Your early summer garden action plan

By Good Magazine

June 2, 2017

The garden’s starting to wake up, so it’s time for gardeners to get busy. Good‘s spring and early summer garden action plan will take your weatherbeaten plot from barren to bursting

As the days grow longer, lighter and warmer, the garden begins to wake up. The delicate uncurling of tender new leaves promises growth and a summer of abundance

Photos from Organic Vegetable Gardening (Xanthe White, Random House)

It’s a busy season in the garden: there’s the post-winter cleanup to do, soil to be revitalised, and an exciting array of plants to get growing. The more effort you put in now, the more bountiful your summer garden will be.

Get fertile

Compost is all important for a fertile, healthy garden. Apart from kitchen scraps and a few weeds, your compost bin may have been undisturbed during winter. To speed decomposition, turn your pile thoroughly, adding a sprinkle of blood and bone (for more tips, see good.net.nz/compost).

When your compost is ready and smelling sweet, fork it into your garden beds. Generally, one spade per square metre will greatly improve soil quality. Well rotted animal manure, sourced from local poultry farms or stables can also invigorate vacant beds, as can sheep pellets, blood and bone meal, fish fertiliser and liquid seaweed.

Loads of poo

Some animal manure can also be used to make organic liquid fertiliser – a welcome boost for growing plants, especially ‘gross feeders’ such as celery and tomatoes. To make, simply add a few handfuls of manure (or compost) to a bucket of water, stir, and keep adding until the mixture is the colour of weak tea. Apply straight away if you wish.

Grass clippings, seaweed (rinsed to remove salt) and comfrey (the fast-growing potassium- and phosphate-rich herb) can all make nutritious plant ‘teas’. Fill the bottom third of a large plastic bucket or clean paint pail with the plant matter, top up to three-quarters full with non-chlorinated water, and stir. Cover and leave four to five weeks, stirring occasionally. When your brew is ready, it’ll pong. Dilute to the colour of weak tea and apply. For a speedy, two-week comfrey tea, first blend your leaves in an old blender.

Seeds and seedlings

Early spring is a good time to order all your seeds. Why not plan your year’s planting in advance? Select your preferred crops, assess the available garden space and search online for your local organic or heritage seed supplier (see good.net.nz/2/seeds).

But don’t despair if you haven’t managed to get seedlings sprouted so they’re ready for planting by Labour Weekend. A quick trip to a local nursery (or garden centre, health food shop or hardware store) will see you right with ready-to-plant seedlings best suited for your garden and your region.

Spruce up

Harvest the last of any winter vegetables (otherwise they’ll go to seed as daylight hours increase). Rake up leaves from under deciduous trees (large volumes of evergreen foliage don’t compost well) and use to start a new compost bin. Scrub paths, clear rubbish and drag your garden furniture out of storage. Dig out weeds growing between cobbles or cracks with an old knife or pour salt water over those you can’t dislodge. Treat plants with yellow leaves with a sprinkling of Epsom Salts.

Let the planting begin!

The Kiwi spring lasts from September to November—but fluctuating weather patterns can bring a roller coaster of frosty mornings, blustery storms and clear warm days, making it hard to pick when to start your main spring planting. Once the danger of frosts has passed and your soil is reasonably dry and crumbly it’s safe to get going.

If in doubt, start by planting seedlings of hardy vegetables and annual flowering plants. Gardening lore has it that Labour Day (the fourth Monday of October) is the best time for planting the bulk of your vegetables. It’s the most magical of all days in the in New Zealand calendar, says Xanthe White, author of Organic Vegetable Gardening. But don’t plant everything at once: successive plantings throughout spring will ensure a continuous supply of vegetables.

On duty

As the weather warms, so does the soil, and all activity in the garden starts to speed up. Reduce stress on young seedlings by ensuring they’re well-watered and weed-free.

Protect vulnerable young plants with nightly slug and snail patrols: place ‘slug pubs’– (saucers or jar lids filled with beer) in your beds to attract and trap the greedy gastropods. Make mini-glasshouses by cutting the bottom off clear plastic bottles and pushing them into the ground over each seedling (remove the cap) to shelter them from the wind and cold, and also protect them from birds and pests. Remove once the plant starts to fill the inside of the bottle. Control caterpillars by picking them off by hand.

Lightly dusting your cabbages and cauliflowers with Derris Dust – made from natural plant root extracts – can help deter leaf-eating pests such as the cabbage white butterfly caterpillar. But bear in mind that Derris Dust is deadly to fish and must be kept away from gutters, drains and ornamental fish ponds. As an alternative, dust your brassicas with white household flour.

Get a little fruity

Dot a few tangy, aromatic annual herbs such as basil or dill around the garden. Allowing some perennial herbs such as parsley and chervil to go to seed means you’ll get fresh sources of flavoursome foliage popping up. In warmer districts, shaking herb seeds around the garden will ensure a year-round supply.

If you don’t have strawberry plants already growing, get some in as quickly as possible (see good.net.nz/strawbs). Spring is also a good time to plant fruit trees (see page 30). Don’t forget the abundant passionfruit vine and rhubarb.

Add a dash of colour

Planting flowers in spring will attract important pest predators such as hoverflies, whose larvae are voracious aphid munchers. Flowers, especially blue ones (lavender and borage are reliable sources), attract bees to pollinate your plants. Vigorous orange nasturtiums can act as gatekeepers growing around the edge of your garden, deterring weeds and aphids.

Many flowering annuals, including poppy, alyssum, Californian, statice, marigolds or sunflowers can be planted straight into the ground; others such as petunias and gerberas are better raised in trays and later transplanted. You don’t need many flowers for a big impact; self-seeding annuals like the prolific cosmos reliably deliver masses of colour on long wispy stems.

Hanging baskets and flowers in terracotta pots might look lovely, but will need constant watering over summer. Put them near your kitchen so you can use waste water, placing another pot beneath them to catch run-off.

Magic beans

Beans are great for first-time gardeners. Sow seeds directly into garden beds, into trays to transplant or simply buy as seedlings. Plant beans in a sunny spot as soon as frosts have gone and the soil has warmed a little. They’ll need a frame to climb over, unless they are self-supporting dwarf varieties. Protect the young plants from slugs and snails, water regularly, mulch, and in as little as two months you’ll be rewarded with tender beans to eat!

Tomatoes are another gardening favourite. Sow seeds in trays or small pots for transplantation, trying different varieties for a range of colours, flavours and textures. Look for interesting heirloom, rather than modern commercial, varieties. Labour Weekend is the best time for planting tomato seedlings outdoors, as long as the threat of frosts has passed. Choose a sunny, fertile spot and plant tomatoes together with Italian basil – a perfect bedfellow.

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