Thursday, June 18, 2020

Food Garden Calendar

This calendar lists, for every month of the year, food garden tasks that are best done at that time.  It covers sowing, planting, pest control, fruit, berries, pruning, soil improvement, perennial food plants and general food garden maintenance. 
The calendar may serve as a memory jogger for experienced food gardeners. It may be very useful for  beginning food gardeners and those who are new to Tasmania’s unique climate. 


Many of the things mentioned in the calendar are described in more details in other blog posts on this Food Garden Group blog. 

Harvesting is only mentioned for crops people often ask about or are confused about.

In the dot-points below ....
  • I wrote sow in pots for many crops because it increases chances of successful germination compared to sowing in your garden
  • I wrote sow in garden for crops that can only be sown where they will grow to maturity, or for crops that are so resilient that they will easily germinate in most garden soils. 
  • I wrote the verb plant when I mean plant in your garden
  • I wrote brassicas when I meant broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale etc.
The calendar aims to cover all crops and fruits that are commonly grown in average Southern Tasmanian weather conditions. If you feel that something is missing, or that a dot point below could be improved, then please email me at foodgardengroup@gmail.com with your suggestion. I will be very happy to further improve this calendar in response to feedback from readers.


January
  • Water regularly to make sure your soils don’t dry out
  • Make sure your food garden is well mulched to conserve water
  • Keep weeds at bay and don't allow them to go to seed

Vegetables
  • Sow in pots iceberg-type lettuce, loose-leaf lettuce, brassicas, leek, parsley, spring onions, salad onions, celery, Chinese cabbage and Asian greens
  • Sow in your garden beans, spinach, chard, silverbeet, radish, carrot, parsnip, turnip, swede, beetroot
  • Plant loose-leaf and iceberg-type lettuce, chard, spinach, silver beet, celery, parsley, late potatoes, ocas, leeks and onions (after adding some lime to the soil), brassicas (provide protection against caterpillars), tomatoes, capsicums, Brussels sprouts
  • Minimise caterpillar damage to brassicas by manual removal, netting or spraying
  • Put shade cloth over newly-planted seedlings to protect them from hot sun
  • Put something under pumpkins that rest on the ground so they don’t rot
  • Dig up potatoes and hill the ones that you are leaving for later
  • Dig up all remaining garlic, allow to dry and store in cool, well ventilated spot
  • Foliar-feed crops once a month with seaweed extract to maximise their health and growth
  • Hand pollinate pumpkins, cucumbers and other cucurbits early in the morning
  • Cut off tips of cucurbit vines that have two fruits so the fruits become larger
  • Tie up or provide support for climbing crops such as beans and tomatoes
  • Remove laterals on tomatoes and limit plants to 3 or 4 branches
  • Remove flower-heads on rhubarb, so plants focus on forming leaves
  • Sprinkle sulphate of potash once a month around vegetables that form fruits
  • Control slugs and snails especially around beans
  • Foliar-feed crops once a month with seaweed extract to maximise their health and growth

Fruit trees and berries                                                                    
(* = don't repeat if already done recently)
  • Remove runners on strawberries if you think you won't need young plants next season
  • Thin fruit on all fruit trees, so fruits become larger and branches don't break (*)
  • Cover fruit trees with netting to avoid fruit-damage by birds
  • Remove and destroy coddling moth infested fruit on apple, pear and quince trees
  • Trap and kill coddling moths on apple, pear and quince trees
  • Check existing coddling moth traps and replace and refresh where needed
  • Apply bud grafts to all types of fruit trees in the second half of this month


February
  • Water regularly to make sure your soils don’t dry out
  • Make sure your food garden is well mulched to conserve water
  • Keep weeds at bay and don't allow them to go to seed

