In the garden with Ian Holland
If you can succeed in planting the garden full at this time of the year, it will help to give maximum productivity for the longest time. Most of the vegetables Australians love are of European origin and so we can grow these very well in our cooler winter months. If we wait too long to plant potatoes, cabbages and broccoli, then we will risk them maturing when the weather warms up again. This will reduce their productivity. For example potatoes will have great foliage but very few potatoes underneath the ground and cabbages don't grow as big as they could if they haven't had a cold spell over them. Broccoli will have a long productive life all the way through winter if the cabbage moths haven't been too severe on them in the early autumn months.Lettuce grow beautifully during the winter months. Lettuce seed won't germinate when the temperatures are over 30 degress and you will see them germinate spontaneously in the garden when the summer heat has gone.
At this time of the year it is easier to keep the garden soil moist. You can easily mulch a layer of 10 centimetres deep on the garden at this time of the year if you do it after a good spell of rain. The mulch will keep the ground moisture intact for several months and so you will greatly reduce your watering needs. One such an example of gardening this way is by growing potatoes in the mulch method.
Potatoes can easily be grown under mulch and all you need to do is to place the seed potato on the bare soil (don't cut them, keep them whole) and pile layers of mulch on top. Make sure that the soil is well irrigated or wait until a good spell of rain and then you can start with some mulch from the tip or grassy hay mulch and then layer on some old rotted manure, lucerne mulch, shredded paper, fresher manure and any other organic material. You can easily make this layer up to half a metre deep and the potatoes will grow through as it breaks down over time. You then harvest the potatoes when the tops have died down and root around for the potatoes that are buried under the mulch. You will find that the soil underneath is still quite moist even if there has been no rain or irrigation.
Right now it's time to plant all the brassicas such as broccoli and cabbage, all the cucurbits except melons, carrots, beans, all herbs, potatoes, lettuce, beetroot, tomato, peas, parsnips, leeks, celery.
There's something very gratifying about growing your own vegies and seeing them looking inviting and fresh on the plate. Why not give it a go. You'll find it's worth the effort.
