There was a very light frost on the morning of the 17th. Soil moisture levels have been good right through the month, allowing work in the garden to continue, however with the latest rain event soil has become saturated again.
Once dug, the tubers are left on the soil to dry for a few hours, then graded into hessian sacks that allow air circulation in storage. Potato tubers are living respiring plant parts and should never be stored long term in plastic, which will cause them to rot.
Any damaged tubers are set aside for immediate use, while the perfect tubers are stored in a cool dark place for winter. "No sprout" dust can be added to stored potatoes, but in our storage conditions we find dusting unnecessary.
Choosing a good variety for storage is key. Generally, any varieties advertised as "early main" crop won’t store as well. Varieties that do store well in my experience include Desiree, Rua, Van Rosa and Red Rascal. The varieties I currently use for winter storage are Jelly and Red fantasy. Both are outstanding in my view. Great flavour, versatile, perform well under less-than-ideal conditions, produce even-sized tubers and of course, store well.
While soil conditions were still good, we planted our second garlic patch, variety "Printanor". We have moved our planting date for this crop into autumn from midwinter due to the problems caused by leaf rust as the crop matures. By planting earlier, the crop has a greater opportunity to grow larger tubers before leaf rust stunts growth. Rust seems to hit the crop every year. I have found applying sulphur sprays can protect the leaves and subsequent crop late spring/early summer but must be applied before disease establishment and reapplied regularly.
Our first garlic patch was planted right at the beginning of April and is the hard neck variety "Creole", producing a flower head. Garlic is a heavy feeder and enjoys compost-enriched soil.
Other work done in the garden includes harvesting pumpkins. Some of the later vines I planted are still growing vigorously despite the advancing season. Earlier planted vines have died off, and the fruits have been harvested and stored.
After cutting, the crop is left outside in the sun to dry the stalks and to harden and ripen. Store pumpkins in a cool dry place, better on shelving than on a concrete floor which can be cold and damp.
Best not to pick up pumpkin by the stalk, which is always tempting, as it looks like a convenient handle. Around the stalk is often where rots start due to incorrect handling.
Well-stored pumpkin can often last well into late spring, although they can lose sweetness later in the season. We also store over-mature zucchinis. Although they don’t have much flavour, they do store well once skin has hardened and can be tossed into winter soups as a filler with other tastier ingredients.
Stored food is money in the bank.
There’s still a lot of food left in the garden to harvest over the next few months. Carrots are enjoying the conditions and still bulking up size-wise. Parsnips are also growing nicely. Parsnips are best eaten after they’ve had some frosty temperatures, which sweetens them considerably.
Around Anzac Day is broad bean planting time. Hardy broad beans can shrug off the worst cold winter can throw at them. Just dig in some well-rotted compost and a handful of fertiliser at sowing. My favourites to grow are Evergreen, medium height with green beans rather than brown, and Exhibition, which is a tall heavy cropper. There are dwarf varieties for the smaller garden and interesting red flowering types.
I’m about to turn the compost I’m using next spring. This mixes and reinvigorates microbes which, in turn, heat the heap. This speeds composting and helps kill off any weed seeds before they find their way into the bin.
Autumn leaves are a great source of organic matter for compost. Leaves — which are low in nitrogen — are best mixed with green material or manure to speed their decomposition.April has been a month of mixed weather conditions in the garden. There have been some warm days, although looking forward, much cooler temperatures are forecast over the final days of the month.
Armed with the weather forecast, we dug the last of our main crop potatoes before the soil became too wet last week. Below the surface, soil was cold to touch. The legacy of a poor summer no doubt. Yield-wise the crop was adequate, although its potential was cut short early by leaf blight, bought on by cool humid conditions.
Once dug, the tubers are left on the soil to dry for a few hours, then graded into hessian sacks that allow air circulation in storage. Potato tubers are living respiring plant parts and should never be stored long term in plastic, which will cause them to rot.
Any damaged tubers are set aside for immediate use, while the perfect tubers are stored in a cool dark place for winter. "No sprout" dust can be added to stored potatoes, but in our storage conditions we find dusting unnecessary.
Choosing a good variety for storage is key. Generally, any varieties advertised as "early main" crop won’t store as well. Varieties that do store well in my experience include Desiree, Rua, Van Rosa and Red Rascal. The varieties I currently use for winter storage are Jelly and Red fantasy. Both are outstanding in my view. Great flavour, versatile, perform well under less-than-ideal conditions, produce even-sized tubers and of course, store well.
While soil conditions were still good, we planted our second garlic patch, variety "Printanor". We have moved our planting date for this crop into autumn from midwinter due to the problems caused by leaf rust as the crop matures. By planting earlier, the crop has a greater opportunity to grow larger tubers before leaf rust stunts growth. Rust seems to hit the crop every year. I have found applying sulphur sprays can protect the leaves and subsequent crop late spring/early summer but must be applied before disease establishment and reapplied regularly.
Our first garlic patch was planted right at the beginning of April and is the hard neck variety "Creole", producing a flower head. Garlic is a heavy feeder and enjoys compost-enriched soil.
Other work done in the garden includes harvesting pumpkins. Some of the later vines I planted are still growing vigorously despite the advancing season. Earlier planted vines have died off, and the fruits have been harvested and stored.
After cutting, the crop is left outside in the sun to dry the stalks and to harden and ripen. Store pumpkins in a cool dry place, better on shelving than on a concrete floor which can be cold and damp.
Best not to pick up pumpkin by the stalk, which is always tempting, as it looks like a convenient handle. Around the stalk is often where rots start due to incorrect handling.
Well-stored pumpkin can often last well into late spring, although they can lose sweetness later in the season. We also store over-mature zucchinis. Although they don’t have much flavour, they do store well once skin has hardened and can be tossed into winter soups as a filler with other tastier ingredients.
Stored food is money in the bank.
There’s still a lot of food left in the garden to harvest over the next few months. Carrots are enjoying the conditions and still bulking up size-wise. Parsnips are also growing nicely. Parsnips are best eaten after they’ve had some frosty temperatures, which sweetens them considerably.
Around Anzac Day is broad bean planting time. Hardy broad beans can shrug off the worst cold winter can throw at them. Just dig in some well-rotted compost and a handful of fertiliser at sowing. My favourites to grow are Evergreen, medium height with green beans rather than brown, and Exhibition, which is a tall heavy cropper. There are dwarf varieties for the smaller garden and interesting red flowering types.
I’m about to turn the compost I’m using next spring. This mixes and reinvigorates microbes which, in turn, heat the heap. This speeds composting and helps kill off any weed seeds before they find their way into the bin.
Autumn leaves are a great source of organic matter for compost. Leaves — which are low in nitrogen — are best mixed with green material or manure to speed their decomposition.