Vegetables

  • Sow in pots loose-leaf lettuce, parsley, celery, Chinese cabbage, Asian greens, endive, leeks
  • Sow in your garden radish, spinach, silverbeet, carrot, parsnip, turnip, swede, beetroot
  • Plant loose-leaf lettuce, iceberg-type lettuce, parsley, celery, brassicas (provide protection against caterpillars), leek and onion (after adding some lime to the soil)
  • Put shade cloth over newly-planted seedlings to protect them from the hot sun
  • Dig up potatoes and hill the ones that you are leaving for later
  • Hand pollinate pumpkins, cucumbers and other cucurbits early in the morning
  • Foliar-feed crops once a month with seaweed extract to maximise their health and growth
  • Cut off tips of cucurbit vines that have two fruits so the fruits become larger
  • Put something under pumpkins that rest on the ground so that they don’t rot
  • Minimise caterpillar damage to brassicas by manual removal, netting or spraying
  • Tie up or provide support for climbing crops such as beans and tomatoes
  • Remove laterals on tomatoes and limit plants to 3 or 4 branches
  • Remove flower-heads on rhubarb so plants focus on forming leaves
  • Collect seeds from heirloom varieties of crops you would like to grow again next season
  • Sprinkle sulphate of potash once a month around vegetables that form fruits

Fruit trees and berries
                                                                     (* = don't repeat if already done recently)
  • Put nets over apple and pear trees, if not already done
  • Remove runners on strawberries and put in pots so you have young plants next season
  • Thin fruit on all fruit trees, so fruits become larger and branches don't break (*)
  • Cover fruit trees with netting to avoid fruit-damage by birds
  • Remove and destroy coddling moth infested fruit on apple, pear and quince trees
  • Trap and kill coddling moths on apple, pear and quince trees
  • Check existing coddling moth traps and replace and refresh where needed
  • Apply bud grafts to all types of fruit trees in the first half of this month


March
  • Water regularly to make sure your soils don’t dry out
  • Make sure beds are well mulched to conserve water
  • Keep weeds at bay and don't allow them to go to seed
  • Sow green manures where your soil needs to become more open and friable

Vegetables

  • Sow in pots loose-leaf lettuce, parsley, celery, brassicas, Chinese cabbage, Asian greens, endive, leeks, loose-leaf lettuce, endive and parsley, spring and salad onions
  • Sow in your garden carrot, beetroot, parsnips, swedes, radish, silverbeet, winter varieties of spinach (try sowing one row every fortnight)
  • Sow in your hothouse herbs like coriander and dill for use this winter and spring
  • Plant loose-leaf lettuce, celery, parsley, garlic and onion and leek (after adding some lime to the soil), celery (if your garden gets little frost in winter), brassica (provide protection against caterpillars)
  • Minimise caterpillar damage to brassicas by manual removal, netting or spraying
  • Foliar-feed crops once a month with seaweed extract to maximise growth before it slows down
  • Collect seeds from heirloom varieties of crops you like to grow again next season
  • Remove flower-heads on rhubarb so plants focus on forming leaves
  • Dig up potatoes and hill the ones that you are leaving for later
  • Put something under pumpkins that rest on the ground so they don’t rot
  • Sprinkle sulphate of potash once a month around vegetables that form fruits

Fruit trees and berries
                                                                     (* = don't repeat if already done recently)
  • Put nets over apple and pear trees, if not already done
  • Remove runners on strawberries and put in pots so you have young plants next season
  • Thin fruit on apple, pear and quince trees, so fruits become larger
  • Remove and destroy coddling moth infested fruit on apple, pear and quince trees
  • Trap and kill coddling moths on apple, pear and quince trees
  • Check existing coddling moth traps and replace and refresh where needed
  • Feed after harvest peach and nectarine trees blood and bone or mature poultry manure (*)
  • Feed each citrus tree a full watering can with a tbsp of Epsom Salts + a tbsp of iron chelate (*)
  • Remove small figs so remaining ones grow to full size
  • Prune apple, pear, quince, cherry and stone fruit trees once their foliage stops growing


