake new canes for support, tie with cloth ties.
Cut back excesssive leaves on grape vines to expose ripening fruit and cover the crop with netting to protect it from birds.
Trim any leaves that are hanging over pumpkins and squash to enable them to ripen faster in the sun.
Summer prune stonefruit trees (peaches, plums, apricots), removing any dead or disease wood. Take the height down to allow for spring growth later, and open it up to a vase shape.
We'll happily advise you on all pruning questions and fruit questions, from strawberries to peach trees.
TIME TO SOW...
Throw in a few green crop seeds into gaps in the vege garden and you'll be fixing nitrogen into the soil. Dig the plants into the soil in early spring and plant new season's crops within a week.
Broad beans, cabbage, chinese cabbage, cress, herbs, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuces, mustard, spring onions, radish, shallots (bulbs) spinach and turnips.
TIME TO FEED
Autumn and winter fruits will have formed, so it's essential that they get enough water to swell the fruit. This includes citrus and feijoas.
Citrus are gross feeders and a feed of citrus food while greatly benefit them. Apply out as far as the drip line and water well. To avoid root burn, be sure to use a slow/controlled release fert if growing citrus in pots.
As mentioned above, enrich the soil of your vege garden with compost, blood and bone, and a dressing of lime after harvesting and prior to planting winter crops.
Time to control....
Pest and disease on fruit trees
Autumn can bring fungal problems - mildew on courgettes, blight on tomatoes and more.. Use Grosafe Freeflo Copper or Organic Super Sulphur. Both are suitable for edibles and ornamentals.
Snails and Slugs
Slugs and snails love lettuces as they provide shade, damp, and plenty of food. Quash or Blitzem will take care of the problem.
White butterflies
Use bug netting or Organic De-Bug to protect Brassica crops from white butterflies.