August 2015 Kitchen Garden Guide

 

Like many others, I was out early on Monday morning, taking photos of the snow and enjoying the rare treat. Many plants were weighed down with snow but this is nothing new for most of vegetables and fruit trees we grow this time of year as they hail from climes more severe than ours.

 The Chill Factor

In fact, the cold can add sweetness to vegetables such as chicory and will ensure a good crop of apples, cherries and pears which have a chill factor which means they require a certain number of hours below 7C to ensure an even bloom period. During mild winters the chilling requirement may not be met and will result in uneven bloom, and hence uneven pollination and less fruit set. The table below suggests the chill hours required by various fruits. Of course within, for example, apples, there are hundreds of varieties, each differing slightly in its requirements but this table gives a general guide.

Apple 300 - 1200	Chestnut 400 - 750
Apricot 300 - 1000	Almond 400 - 700
Cherry – 500 - 800	Walnut 400 – 1500
Fig 100 - 500	Avocado NONE
Grapes 100 - 500	Citrus NONE
Kiwi 400 - 800	Pear 150 - 1500
Peach 150-1200	Persimmon 100 - 700
Pecan 150 - 1600	Plum 275 - 1000
Nectarine 150 - 1200	Quince 100 - 500
Pomegranate 100 - 300	Olive 400 - 700

Now is your last chance to buy and plant out bare-rooted fruit trees this year.

Tomatoes

It seems ridiculous to be thinking of tomatoes while it is snowing but August is the best time to start tomatoes from seed. 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.

 Many of us have fires going all the time right now and setting a tray of sown tomato seeds on the mantel is perfect for germination but immediately you see green shoots emerging, they must be given full sun or you will have spindly seedlings, with no strength from which they struggle to ever recover.

Bottom heat is best for germination and I always put a sheet of glass over the tray to increase humidity and to stop mice from eating the seeds (if they are in a hothouse) as late winter is a hungry time for mice as they prepare for litters of babies. Into my little green house is where the germinated seedlings go in order to get enough sunlight. 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, without costing a lot to run.

Contrary to some advice, it seems to me that it is perfectly possible to grow excellent crops of big, delicious tomatoes, as we did last summer at the Cygnet Community Garden. Now is the time to begin soil preparation. We chose a sunny spot, covered in horrid grass. About this time last year we laid a sheet of weed mat over the area and threw prunings, weeds etc on top. Then we left it for a month or maybe 2, after which we dragged off the whole lot and put in a couple of concerted human sessions to remove the couch runners. Once spring leapt into action, huge amounts of runners shot again so then we put the chooks to work, digging and scratching. Late October-ish we went over the whole area, loosening the soil to a good fork’s depth. After more runners shot, we could then easily pull them as we saw them and by mid- November we had a beautiful bed into which we dug our favourite 5-in-1 organic fertiliser mix and a heap of our home made compost.

By now our seedlings were well established in the poly tunnel and some were flowering so they were put out to harden off, after all reasonable chance of frost had passed. We also bought some unfamiliar varieties from the Botanic Gardens Spring Sale. We laid out the plants, leaving 1m between each, which seems like a lot but which is so important. Remarkably we had a few ripe tomatoes by Christmas! We supplied all of us for months, with the best tomatoes I have seen or eaten in Tasmania!

I hesitate to mention varieties as every variety has its qualities, climatic preferences and variabilities. So these are my suggestions, with which many may not agree J….. Early: Kotlas, Flavour: Black from Tula (large and dense), black cherry (small) Reliability: Marmande (medium, plentiful), Mama Mia (constant supply, lovely shape) Cooking: Italian gold (large roma, very prolific, long season). Of course there are many others. We saved seed from the best plants with the best tomatoes and will be sowing them soon.

Oxalic Acid

Many leafy vegetables have large amounts of oxalic acid in them, rhubarb being the highest concentration and everyone knows not to eat rhubarb leaves or to give them to your chooks. Next comes anything related to beets; silver beet, rainbow chard (which is multi-coloured silver beet) and beetroot, for example. My mother always told me that these need to be cooked in lots of boiling water and drained well. If I want some greens to put in soup or to stir fry etc, I use leaves from the brassica family such as kale, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, or radish leaves or chicory. I eat a lot of greens so I like to vary what I eat. This table explains what I mean.