April
  • Water regularly to make sure your soils don’t dry out
  • Make sure beds are well mulched to conserve water
  • Keep weeds at bay and don't allow them to go to seed
  • Sow green manures where your soil needs to become more open and friable

Vegetables

  • Sow in pots spring and salad onions
  • Sow in your garden winter varieties of spinach (try sowing one row every fortnight),  broad beans and peas (from late April if you don’t get heavy frosts in winter), 
  • Sow in your hothouse herbs like coriander and dill for use this winter and spring
  • Plant leek, garlic, spring onions and salad onions (after adding some lime to the soil), Chinese cabbage, Asian greens
  • Foliar-feed crops once a month with seaweed extract to maximise growth before it slows down
  • Collect seeds from heirloom varieties of crops that you would like to grow again next season
  • Put something under pumpkins that rest on the ground so that they don’t rot
  • Take pumpkins inside when the weather turns cold and damp
  • Bring all unripe tomatoes inside for further ripening if the weather turns cold
  • Remove flower-heads on rhubarb so plants focus on forming leaves
  • Remove beans and other summer crops when the weather turns cold
  • Take beds to their next stage in your crop rotation plan
  • Control slugs and snails after rain if the weather is still warm
  • Dig up potatoes and hill the ones that you are leaving for later
  • Sow green manures where your soil needs to become more open and friable

Fruit trees and berries
                                                                     (* = don't repeat if already done recently)
  • Plant new blueberry bushes
  • Feed all blueberry bushes a generous amount of blood & bone and mulch them
  • Prune apple, pear, quince, cherry and stone fruit trees once their foliage stops growing
  • Remove and destroy coddling moth infested fruit on apple, pear and quince trees
  • Trap and kill coddling moths on late apple, pear and quince trees
  • Check existing coddling moth traps and replace and refresh where needed
  • After harvest feed peach and nectarine trees blood & bone or mature poultry manure (*)
  • Consider adding new fruit trees and berries to your garden and order them from nurseries


May
  • Water regularly until there is enough rain
  • Make sure beds are well mulched to conserve water
  • Keep weeds at bay and don't allow them to go to seed
  • Sow green manures where your soil needs to become more open and friable

Vegetables
  • Sow in pots spring and salad onions
  • Sow in your garden broadbeans and peas (if you don’t get heavy frosts in winter), winter varieties of spinach (try sowing one row every fortnight)
  • Plant leek, garlic, spring and salad onion seedlings (after adding some lime to the soil)
  • Bring unripe tomatoes inside for further ripening
  • Harvest pumpkins with stem attached if they sound hollow and stalk starts to die off
  • Gradually dig up all remaining potatoes and store in a dry, cool, dark spot
  • Remove nets from brassicas when you no longer see white butterflies
  • Apply lime where needed so spring crops will benefit
  • Apply compost where needed so spring crops will benefit
  • Foliar-feed crops once a month with seaweed extract to maximise growth before it slows down

Fruit trees and berries
                                                                     (* = don't repeat if already done recently)
  • Plant new blueberry bushes
  • Feed all blueberry bushes a generous amount of blood & bone and mulch them
  • Prune apple, pear, quince, cherry and stone fruit trees once their foliage stops growing
  • Prune grape vines back hard after they have lost their leavers and gone dormant
  • Consider adding new fruit trees and berries to your garden and order them
  • Remove coddling moth traps from apple, pear and quince trees and destroy them
  • Spread mature chicken manure or blood & bone under peach and nectarine trees (*)
  • Feed peach and nectarine trees blood & bone or mature poultry manure (*)


June
  • Remove lots of weeds now before they begin to grow and become a problem in spring
  • Make big changes to your food garden’s beds or irrigation at this quiet time of year
  • Cut up and work in green manures you sowed in autumn
  • Repair or replace tools before things get busy again in spring

