The beginning of March is traditionally the time to plant our winter crops.
Sometimes this is not the case in SE QLD, Ipswich in particular! Every year is different but most years we can get March day time temperatures exceeding 35 degrees. In weather like this I wonder how anyone could seriously be thinking about planting cabbages!
We do get vegetable garden bored. We want to play yet we know it's to early.
There are a number of things you can be doing to get your vegetable patch up to scratch so when the ‘autumn' (cooler) weather starts you’ll be ready.
Most winter vegetables will grow better if the soil’s pH reading is quite high around 6.5. Your soil’s pH is a measure of its alkalinity or acidity and different plants thrive at different pH levels.
Before you add anything though, you should always measure your soil’s pH with a testing kit. Adding lime will increase your pH reading - making your soil more alkaline. Attempting to make your soil more acidic - a lower pH reading - is a lot more difficult.
Eden Seeds
If you need to add lime to your soil it might be too late for granulated lime to work. It can take months to break down. Eco-flo lime is a liquid concentrated form of lime and is very effective. Enriched with seaweed eco-flo lime is perfect for rapidly correcting acidic soils and boosting calcium levels in your soil. It is also registered organic.
Another thing to note is if your soil’s pH is great you may still want to add some Dolomite. Dolomite helps add calcium and magnesium back into your soil. These two trace elements are water soluble so are easily leeched out of your soil. Especailly after a lot of rain. Lack of calcium is the number one cause of blossom end rot, so even if your garden’s pH is around 6.5 I would still add some Dolomite.
Next make sure your vegetable garden is free of weeds and if you need to add more compost (we use Searles organic compost) or manure now is time to do it.
While it may be too hot or wet to be planting seedlings into the ground, it's a great time to be raising seeds. Seeds are a great way to try different vegetables. The seed range is so extensive at Trevallan we have a “seed wall”. An added bonus of using seeds is you can stagger your crops so everything doesn't ripen at once.
Trevallan stocks Eden Seeds. Eden Seeds distributes old traditional open pollinated varieties of seeds, preferably old Australian varieties and organically or bio-dynamically grown where possible.
It is believed that these types of seeds grow plants that are more nutritious and better tasting, hardier and easier to grow for the home gardener. These older varieties also produce over an extended period of time.
When growing seeds it is best to use a seed raising mix. Some seeds require pre planting preparation, beetroot supposedly germinates quicker if soaked overnight. Some people also do the first water with a weak solution of liquid fertilizer.
As for what to plant your seeds into, there are a myriad of choices - plastic pots, folded up toilet rolls, egg cartons, old seedling trays.
Home Grown Eggplants and Capsicum
I find the trick to seeds is keeping them in part shade and a really LIGHT watering every day to every second day in hot weather. You want to keep them moist but not wet. Once the plant starts to grow I add a little Triple Boost Liquid fertiliser to my watering.
Once the weather cools down continuously it will be time to plant out all those seeds into your garden beds.
If you don't get the chance to raise your own seeds Trevallan stocks a great range of vegetables in seedlings. These seedlings won’t start arriving until about April as it’s still just too hot to plant. Some of your choices could be beetroot, broccoli, snow peas, strawberries, Asian greens, onions, leeks, cauliflower, spinach, rocket, coriander, kale and cabbage. Some people may also like to plant out peas, though I don’t know why… Yuk!
Don't forget we are now proud stockist's of VEGEPOD. Vegepods are an easy to manage contained raised gardening bed that has self-watering technology by using a wicking system. Plants can last weeks without watering in our Vegepods. They also have a Protective Cover that protects crops from UV and pests. We have two set up in the garden centre and for the first time in years we had a tomato crop in summer without fruit fly stings!
Once everything is planted out in your garden don't forget to give it some Organic Link and fortnightly applications of Triple Boost and Neem.
Happy gardening.