Raw Vegetable	Oxalate content milligrams per 100 gram serving
Spinach	750
Beet greens	610
Okra	146
Parsley	100
Leeks	89
Brassicas	74

 

Jobs for August During early August it is important to spray Bordeaux or Burgundy mix, before bud burst, on: All peaches and nectarines, for curly leaf prevention. Repeat in 2 weeks. Apples which had scab last year Raspberry canes which had leaf rust

 

Plant and sow in August   Plant or divide 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 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)

August 2021 Kitchen Garden Guide

 

It is hard to imagine a more weather-diverse July; 5 frosts in a row and my pond frozen for 3 days straight, followed by t-shirt days and balmy nights. All this will affect our gardens in August in ways that we have to tune into, to notice.

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, because it does not clog up the spray nozzle, like Bordeaux can. It is also beneficial to spray apples which had scab last year and

raspberry canes which had leaf rust.

 

Burgundy Mixture:

1. Dissolve 50 gram of washing soda (from supermarket) in 2.5 litres of warm water.
2. Dissolve 50 grams copper sulphate in a separate 2.5 litres of water.
3. Slowly pour the dissolved washing soda into the dissolved copper sulphate.
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/early August 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.

Espalier

Bare rooted fruit trees can be planted now. Do consider if you really want full sized fruit trees or if, like me, you would prefer more, smaller trees, providing fruit over a longer period.

It is great to use vertical space for food production and it is easy to trim fruit trees flat against a frame or fence. It also makes them easy to protect from wildlife when they are fruiting as they are a much more manageable size for netting etc.

I just dig a hole, work in some compost then make a small mound in the bottom of the hole for the roots to sit on. I put the tree in the hole, stand back and look at its shape in relation to my desire for it to end up being flat against the fence, turn it so it looks good, then fill in the hole and water in thoroughly. Make sure the graft is well above the soil.

Next, I prune off anything that is sticking outwards away from the fence. Then I cut a few pieces from a ball of the stretchy fabric type of twine and start tying the remaining branches back horizontal or slightly upwards, to the fence. At this point some of the twiggy branches or those getting in the way of others, can be removed. Then, all year round, I simply prune off anything growing outwards and anything growing over the top of other branches.  If it is a single stalk, I prune off to a bud that is facing the right way to grow along the fence. If you want to learn about how to espalier almost anything, you can attend one of the Cygnet Espalier Workshops put on by Nik Magnus. Check out the dates and book on the Woodbridge Fruit Trees website.

Oxalic Acid

Some leafy vegetables have large amounts of oxalic acid in them, rhubarb being the highest concentration and everyone knows not to eat rhubarb leaves. Next comes spinach and anything related to beets; silver beet, rainbow chard (which is multi-coloured silver beet) and beetroot, for example. My mother always told me that these need to be cooked in lots of boiling water and drained well. If I want some greens to put in soup or to stir fry etc, I use leaves with the least oxalic acid, from the table below. I eat a lot of greens, many raw, so I like to vary what I eat and choose according to how I am going to prepare them.

Raw Vegetable	Approx. oxalate content milligrams per 100 gram
Spinach	750
Beet greens (silver, rainbow)	610
Parsley	100
Broccoli	74
Cabbage	35
Kale	17
Bok choy, mustard greens, endive	10

 

Water and Frost

If you have land but no garden yet, winter will show you how your land handles rain and frost. Are there boggy areas that are constantly wet? Are there patches that remarkably stay bone dry (like under large trees)? Perhaps you have a slope that turns into a sheet of running water or a creek that becomes eroded or overflows? Does the frost affect some patches more than others? Take notes, draw a rough map and mark out distinct zones with sticks because you will forget!

One way to modify the land is to make your garden interesting with cleverly designed mounds and shaped low areas that lead excess water to a pond or already existing creek. My garden has such a design, directing water around the garden in shallow, grassy depressions which end up either in my pond or in the creek. There are paths crossing the dips, with small “bridges” which keep a walker’s feet dry, which are anything from a few, short planks embedded into both sides to a metal grate or some nice rocks. These features make land into garden and plants can be selected for their habitat requirements where the soil is often damp.

This is Tasmania so make use of our climate and our diverse native Tasmanian plants, many of which are edible and which will result in frogs, insects and our gorgeous, tiny, native birds and small mammals inhabiting parts of your garden. Make frost your friend!

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! 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…. lentils, chickpeas, fenugreek, buckwheat 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 and to eat as pea shoot microgreens