Vegetables

  • Sow in pots spring and salad onions
  • Sow in your garden broadbeans and peas (if you don’t get heavy frosts), winter varieties of spinach (try sowing one row every fortnight)
  • Plant leek and onion (after applying some lime or dolomite)
  • Cut off old asparagus stalks and add compost and blood and bone
  • Add new asparagus crowns
  • Divide and replant clumps of chives and other perennial onions
  • Divide rhubarb and re-plant in well-draining soil with plenty of fertiliser and compost
  • Harvest all remaining pumpkins with stem attached before the first frost
  • Foliar-feed crops once a month with seaweed extract to maximise their health and growth
  • Feed each citrus tree a full watering can with a tbsp of Epsom Salts + a tbsp of iron chelate (*)
  • Apply lime where needed so spring crops will benefit
  • Apply compost where needed so spring crops will benefit
  • Dig up all remaining potatoes and store in a dry, cool, dark spot

Fruit trees and berries
                                                                     (* = don't repeat if already done recently)
  • Tidy up strawberry beds, replace 3-year old plants and feed each plant
  • Remove old unproductive passionfruit vines
  • Remove all fruit tree litter and loose bark and discard this
  • Remove all weeds under and around fruit trees
  • Remove coddling moth traps from apple, pear and quince trees
  • Tidy up and prune berry bushes
  • Consider adding new fruit trees and berries to your garden and order them from a nursery
  • Plant new blueberry bushes
  • Feed all blueberry bushes a generous amount of blood & bone and mulch them
  • Plant (bare-rooted) fruit trees, berry canes and grapes
  • Move a fruit tree if it needs to be moved. Now is the best time to do this.
  • Prune apple, pear, quince and cherry trees (*)
  • Prune grape vines back hard while they are dormant (*)
  • Spread compost, old manure or complete organic fertiliser around fruit trees and berries
  • Apply potash to apple and pear trees
  • Feed each citrus tree a full watering can with a tbsp of Epsom Salts + a tbsp of iron chelate (*)
  • Apply dolomite or lime to apple, pear, peach and nectarine trees if pH is below 6.5
  • Give all fruit trees a generous amount of woody mulch
  • Put chooks around your fruit trees while they are dormant to get rid of pests
  • Protect fruit tree trunks and roots if your chooks are damaging them
  • Collect scions of dormant fruit trees and store in fridge for grafting later in the season


July
  • Remove weeds now before they begin to grow and become a problem in spring
  • Make big changes to your food garden’s bed, paths or irrigation at this quiet time
  • Cut up and work in green manures you sowed in autumn if you need the space
  • Repair or replace tools before things get busy again in spring

Vegetables

  • Sow in pots spring and salad onions
  • Sow in your hothouse early cherry-type tomatoes
  • Sow in your garden broadbeans and peas (if you don’t get heavy frosts), winter varieties of spinach (try sowing one row every fortnight)
  • Plant leek and onion seedlings (after applying some lime or dolomite)
  • Cut off old asparagus stalks and add compost and blood and bone (*)
  • Add new asparagus crowns
  • Divide and replant clumps of chives and other perennial onions
  • Divide rhubarb and re-plant in well-draining soil with plenty of fertiliser and compost
  • Apply lime where needed so spring crops will benefit
  • Apply compost where needed so spring crops will benefit
  • Foliar-feed crops once a month with seaweed extract to maximise their health and growth
  • If you have a hothouse: thoroughly clean it and give it a good airing to get rid of pests
  • Plan roughly what you want to grow this coming season and purchase seeds

