By Jodie Eden
Agriculture, farming, land management & all good things from the Tablelands’ legendary red dirt.
December and January are difficult times to grow veggies on the Tablelands. The wet season starts, with heavy rain and high humidity. If we are lucky, storms are interspersed with sun and we’re grateful to get the washing dried. If we are not,
we get extended rainy and overcast weather. High humidity brings mould and rot to your plants, while the weeds think it’s Christmas and go berserk.
Advice for wet season gardeners:
• Make good drains to divert excess water from downpours.
• Remove weeds and prune plants to allow good air flow. Remove spotty or mouldy leaves and branches, disposing of them in a separate compost pile.
• Plant veggies from tropical climates. Most plants that grow from divisions, tubers and cuttings like heat and humidity: sweet potato, ginger, strawberries, oregano.
• If the weather suddenly dries up, your plants will wilt in shock. You can help recovery by removing larger leaves. Water wilting plants and/or apply shade cloth for a few days.
• Plan and prepare for autumn, which is the best planting
time.
Make compost.
A quick note on compost.
Most people hope to:
- Get rid of daily food scraps.
- Deal with garden waste.
- Make beautiful weed-free potting mix to plant seedlings into.
These are great aims, but it is difficult to do all three things at once!
The best way to do 1) is with a worm farm, which produces rich, gluggy stuff that is not good for potting mix. The best way to do 3) is to build a pile with the perfect carbon–nitrogen balance all in one go, and to turn it every fortnight.
If you are not looking for perfection, I recommend a ‘mouldering compost’ pile where you simply dump your
garden waste. This will not become hot enough to kill weed seeds, but you can recycle your nutrients and avoid landfill.
Have several spots and start a new pile from time to time. Avoid or chop large materials like branches. Include a bit of
soil, such as on the roots of pulled weeds, and water the pile occasionally. After about six months you should have some
nicely decomposed compost at the bottom.
