It has been quite difficult to think about anything other
than the fires these last few days. Air quality has ranged from moderate to
hazardous and back again, as the smoke settles then shifts. (Check out
aqicn.org for real time air quality world wide). What does this mean for our
gardens? Many plants shut down during such conditions so if you are noticing
reduced vigour and fruit set, this is probably why. Time will set them right
again, hopefully! Some of our native plants respond by opening cones and seed
pods, having evolved to respond to fire reducing competition and in
anticipation of better chances of survival.
My tomato experiment
I planted 5 tomatoes in each of 3 different situations in my
garden. Here are the results so far:
1.
Planted in a well prepared and deep hay mulched
bed surrounded by self sown nasturtiums, calendular, sweet cicely and rocket,
and edged by garlic chives, sage, horse radish and Chilean guavas. These
tomatoes produced good sized, ripe tomatoes very quickly. I have had to water only
a couple of times so far. The plants are healthy but shorter than I expect at
this time. They are mostly laden to breaking point with tomatoes but the one
near the horseradish is not so great. Difficult to water the whole bed because
I cannot use the sprinkler on the tomatoes.
2.
Planted in a regular, unmulched garden bed where
I had dug in weeds and other finished greenery well before panting time and
added the same things as in the first bed. The tomato plants are tall and
strong but have needed a lot of watering. Now I have mulched them this may
improve. Only 2 ripe cherry tomatoes and one other but nothing more yet. Fruit
are slow and quite sparse.
3.
Planted into a bed where I had tomatoes last
year and with not as much preparation as I usually do but I ran out of time to
do more just then. Lightly mulched. Next to 2 purple sprouting broccoli that I
have left so I can gather seed. These are not very happy but have produced a
few smaller than average ripe tomatoes. They have not drooped at all so I have
not watered as much as bed 2.
What this tells me, in a rough and ready kind of way, is
that, unlike my previous understanding, tomatoes love companions. Under the
right conditions they will need very little water to produce excellent fruits,
right from the start. What it also highlights is that it is good not to have
all your eggs in one basket because, if there had been a lot of rain instead of
being dry, then bed one may have suffered from so much wet foliage all around
the tomatoes and bed 2 may have been the best 😊
Making use of old terracotta pots for watering
When it is hot and dry, it is time for the terracotta pot
treatment. I seal up the hole in the bottom of some old, chipped terracotta
pots by sticking something over it with silicon, put them into the ground up to
their necks and filled them with water, then put on a lid and let the water
soak out into soil that I have watered well, to get it started. Keep refilling
the pots. In Adelaide, I planted lettuce seedlings around some pots then celery
and beans around another. This kept 5 lettuce plants growing happily through a
heatwave (2 weeks over 40C and humidity at 3%) and I even went out and could
pick leaves in the hottest part of the day, and they were crisp......amazing.
The beans grew fast and strong and the celery was the best I had ever grown and
only went to seed after 6 months of eating the stems piece by piece, all
through summer and beyond ...that's pretty good!
Cucumbers
I was very organised in one area of my garden! In a spot
that is too shady in winter for brassicas, I sowed broad beans only for the
purpose of digging them in just as they began to flower, as a green manure. (I
had broad beans for eating, elsewhere). This I did in October, adding a whole
bag of sheep manure and some locally made biochar as I dug. In December I sprinkled
around some potash and planted out some Dragon’s Egg cucumber seedlings from
the Seed Freaks open day. They burst into growth and have produced heaps of
little, apple cucumbers which are crisp and delicious. Originating in Croatia,
this variety is a winner for Tasmania even in slightly shady spots. I will be
saving these seeds for sure. They would be lovely on a frame, with the prolific
eggs hanging below….a perfect use for my winter bamboo harvest.
Pear and cherry slug
If you see tiny
little black ‘worms’ on the leaves of your pears, cherries, quinces and even
plums and the leaves are turning brown and crisp, you have this slug. A simple
control is to spray the entire tree with a mist of water then throw ash or lime
all over it. Do this a couple of times and they will be desiccated. Try to
stand up-wind!
To water young trees
To water fruit or other important trees: Buy a roll of the
porous, black hose made from recycled tyres. Run it around THE DRIP LINE of the
tree (where the roots are!), not near the trunk (where the roots are not!).
Join into a circle with a T-piece that has a click on fitting so you can
connect your hose to it. Cover with thick, preferably woody mulch. These ooze
very slowly so leave it running for 3 or more hours, until the soil is wet down
at least 30cms because that is where the roots should be. Do this once a month
to encourage deep roots.
|
Broccoli raab Kale Beetroot Shungiku Lettuce Asian greens (late Feb.) Carrots Spinach & silver beet Spring onions Hakurei turnips Tas. swedes Parsnips Radishes |
Plant
out now, yes now, not later Brussel sprouts Cauliflower Broccoli – regular, sprouting and raab Lettuce Jobs
for February Plant or move citrus Summer prune stone fruits Prepare beds for autumn plantings Save seeds for next spring Enjoy your garden! |