Fruit trees and berries
                                                                     (* = don't repeat if already done recently)
  • Tidy up strawberry beds, replace 3-year old plants and feed each plant
  • Remove all fruit tree litter and loose bark and discard this
  • Remove all weeds under and around fruit trees
  • Remove old unproductive passionfruit vines
  • Tidy up and prune berry bushes
  • Prune apple, pear, quince and cherry trees if this was not done in autumn
  • Prune grape vines back hard while they are dormant
  • Spray peach and nectarine trees with curly leaf fungicide at least twice this month
  • Plant new blueberries and give them blood and bone and pine needle mulch
  • Plant new (bare-rooted) fruit trees, berry canes and grapes
  • Move a fruit tree if it needs to be moved. Now is still a good time to do this.
  • Plant new blueberry bushes
  • Feed all blueberry bushes a generous amount of blood & bone and mulch them
  • Apply dolomite or lime to peach, nectarine, apple and pear trees if pH is below 6.5 (*)
  • Apply potash to apple and pear trees - they will love you for doing so (*)
  • Give all fruit trees a generous amount of woody mulch
  • Spread compost, old manure, complete organic fertiliser around fruit trees and berries (*)
  • Put chooks around your fruit trees while they are dormant to get rid of pests
  • Protect fruit tree trunks and roots if your chooks are damaging them
  • Apply whip and tongue grafts to Japanese and early plum varieties from mid-July
  • Collect scions of dormant fruit trees and store in fridge for grafting later in the season (*)


August
  • Remove weeds now before they begin to grow and become a problem in spring
  • Make big changes to your food garden’s bed, paths or irrigation at this quiet time
  • Cut up and work in green manures you sowed in autumn
  • Repair or replace tools before things get busy again

Vegetables

  • Sow in pots loose-leaf lettuce, brassicas, leek, parsley, spring onions and salad onions
  • Sow tomatoes in pots inside from late August in a sunny spot or heated propagation tray
  • Sow in your garden broadbeans and peas (if you don’t get heavy frosts), spinach, chard and silverbeet
  • Plant leek and onion (after applying some lime or dolomite), potatoes, yacons and ocas (once the chance of frost has passed), brassica, celery, parsley, loose-leaf lettuce, globe artichoke roots (in a sunny well-draining position)
  • Cut off old asparagus stalks, add compost and add new asparagus crowns
  • Lift leeks, carrots and parsnips before they go to seed and go woody
  • Control slugs and snails if the weather warms up, especially around peas
  • Foliar-feed crops once a month with seaweed extract to maximize their health and growth
  • Plan roughly what you want to grow this coming season and purchase seeds

Fruit trees and berries                                         (* = don't repeat if already done recently)
  • Tidy up strawberry beds, replace 3-year old plants and feed each plant
  • Remove all fruit tree litter and loose bark and discard this
  • Remove all weeds under and around fruit trees
  • Remove old unproductive passionfruit vines
  • Tidy up and prune berry bushes
  • Prune apple and pear trees if this was not done in autumn
  • Prune grape vines back hard while they are still dormant
  • Prune citrus trees, if they need it, when there is no longer any chance of frost
  • Prune or tip-prune fig trees in late August just before they break dormancy
  • Plant new blueberries and give them blood and bone and pine needle mulch
  • Plant new (bare-rooted) fruit trees, berry canes and grapes
  • Move a fruit tree, if it needs to be moved, if the tree is still dormant
  • Apply dolomite or lime to peach, nectarine, apple and pear trees if pH is below 6.5 (*)
  • Apply potash to apple and pear trees - they will love you for doing so (*)
  • Give all fruit trees a generous amount of woody mulch
  • Spread compost, old manure, complete organic fertiliser around fruit trees and berries
  • Put chooks around your fruit trees while they are dormant to get rid of pests
  • Protect fruit tree trunks and roots if your chooks are damaging them
  • Feed citrus trees a good dose of nitrogen-rich fertilisers from late August (*)
  • Feed blueberry bushes a generous amount of blood & bone and mulch them
  • Apply whip and tongue grafts to apricot and late plum varieties until mid-August
  • Collect scions of dormant fruit trees and store in fridge for grafting later in the season (*)


September
  • Mulch after good rains so moisture is retained when temperatures go up
  • Cut up and dig in green manures you sowed in autumn

