Gardening Guide - September

The soil is warming up and the sun is staying around longer. Everything is now coming to life for spring. This is a busy time for gardeners who will be sowing, planting and fertilising their edible gardens.

SPECIAL ATTENTION

• Prepare the soil, giving all areas a good digging over. Fertilise and remove any winter weeds.
• Mound-up earth around asparagus spears.
• Prepare pumpkin and squash areas. Apply Tui Compost and Tui Super Sheep Pellets into deep holes and fill with extra soil to make fertile trenches for the curcubits to grow in.

SOW

• September is a busy month for seed sowing and planting. Stay on top of things by using your diary to note when seeds are planted.
• Sow a few lettuce seeds every couple of weeks for a continuous supply.
• Plant seeds for basil, bergamot, borage, chamomile, chives, coriander, dill, parsley and thyme.
• Plant more early potatoes now in a different row.
• Sow artichokes, asparagus, broad beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, capsicum, carrot, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, eggplants, Florence fennel, garlic, leek, onions, parsley, parsnip, peas, silver beet, spinach, tomatoes and turnip.
• Towards the end of the month, if you live in a warmer climate, make a sowing of French, butter and runner beans.

TRANSPLANT

• Plant out cabbage, cauliflower and silver beet from early sowings.
• Early sown tomato seeds grown under glass can be transplanted and hardened off now.
• Make sure to protect seedlings from cold and unpredictable weather. Keep seedlings in containers to be quickly moved if bad weather approaches.
• Take root cuttings of rhubarb now.  Rhubarb likes to be divided up to go on producing more plants.  Use well-established plants and plant these deep in the ground. Water well through the summer.

PROTECT

• Check around the plants for the pupae of whitefly or other bugs. If you find evidence of these pests, hose down the plants first and then apply neem oil and garlic spray.

FERTILISE

• Apply liquid fertilisers to leafy plants as the spring growth comes through. Not too much though, as the plants are still busy utilising the food stores from winter.

HARVEST

• September is still early for main crops but if planted well there is always something to harvest.
• Asparagus spears are starting to appear. Keep picking these to keep the crop coming on.
• Beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, cabbages, kale, leeks, parsnips, silver beet and turnips are all ready this month.
• Pick mizuna leaves that were grown through July and August.

Growing Microgreens!

Quick, easy and super tasty, microgreens are crops that the whole family can grow and enjoy without leaving the comfort of indoors. Plant a range of salad crops, herbs and Asian greens and watch mouthfuls of fresh healthy microgreens come up in a matter of days! Here's a step by step guide as seen on the Tui Garden Project on Annabel Langbein's show Through the Seasons.

Shopping list: Annabel Langbein Microgreen Goodness Seed Mix, Tui Seed Raising Mix, Seasol , a wooden tray and weed mat (optional).

DIRECTIONS FOR GROWING MICROGREENS:

1. Good options to include when growing microgreens are radish, beetroot, peas, rocket, cress, mizuna, basil and bok choy. Try the Annabel Langbein Microgreen Goodness Seed Mix, which includes beetroot, cress, radish and rocket.
2. Select a container – a wooden box or seed raising tray at least 10cm deep will work well, and line with a piece of weed mat to help keep the soil in the container.
3. Fill your container with Tui Seed Raising Mix, a light, free draining mix specially blended to provide ideal conditions for germinating seeds and seedling establishment.
4. Pat the Tui Seed Raising Mix down lightly in the container to compact it to create a smooth base.
5. Lightly water the mix in the container.
6. Sprinkle seeds generously over the top of the Tui Seed Raising Mix. Planting densely ensures a mass of greens.
7. Gently press seeds down using your hands.
8. Cover seeds with a thin layer of Tui Seed Raising Mix.
9. Water well after planting and each day to keep moist and ensure healthy growth.