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.

Vegetable Gardeners Diary - August

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Many keen gardeners will be tempted to get out into their vegetable patch. In cold areas, however, it's still best to wait until the soils warm up and the worst of the frosts have finished.

Working or digging wet soil does it more damage then good. Once the soil becomes compacted, it is very hard for air and water to move through it, which limits root growth and reduces the ability of plants to establish themselves. In areas where the soil isn't too boggy, blend in compost and Tui Super Sheep Pellets in preparation for the upcoming growing season. Dig in cover crops such as mustard and lupin seed. These plants will rot down in a matter of weeks, adding nutrients and organic matter to the soil.

SPECIAL ATTENTION

• Broad beans - stake or support plants as they grow.
• Lettuces - early-season lettuces and other salad crops can be planted under poly tunnels or protective cloches. Slugs and snails find the seedlings very tasty, so lay Tui Quash slug & snail control to deter them.
• Potatoes - begin sprouting seed potatoes. Remember that most potato crops take about three months to mature, so need to be in the ground in September for a Christmas harvest. Always choose certified seed potatoes. These are specifically selected to thrive in the home garden and guaranteed to be free of viruses and pests that affect potatoes.

SOW

Beans (dwarf, runner and butter, under glass or outside in frost-free areas only), broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflowers, celery, chervil, lettuces, leeks, mesclun, mizuna, radishes, rocket, spinach, silverbeet.

PLANT

Beetroot, broccoli, cabbages, cauliflowers, celery, kale, mizuna, silverbeet, spinach, coriander, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme.

PROTECT

Lay Tui Quash slug & snail control to control these pests and spray aphids andwhitefly with Tui Insect Control for Fruit & Veges as they start to reappear in warmer areas.

FERTILISE

Blend Tui Vegetable Food into garden beds prior to spring planting. Mix Tui Potato Food into garden beds before planting seed potatoes.

HARVEST

Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, celery, kale, leeks, winter lettuces, mizuna, parsnips, rocket, silverbeet, spinach.

Carrot Cake Muffins!

Again a big thank you to Kylie and Matt who worked with the Eco-warrior leaders today to make some very yummy carrot cake muffins!

Vegetable Gardeners Diary - July

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In warmer areas of the country, the first lots of vegetable seeds can be started under glass, but do not sow outside as the soil is probably still too cold and damp. In cooler areas, try growing a few leafy green crops such as spinach, silverbeet or kale in pots and containers close to home.

Damp soils and cool temperatures encourage mildew and damping-off problems, so in cooler parts of the country wait another month or two until conditions improve before sowing. Instead, use your spare time to sharpen and clean all your garden tools ready for use in spring. Stock up on garden shed essentials such as fertilisers, Tui Quash slug & snail control, string, stakes, seed trays and Tui Seed Raising Mix in preparation for seed sowing and transplanting.

SPECIAL ATTENTION

• Asparagus - lift and divide overcrowded asparagus beds and plant out new crowns.
• Broad beans -  stake or support plants as they grow.
• Potatoes - now is the time to start sprouting new season seed potatoes ready for planting in August or September. Always choose certified seed potatoes, such as Tui Certified Seed Potatoes, as these are specifically selected to thrive in the home garden and guaranteed to be free of viruses and pests that affect potatoes. Prepare potato beds ready for planting by digging over the soil to a depth of 30cm. Next, add plenty of compost or Tui Super Sheep Pellets. Blend in Tui Potato Food to soil prior to planting.
• Herbs - hardy herbs such as thyme, rosemary and bay tree can be planted in winter. Plant in Tui Herb Mix.

SOW

• Mesclun, mizuna, rocket, silverbeet, spinach, coriander.

PLANT

• Beetroot, broccoli, cabbages, cauliflowers, celery, garlic, kale, mizuna, shallots, silverbeet, spinach, coriander, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme.

FERTILISE

• Blend Tui Vegetable Food into garden beds prior to planting garlic and shallots. Mix potato fertiliser into garden beds before planting seed potatoes.

PROTECT

• Lay Tui Quash slug & snail control stop these pests munching on your plants.

HARVEST

• Beetroot, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, celery, horseradish, kale, leeks, winter lettuces, mizuna, parsnips, yams.

Regional variation: remember that there will be differences between crop timings depending on where you live and the variety of vegetables grown. Always factor in climatic differences when sowing, planting and harvesting.

• Vegetable Gardener's Diary

Rhubarb Fizz

A huge thank you to Kylie & Matt who have been working with the Eco-Warriors over the past two weeks making some very yummy rhubarb fizz!

Gardeners Diary - May

This month in the fruit garden, the harvest period is coming to a close for pip and stone fruit and is just beginning for feijoas.

PICK

Feijoa, quince, apples, pears, rhubarb, passionfruit.

PLANT

Plant evergreen, frost-hardy fruits such as feijoa and Chilean guavas. See theTui Feijoa Growing Guide for more information.
Remember fruit requires a position in full sun. Shelter from prevailing winds is preferable.

TASKS

General

• Collect and compost any rotting fruit from under fruit trees.
• Check harvested fruit to make sure nothing is rotting, remove fruit as soon as its starts to decay.
• The rot can quickly spread throughout a whole harvest within a week or two.

Protect

• Aphids, whitefly and scale insects may be about, spray with Tui Insect Control for Fruit & Veges to control.

Weeds

• Keep orchards and the areas around fruit trees weed free.
• Only use weed sprays that are non-residual near fruit trees.

Mulch

• Add a layer of Tui Mulch & Feed around the base of fruit trees, to keep the soil warmer over the winter months and keep the area weed free.
• As the mulch rots down it adds nutrients to the soil as well.