Vegetables

  • Sow in pots loose-leaf lettuce, brassicas, leek, parsley, spring onions, salad onions, celery, Chinese cabbage, Asian greens
  • Sow in pots inside tomato, capsicum, zucchini, pumpkin, corn, celery
  • Sow in your garden spinach, chard and silverbeet, broadbeans, peas, spinach, chard, silverbeet and radish
  • Sow in your garden from mid-September carrot, parsnip, turnip, swede, beetroot
  • Plant loose-leaf lettuce, iceberg-type lettuce, chard, spinach, silver beet, celery, parsley, potatoes, yacons and ocas, leeks and onions (after adding some lime to the soil), brassicas (provide protection against caterpillars), asparagus crowns (after adding compost to the soil)
  • Control slugs and snails, especially around peas
  • Minimise caterpillar damage to brassicas by manual removal, netting or spraying
  • Foliar-feed crops once a month with seaweed extract to maximise their health and growth
  • Plan roughly what you want to grow this coming season and purchase seeds

Fruit trees and berries
                                                                     (* = don't repeat if already done recently)
  • Apply whip and tongue grafts to apple, pear and cherry trees
  • Prune or tip-prune fig trees in the early part of the month just before they break dormancy (*)
  • Plant a new citrus tree. Now is the best time.
  • Stop having chooks around your fruit trees once the trees are out of dormancy
  • Feed citrus trees a good dose of nitrogen-rich fertilisers (*)
  • Feed each citrus tree a full watering can with a tbsp of Epsom Salts + a tbsp of iron chelate (*)
  • Put in place protection measures against codling moth for apple, pear and quince trees
  • Get rid of pear and cherry slug by covering pear and cherry leaves with ash or lime
  • Add sulphate of potash to the soil under peach and nectarine trees (*)
  • Foliar feed all fruit trees with fish fertiliser and/or seaweed extract
  • Prune citrus trees if they need pruning


October
  • Mulch after good rains so soil moisture is retained
  • Get your weeds under control before they set seed in December

Vegetables

  • Sow in pots iceberg-type lettuce, loose-leaf lettuce, brassicas, leek, parsley, spring onions, salad onions, celery, Chinese Cabbage and Asian Greens
  • Sow in pots inside tomato, capsicum, zucchini, pumpkin, cucumber, corn and celery
  • Sow in your garden beans (later this month if milder weather arrives and soils warm up),  broadbeans, peas, spinach, chard, silverbeet, radish, carrot, parsnip, turnip, swede, beetroot
  • Plant loose-leaf lettuce, iceberg-type lettuce, chard, spinach, silver beet, celery, parsley, potatoes, ocas, leeks and onions (after adding some lime to the soil), brassicas (provide protection against caterpillars)
  • If you plant tomatoes outside, protect them and capsicums with sleeves against cold snaps    
  • Protect outside tomatoes and capsicums against cold snaps with sleeves.
  • Minimise caterpillar damage to brassicas by manual removal, netting or spraying
  • Control slugs and snails especially around peas and beans
  • Foliar-feed crops once a month with seaweed extract to maximise their health and growth

Fruit trees and berries
                                     (* = don't repeat if already done recently)
  • Apply whip and tongue grafts to apple, pear and cherry trees early this month
  • Apply top-work grafts to apple, pear, cherry and apricot trees
  • Plant a new citrus tree. Now is the best time.
  • Protect apple, pear and quince trees against codling moth
  • Get rid of pear and cherry slug by covering pear and cherry leaves with ash or lime
  • Check peach and nectarine trees for leaf-curl and remove and destroy affected leaves
  • Add sulphate of potash to the soil under peach and nectarine trees (*)
  • Foliar feed all fruit trees with fish fertiliser and/or seaweed extract



November
  • Get your weeds under control before they set seed in December
  • Make sure your food garden is well mulched to conserve water
  • Monitor soil-moisture levels and water if needed
  • Keep weeds at bay and don't allow them to go to seed

