August 2017 Kitchen Garden Guide

The light is slowly coming but the cold continues; such is winter at the bottom of Australia. Our European fruit trees are awakening and we all look forward to their abundant crops gracing our tables in the summer ahead.

Curly Leaf

It is time to see that the early fungus that causes leaf curl on peaches, nectarines and related fruit trees does not get a hold, by spraying every nook and cranny of every branch, stem and bud with a copper spray. Peter Cundall recommends Burgundy mix, which you can make yourself.

Burgundy Mixture:

1 Dissolve 100 gram of washing soda  in 5 litres of warm water.
2 Dissolve 100 grams copper sulphate in a separate half bucket (5 litres) of water.
3 Slowly pour the dissolved washing soda into the dissolved copper sulphate and add more water if necessary to make up 10 litres.
4 This is Burgundy mixture. It is at its most effective strength when freshly mixed so must be used immediately or within a couple of days.
5 Spray thoroughly over the bare branches of peach, nectarine and other stone fruit trees to help control leaf curl and brown rot disease. It is also useful when sprayed over raspberry canes in late July for control of raspberry rust and on apple trees that had scab last year.

The mixture colours the sprayed plants blue. The spray can withstand light rain but should be re-applied after persistent rain and done at least twice before any buds open. Do not spray once the leaves and flowers open.

Surely it is not tomato sowing time!

If, like me, picking tomatoes from the garden is a favourite sport of yours then now is the time to get your seeds started. Last summer a lot of people grew the best tomatoes ever but we have no idea what this season will be like. So we need to hedge our bets and choose a range of tomatoes; some that will produce in a cool season, some for a hot season, some that will thrive even in the rain and some that can tolerate wind etc.

Kotlas is by far the earliest and is worth growing for that reason. I always grow some Rouge de Marmande because, no matter what, they will provide you with a prolific crop of medium sized, red tomatoes on sturdy, bush plants. These survived the cyclonic spring winds last spring.

I always grow some Black Cherry as they are the most flavoursome of the cherries, in my opinion, and are reasonably reliable, although mine did not flourish last year. After that, I go for a dense, luscious, tasty tomato like Black from Tula which may not perform as well in a cool summer but is the highlight of my garden when the summers extend in autumn. Last year I tried Black Crim but the skin was so thin that they were often damaged before ripening and I rarely got a good one.

Next I would choose San Marzano, as a cooking tomato as they go on and on for months, with branches laden and don’t even mind lying on the ground. I don’t much like yellow or pear shaped tomatoes but I am sure there must be some good ones.

Basically, fruiting plants like tomatoes, capsicums and eggplants need the longest growing season as they have to first get to a good size, then flower, then the fruits must grow and finally they need time to develop flavour and to ripen. Sow these now, preferably with even, bottom heat. I use a 6m long, 50 watt, thin, flexible, silicon cable taped to the underside of a 3 shelf, metal rack from the tip-shop. The metal shelves ensure good heat transfer to my seed trays and 50W just keeps the soil at a nice temperature.

Each seed tray fits inside a foam box from which I have cut out the bottom, so the tray sits directly on the metal shelf. Over the foam frame sits a sheet of glass. This is for 2 reasons. Firstly, successful seed germination depends on high humidity but constant watering can be too much, causing low germination. Once the seeds are gently watered at sowing, covering with a glass sheet keeps in the moisture without any further watering needed before germination. Secondly, mice love seeds and this is a fool proof way of keeping them out. I once lost a whole tray of assorted pumpkin seeds to mice and quickly learned my lesson.

What about basil?

Seeds you would be best not to sow yet include basil. I grow wonderful basil, sowing as late as November or even early December. This way they do not run to seed, but grow fast and strong in the longer days. I sow them in trays and transplant to 20cm pots, 3 or 4 to a pot, with excellent compost and potting mix. I keep them all summer in my green house. My favourite for Tasmania is Lettuce-leaf basil as its large leaves mean strong growth and good pickings. It has an excellent flavour as does Genovese.

No matter how warm your shelf or hot house, day length cannot be easily altered and some plants just insist on longer days to grow well.

Plant and sow in August   Plant rhubarb, strawberry runners, raspberry canes, asparagus and get all deciduous trees and shrubs in before they leaf.   Start sowing summer vegetables with bottom heat: ·         Tomatoes ·         Capsicums ·         Chillis ·         Eggplants…. Good luck! ·         Pumpkins… I would wait until Sept ·         Zucchinis ….I would wait until Sept And while you are waiting for them to mature, why not grow some sprouts in the kitchen for a nutritious and delicious treat for your taste buds and body!   Sow now in trays to plant out later: ·         Onions including red, salad, spring and most others ·         Broad beans (it is not too late) ·         Coriander ·         Brassicas ·         Asian greens ·         Lettuces ·         Peas (sow direct and protect from birds and snails)