Down to Earth: Fabulous Feijoas
Winter weather is here with cool temperatures and rain. Thankfully many of us will be enjoying the fruits of feijoas with their powerful antioxidant properties to keep away winter flu.
Feijoas or pineapple guavas are native to South American mountains and forest edges, and are a compact tree reaching 3 to 5 metres high and 2 to 5 metres wide. Several varieties are available to provide yummy fruit from late summer into winter. They are easy to grow and manage, so why not give them a go? Here are a few tips for growing feijoas:
· Plant in full sun or partial shade.
· They handle wind, so make great hedges. Stake until established.
· They’re cold hardy, but like warm situations best. Can tolerate frosts and are resistant to salt.
· They grow in a wide range of soil types, but prefer fertile, well-drained acidic soil.
· Plant in winter about 1.5 metres apart to form a hedge or 4 to 5 metres in an orchard setting.
· They do best when mulched with woody compost; they have shallow root systems.
· They don’t need lots of nitrogen but need potassium. Apply a handful of wood ash per square metre per year.
· Plant comfrey nearby to use as mulch, too.
· Pest and disease resistant, except some leafroller caterpillar damage, so use pheromone traps as with pipfruit.
· Minimal pruning is required, other than removing suckers. Larger specimens can do with some thinning to reduce branch rubbing and to encourage growth lower down.
Fruit care:
· Harvest kiwifruit, pepinos and tamarillos.
· Plant fruit trees, eg feijoas. Plant into a decent-sized hole with compost and ensure good drainage. Firm well and stake.
· Spray stonefruit and pipfruit with cutonic copper vs bacterial diseases once leaves fall, or liquid seaweed as a tonic.
· Protect young citrus and other subtropicals with frost cloth.
· Prune fruit trees; avoid big cuts in winter.
· Prune old canes off berry fruits. Select and tie up strongest new canes.
· Clear grass and other weeds away from fruits and remulch with woody compost.
· Plant herbs and flowers around orchard to attract beneficial insects like bees!
· Apply fertilisers to fruits, eg rock phosphate, lime, boron and wood ash.
· Re/plant strawberry patch.
Herb care:
· Weed and mulch.
· Transplant perennial herbs, or pot up to swap with others.
· Take cuttings of rosemary, sage and other semi woody herbs into coarse sand under cover.
Vegetable care:
· Protect sensitive crops from frost with a cloche of mikroclima or plastic.
· Prepare ground for garlic and onions. Add lots of compost, lime, rock phosphate and wood ash.
· Plant winter crops now, eg garlic, cabbage, broad beans, peas and corn salad. Plant winter/spring salads under cover or in containers in a warm spot.
· Liquid fertilise in the morning once a week. Avoid using cold well water.
· Weed and mulch (eg, seagrass under brassicas). Good time to fork out couch and dreaded oxalis.
· Mulch vacant areas with either compost and straw or black plastic for spring.
· Stay observant for pests and diseases, eg check under rocks or wood edging for slugs and snails.
· Spray Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) against caterpillar pests. Try neem granules too.
· Tend asparagus beds with lots of compost and straw.
· Hothouse: Remove old crops and plant salads for winter.
· Save seed: Process, clean and freeze seed for a week, then store.
Sow for transplanting: All seeds 6 June. Leafy greens (miner’s lettuce, winter spinach, lettuce, endive, cabbages, spinach beet, Chinese cabbage and red onions). Flowers, eg snapdragons.
Sow direct: All seeds 6 June. Turnip and swede (warm areas), radish, spring onions, salads and spinach beet. Broad beans and late peas (30-31 May). Flowers, eg candytuft.
Plant: 25 May. Garlic, salad greens, spinach, cabbages, silverbeet/rainbow chard, spinach beet. Flowers, eg divided perennials.
General garden care:
· Complete composts.
· Collect leaves into compost ring.
· Prune back flowering plants and hedges.
· Prune trees for greater sun. Shred prunings.
· Wrench trees and shrubs for moving next month.
· Transplant perennials.
· Weed and mulch ornamental areas.
· Mow lawns without the catcher.
Sol Morgan, GroWise Consultancy. Ph 525 9110.
