Sitting on my verandah writing this in the glorious
winter sunshine is one of the benefits of living in southern Tasmania. By this
I mean that we do, actually, have a lot of sunshine, on and off, all year
round.
I read a very interesting book by Eliot Coleman, an
organic, American market gardener, called…… In it he describes his trip through
Europe following the same latitude at his property in Maine, USA. In the USA,
in fields of snow, huge commercial poly tunnels are heated artificially in
order to produce all year round tomatoes and other, out of season vegetables,
totally ignoring the diversity of winter vegetables. In this trip, he is
seeking knowledge on growing seasonal food all year round in climates similar
to his own; colder than Tasmania but with similar levels of winter light.
The book is well written and rich with anecdotes of
speaking to farmers in their fields and gardeners in their potagers, through
France, mostly. What he discovers is that the growth of plants through winter
is more about the amount of light available than about heat. The answer to
maintaining plant growth throughout winter in low light latitudes is to simply ensure
that the plants have developed a large surface area of leaf by late autumn,
when the sunlight hours become very short. Then, only pick ½ the amount of
leaves you would pick at any one time in summer, so that the plants large solar
surface area is maintained throughout winter.
As winter storms in the roaring 40’s send high seas
crashing onto the shores of Tasmania, kelp and other sea plants are strewn on
the beaches. Peter Cundall recently said on the radio that we are allowed to
collect seaweed from most beaches at the rate of 100kg / day. Seaweed is heavy,
so that is not as much as it sounds. I have some great ideas for using it!
Seaweed contains trace elements which we often neglect to think about in our
food gardens.
1.
Place tubs or large buckets here and there in
your garden. Half fill them with seaweed and fill to the top with water. Cover
if you like. Keep a ladle nearby. Whenever you see some plants looking a bit
weak or off-colour give them a tonic of 1 part seaweed water to 9 parts water,
in a watering can. Pour over the leaves.
2.
Completely cover your asparagus patch with a
thick layer of seaweed during winter. Leave the rain and the worms to do the
work.
3.
Seaweed is a wonderful addition to mulch
under fruit trees.
Recently I was helping a friend prune some of her enormous
red, black and white currant bushes. Hungrily, I gathered up all the sticks and
just fitted them all into the back of my car (yes, there really were THAT
many!). I took them to the Cygnet Community Garden where we will turn them into
smaller bundles of cuttings to sell at the market and raise a bit of money for
ongoing projects. If you’d like some, come to the Cygnet Market 1st
and 3rd Sundays in the Town Hall. Even better, come and help us tie
them into bundles in the community garden on Tuesdays from 9.30am, and get some
for free!
Sharing is easy; the Cygnet Market has a community stall
where anyone can take excess produce to sell. You can stay and help or just
leave them and come back later for your money! Being part of a community is a
very rewarding experience.
This month I would like to introduce you to another of my
blogger friends, Pattie Baker, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Ten or so
years ago Pattie was a regular American consumer. Then the Towers fell and many
Americans re-evaluated their lives. Pattie decided to grow food, for her
daughters, and so began the family’s incredible journey. Now Pattie is an
advocate for sustainability, a community leader in urban food production and
gives corporations advice on becoming green citizens. She calls it “local
action/global traction”. Visit her at
foodshedplanet.com. She has also written a book, from the heart, called Food
for my Daughters. I highly recommend it.
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Sow now in
the garden: Onions (Creamgold,
Domenica Sweet), broad beans, green manures Sow now in
the hothouse or outside in frost free areas: Coriander, miners’
lettuce, spring onions, Asian greens, lettuce, bok choy, sugar snap peas, Sow now to
transplant later: Broccoli, red
cabbage, kales Also: Divide rhubarb and
globe artichokes. Lime and mulch fruit trees. Prune berries, currants and
gooseberries. Take cuttings of deciduous plants. Plant kiwi fruit and be sure
to get a male and a female plant. They like sun, a rich, acidic soil and good
drainage. Kiwi fruit vines require a strong trellis or pergola and are frost
hardy once established. Fruit ripens in winter which is just when we need
them! |
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Tip of the month: Rub all the wooden
handles of your tools with linseed oil. Keep an oiled cloth with your garden
tools and rub them over several times during winter. Clean secateurs and
other blades with dry steel wool. Spray with lubricant or wipe with the oiled
cloth. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes! |
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