Planning for spring
July is considered the quietest time in the garden, and this year it will probably be the coldest, too. It’s a great time to put your feet up and dream about the warm season and what you will grow. Here are some things to consider when choosing varieties for spring and summer.
Favourites and heirlooms: You may have your own tried and tested varieties that work for you. Save seed every year for the coming season. Kay Baxter (Koanga Gardens) has a favourites list that suits her needs. Her seeds are all heirloom varieties, which are grown for several generations by keen gardening families. Heirlooms (and heritage varieties) are grown for their superior taste, colour and shape variations, pests and disease resistance and quality (many have higher levels of antioxidants, for example).
Diversity: Many varieties of most food crops are available from seed merchants here in New Zealand. Trying different varieties is not only interesting, but often rewarding, as some will do really well at your place in comparison to others.
Purpose: Different varieties suit different uses. For example, cherry and currant tomatoes are great in salads, Russian Red is a heavy cropper, Amish Paste great for sauce, Tommy Toe for taste, and Cherokee Purple is a beefsteak.
Space savers: Select compact varieties if space is at a minimum. Climbing beans may be preferable over dwarf varieties, as they take up vertical space.
Fast maturity: Many modern hybrids are bred to grow fast, so suit market gardeners and short growing seasons.
Long yielders: Choose crops such as De Cicco broccoli provide many pickings.
Disease resistance: Many old varieties have more resistance to diseases. Some hybrids are resistant to specific diseases too (eg, Cucumber Marketmore is resistant to cucumber mosaic virus). As we have a wet climate, select for strong fungus resistance.
Seasonality: Some varieties have bolt resistance, for example Bloomsdale spinach in summer, or resistance against cold, as in winter spinach. Others are drought resistant, and many lettuces are selected for this trait.
Child friendly: Coloured varieties may (if we’re lucky) get our children to eat more vegetables. Try growing Purple/Violet Sicilian cauliflower.
Novelty: Try growing some unusual types of crops like celeriac, purple curly kale and Florence fennel.
Fruit care
Harvest persimmons, kiwifruit and tamarillos. Keep eye on stored fruit for spoils.
Plant fruits, eg apples, in sizeable holes with compost and ensure good drainage. Firm well and stake.
Spray stonefruit and pipfruit with cutonic copper vs bacterial diseases once leaves fall, or use liquid seaweed as a tonic.
Plant perennial herbs and flowers around the orchard to attract beneficial insects.
Prune fruit trees; avoid big cuts in winter.
Clear grass and other weeds away from fruits and re-mulch with woody compost.
Apply fertilisers to fruits, eg rock phosphate, lime, boron and wood ash.
Herb Care
Place cuttings of rosemary, sage and other semi-woody herbs in coarse sand under cover.
Vegetable Care
Protect sensitive crops from frost with a cloche of mikroclima or plastic.
Prepare ground for onions.
Plant winter crops now: garlic, shallots, cabbage, broad beans, corn salad, winter/spring salads under cover.
Liquid fertilise in the morning once a week.
Weed and mulch (eg seagrass around broad beans).
Stay observant for pests and diseases. Check under rocks or wood edging for slugs and snails.
Tend asparagus beds with lots of compost and straw.
Hothouse
Plant salads. Check out seed catalogues to get inspired for spring. Plan garden cropping and spring rotation
For transplanting: All seeds 5 July. Leafy greens (winter spinach, lettuce, endive, cabbages, Chinese cabbage and onions). Flowers. Sow direct: All seeds 5th July. Radish, spring onions, salads and spinach, broad beans. Flowers, eg larkspur. Plant: 6–19 July. Garlic, shallots, salad greens, spinach, cabbages, spinach beet. Flowers, eg divided perennials.
General Garden Care
Prune back flowering plants and hedges. Shred prunings. Remove overcrowded trees and shrubs. Prune trees for greater sun on edible garden.
Wrench trees and shrubs for moving in two/three weeks. Transplant perennials.
Clean and fix garden tools. Make a tub with used cooking oil and sand/sawdust mix to dip tools in after use.
Sol Morgan, GroWise Consultancy. Ph 525 9110.
