Aubergine or eggplant
Aah, the warm weather arrives and many of us will be looking forward to our first swim. On the growing front, the warmth reminds me of those groovy-looking heat-loving eggplants.
Otherwise called aubergines, eggplants are members of the Solanaceae family (relatives of the tomato, potato, capsicum). They originate from southern India, where they are called brinjal, giving their name to the famous spicy pickle. They come in many shapes and sizes: green, orange, pink, purple, gold, striped, and white egg-shaped, hence the name!
Eggplants need a hot, sheltered spot to produce well. Hothouses are often the best option. They form a bush, and like deep, loose soil rich in organic matter. Add lots of compost, ie a 10-litre bucket per plant. Ash or potash fertiliser helps with fruiting. Use containers if the soil is poor and put them in a hot spot. Plant about 60cm apart. Keep well watered and liquid fertilise with comfrey weekly. Mulching with seagrass, weed mat or black plastic helps keep weeds down and soil temperatures up. Harvest when fully coloured and the skin is glossy. Watch out for prickles, though!
Wilt is the biggest problem facing eggplants, so practise crop rotation to avoid this fungal disease (don’t grow any Solanaceous plant in that spot for four years).
The taller varieties may need stakes set up under the branches in a three-way tipi shape.
Fruit care
Cover berryfruits with netting to stop the birds!
Plant subtropicals like avocados in a sheltered well-mulched site.
Water young fruits in dry spots. Keep fruits well mulched.
Hang pheromone traps to prevent codlin and leafroller moth damage.
Put bands of corrugated cardboard around fruit tree trunks. Remove and burn every two weeks to limit moth caterpillars. Barrier paste on the band helps trap them (see garden shop).
Plant passionfruits in warm spots with free-draining soil.
Strawberries need fortnightly liquid fertilising with comfrey. Mulch with pine needles.
Spray fruits with liquid seaweed as a tonic. Spray Bt vs moth larvae damage on raspberries.
Also spray citrus with copper oxychloride every two weeks vs dieback and verrucosis (scab), and all-purpose oil for scale insects and aphids.
Prune citrus as you harvest.
Prune grapes back to two leaves past the last fruit truss.
In sunny periods, prune out water shoots growing low on the trunks or in centres of fruit trees, especially stonefruit.
Thin pipfruit to doubles and single fruit on ends. Limit fruit on young trees.
Herb care:
Sow basil, coriander and dill direct fortnightly for continuous supply.
Plant parsley and perennial herbs.
Weed and mulch.
Vegetable care
Keep weeding and make lots of compost.
You can still plant outside peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, melons and basil.
Sow parsnip and leeks (and other roots) now for winter eating.
Sow salads every two weeks for continuous summer supply.
Earth up potatoes and yams.
Hoe and weed beds, especially around onions, carrots and beetroot.
Liquid fertilise in the morning once a week. Comfrey for fruits.
Make frames for climbing beans, cucumbers and tomatoes.
Remove tomato laterals and lower leaves as they grow.
Watch out for pests and diseases, especially aphids on young seedlings, and spray with natural garlic and pyrethrum. Spray Bt onto brassicas vs caterpillars.
Sow and plant lots of flowers to attract beneficial insects.
Hothouse: Prick out ready seedlings into pots or trays. Plant hothouse crops like eggplants.
For transplanting: Leafy greens (leeks, celery, summer spinach, silverbeet/chard, lettuce, endive, kale, cabbages, Brussels sprouts) (14th -16th Dec). Broccoli, cauliflower (13th Dec). Sweetcorn, late cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, tomatoes. Flowers, eg aster.
Sow direct: Mesclun salad (14th -16th Dec). Radish, spring onions, carrot, beetroot, parsnip (12th Dec). French beans, climbing and runner beans. Flowers, eg strawflowers.
Plant: 17th – 30th December. Salad greens, silverbeet/chard, spinach, celery, kale, cabbages, leeks, potatoes, kumara, sweetcorn, and late cucumbers; zucchini; pumpkins; tomatoes; peppers, eggplants. Flowers, eg calendula that have self-seeded around the garden.
General Garden Care
Collect seaweed/seagrass.
Make lots of compost. Turn heaps.
Mulch citrus and ornamentals with grass clippings. Avoid mowing lawn really short.
Check irrigation system.
Collect water in drums.
Sol Morgan, GroWise Consultancy
