Backyard Gardening Tips
By Jodie Eden
Agriculture, farming, land management & all good
things from the Tablelands legendary red dirt.
On the Tablelands, I always encourage beginner gardeners to start growing veggies in Autumn because we have ideal conditions then. Spring here is often frustratingly hot and dry. Here are some tips to help your veggie plants survive in this tricky time:
1. Small seeds planted directly do badly unless you water carefully every day, or cover with a wet sheet that you can check and remove after germination. Larger seeds like beans, zucchini and pumpkin may germinate OK, but rats or mice may eat them first.
2. Make a separate area under shade to grow seedlings in pots of good quality potting mix. It will be easier to remember to water them, and easier to protect them from rodents.
3. Plant seedlings out late in the afternoon, mulch heavily, water well and protect with shade. In hot dry weather, water new plants every day for at least a week.
4. Reduce your garden size to what you can water without effort. Watering by hand takes a lot longer than you think. Poke your finger in the soil to check that moisture has actually penetrated.
5. In dry weather, your garden will be a green oasis attracting insects, mammals and birds. Protect your garden from pests with good fencing and netting before the heartbreak.
6. No matter how dry it seems, the wet season will come eventually. Try to imagine a big storm and think about where vast amounts of water are going to flow. Dig drains before you need them!
Backyard Gardening Tips
Seeds to plant now (November/December)
Easy: beans, zucchini, pumpkin, cherry tomatoes. Also plant pieces of ginger and sweet potato and plant divisions of garlic chives and lemon grass.
Medium: Silverbeet (Grasshoppers may be a problem). Cucumber and melons (Keep mulch away from stems or they rot). Sweet corn (Protect seeds from mice. Plant in a block of at least 12 to ensure pollination. Provide lots of nitrogenrich fertiliser like chook poo or blood and bone). Capsicum, chilli (These are Solanaceae so don’t plant in the same place for four years to avoid bacterial wilt. Plants can live for several years but the fruits often rot in the wet season. If you persevere, you should get good fruit in Autumn and then again in the following Spring).
Difficult: Larger tomatoes (Solanaceae, see above. Provide nitrogen-rich fertiliser and tie plants to stakes for better production. When the wet season comes, remove all lower leaves to allow air flow). English spinach, lettuce (Plant in boxes of rich, well-watered compost under shade cloth).
Wasting your time: Onions and garlic (will not bulb now) carrots and beetroot (will not be sweet) Brassicas (Too warm now: caterpillars will destroy them. Wait until March!
