Main planting time
Main planting time. Photo: supplied
I love this time of year. October. Spring is in full swing: many fruits are in blossom, citrus are ripe and it’s the main planting time for most crops. After all the work planning and perusing over catalogues or nurseries to select what yummy crop varieties to try this season, then preparing garden beds, weeding paths etc, it’s so satisfying looking at the newly planted garden ready to burst forth into life to fill the tummies and the pantry.
There is a lot to do mind you. Seedlings sown yourself need tender care. Gentle watering in the morning. Use tepid water, especially on warm-loving plants like eggplants and peppers. Fill watering can overnight or have a 200-litre drum for this use.
Before planting leave seedlings outside for a night or two to harden off. Planting’s best done in the evening. As for numbers this is always the hardest part, and comes with experience. Sowing directly like with carrots, you’re always better off sowing more and thinning later. Allow enough spacing between rows for the crop to grow well. For planting seedlings, it’s best to check in books or visualise how big the crop grows and allow that much space. If you plant in a hexagonal pattern, you’ll fit more in and the spaces can be planted after with faster growing crops like lettuce. It’s much better having a few well-developed plants bearing good yields than lots of scrawny plants that don’t! Ensure you plant deep enough and firmly.
After planting is done then the careful tending begins. It’s good to get into a routine. Watering well two to three mornings a week (watering lots will encourage weak growth and a crop susceptible to pests and diseases). Liquid feed once or twice a week, depending on how fertile you soil is, will aid plant growth. Weed regularly with a hand tool (I love my Niwashi) and at the same time check how the plants are growing and for any unwanted pests and diseases (eg slugs and rust). Remove these immediately. Once plants have become established, mulch with grass clippings, seagrass, old bailage etc. That way there’s been time for the soil to warm to help crop growth and the mulch will help conserve valuable soil moisture. Sensitive crops like zucchinis will still appreciate cloching for warmth and in case of late frosts.
With good soil prep, planting and care then you should reap an abundant harvest during the summer and beyond.
Fruit care:
Last chance to sow understorey plants.
Hang pheromone traps to prevent caterpillar damage.
Plant passionfruits in warm spot with free-draining soil.
Plant citrus and other subtropicals.
Complete strawberry planting.
Prune citrus, fejoas and other subtropicals. Overgrown fejoas and citrus respond well to hard pruning.
Foliar feed fruits with seaweed, compost tea, worm juice and/or fish.
Spray citrus with copper oxychloride vs dieback and verucosis disease (scab) and all purpose oil for scale insect or neem for aphid.
Spray garlic and pyrethrum and/or neem oil on apples, fejoas etc vs bronze beetle.
Water young fruits if rain scarce.
Divide and plant comfrey root around drip line of fruit trees or into borders.
Herb Care:
Plant most herbs like bergamot and sage.
Sow most herbs like basil (indoors) or dill direct.
Water and mulch.
Vegetable Care:
Turn green crops in for November planting.
Prepare fertile shallow beds for kumara.
Keep light tilling beds for sowing root crops soon.
Mound potatoes or mulch well.
Stake or set up string lines for beans, cucumbers, tomatoes.
Use weed mat on beds especially for heat loving crops like melons.
Spray Bt on Brassicas to protect against cabbage white butterfly.
Plant lots of flowers for diversity and beauty eg sunflowers, phacelia and marigolds.
Hothouse: Keep propagating: need lots of mix for pricking out/potting up. Plant tomato, cucumber, pepper, eggplant plants into rich beds for earlier harvest. Keep well ventilated.
For transplanting: All seeds 10 October. Leeks, spring onions and leafy greens (celery, spinach, spinach beet, silver beet, lettuce, endive, cabbages) (also 21 Oct). Corn, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants (bottom heat), melons, zucchini, pumpkin/squash and cucumbers (also 22-23 Oct). Cauliflower, Broccoli and flowers (also 19 & 28 Oct).
Sow direct: All seeds 10 October. Mesclun salad, kohlrabi, spring onions (also 21 Oct). Corn, zucchini, pumpkin/squash and cucumbers, French & climbing beans and peas (also 22-23 Oct). Carrots, beetroot, radish, parsnip (also 25-26 Oct). Flowers eg poppy, sweet pea, strawflower, alyssum (also 19 & 28 Oct).
Plant: Best 4-16 October. Onions, salad greens, spinach, cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, early tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, zucchini, pumpkins, yams and main potatoes. Flowers eg begonia and gerbera. Rhubarb.
General Garden Care:
Take soft tip cuttings from perennials and shrubs.
Mulch mow first few times.
Prune shrubs after flowering.
Collect extra rainwater for drier periods.
Sol Morgan, GroWise Consultancy
