Vegetables
Onion seed sown this month will withstand the winter, then
mature into good-sized bulbs for harvesting next summer.
Prepare soil with wood ash if you can get it, lime and some
garden compost, or a general garden fertiliser.
Vegetables
There is a good case for mixing vegetables with flowers to
get the best production from gardens, especially those that
lose the sun early. This is particularly true for
south-facing properties or gardens overshadowed by high
trees.
Vegetables
Keeping the soil hoed at this time of year not only keeps
down weed seedlings but also gives vegetables an effective
mulch of broken soil that prevents loss of moisture lower
down in the ground.
Vegetables
Although winter is a long way off, most winter greens should
be planted by the middle of January, although Brussels
sprouts generally give better crops if planted before
Christmas.
Vegetables
Watering and weeding are the principal tasks in the garden
over the next two months. Hoeing, if carried out
systematically, helps retain moisture, as well as destroying
weeds and weed seeds, reducing hours of labour later.
Vegetables
Peas can still be sown and dwarf varieties, such as Novella,
will produce plump pods in nine to 11 weeks from sowing.
Greenfeast takes 11 to 13 weeks.
Vegetables
Not a true spinach, New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia
expansa) is invaluable for gardens that dry out in late
summer. Allow 60cm between each plant and sow in groups of
two or three seeds, thinning later.