Vegetables

  • Sow in pots iceberg-type lettuce, loose-leaf lettuce, brassicas, leek, parsley, spring onions, salad onions, celery, Chinese Cabbage and Asian Greens
  • Sow in pots inside tomato, capsicum, zucchini, pumpkin, cucumber, corn and celery
  • Sow in your garden beans, spinach, chard, silverbeet, carrot, parsnip, turnip, swede, beetroot
  • Plant loose-leaf lettuce, iceberg-type lettuce, chard, spinach, silver beet, celery, parsley, late potatoes, ocas, leeks and onions (after adding some lime to the soil), brassicas (provide protection against caterpillars)
  • Plant outside when the weather is consistently warmer - tomatoes and capsicums 
  • Protect outside tomatoes and capsicums against cold snaps with sleeves.
  • Minimise caterpillar damage to brassicas by manual removal, netting or spraying
  • Control slugs and snails especially around peas and beans
  • Foliar-feed crops once a month with seaweed extract to maximise their health and growth

Fruit trees and berries
                                                                     (* = don't repeat if already done recently)
  • Put nets over all berry bushes just before berries begin to show colour
  • Thin fruits on all fruit trees soon after they form
  • Protect apple, pear and quince trees against codling moth
  • Remove and destroy coddling moth infested fruit on apple, pear and quince trees
  • Get rid of pear and cherry slug by covering pear and cherry leaves with ash or lime
  • Check peach and nectarine trees for leaf-curl and remove and destroy affected leaves
  • Prune peach and nectarine trees when they have woken up out of dormancy
  • Add sulphate of potash to the soil under peach and nectarine trees (*)
  • Foliar feed all fruit trees with fish fertiliser and/or seaweed extract


December
  • Make sure your food garden is well mulched to conserve water
  • Monitor soil-moisture levels and water if needed
  • Keep weeds at bay and don't allow them to go to seed

Vegetables

  • Sow in pots iceberg-type lettuce, loose-leaf lettuce, brassicas, leek, parsley, spring onions, salad onions, tomato, capsicum, zucchini, pumpkin, cucumber, corn, celery, Chinese cabbage and Asian greens, Brussels sprouts (for harvest this coming winter)
  • Sow in your garden beans, spinach, chard, silverbeet, radish, carrot, parsnip, turnip, swede, beetroot
  • Plant loose-leaf lettuce, iceberg-type lettuce, chard, spinach, silver beet, celery, parsley, late potatoes, ocas, leeks and onions (after adding some lime to the soil), brassicas (provide protection against caterpillars), tomatoes, capsicums
  • Remove sleeves from outside tomatoes when the weather warms up
  • Put shade cloth over newly-planted seedlings to protect them from hot sun
  • Hill potatoes with soil, mulch, compost to protect growing tubers from light
  • Minimise damage to brassicas by caterpillars by removing them, netting or sprays
  • Hand-pollinate cucurbits early in the morning
  • Dig up garlic and allow it to dry before storing it in a cool well ventilated spot
  • Remove flower-heads on rhubarb, so plants focus on forming leaves
  • Control slugs and snails especially around beans
  • Foliar-feed crops once a month with seaweed extract to maximise their health and growth

Fruit trees and berries
                                                                     (* = don't repeat if already done recently)
  • Net all your berry bushes well before the birds begin to eat your berries 
  • Net your stone fruit trees
  • Thin fruits on all fruit trees, so fruits become larger and branches don’t break
  • Remove excess foliage on fig trees
  • Remove and destroy coddling moth infested fruit on apple, pear and quince trees
  • Protect apple, pear and quince trees against codling moth
  • Add sulphate of potash to the soil under peach and nectarine trees (*)
  • Get rid of pear and cherry slug by covering pear and cherry leaves with ash or lime
  • Check peach and nectarine trees for leaf-curl and remove and destroy affected leaves
  • Foliar feed fruit trees with fish fertiliser and/or seaweed extract
  • Feed each citrus tree a full watering can with a tbsp of Epsom Salts + a tbsp of iron chelate (*)
  • Add sulphate of potash to the soil under peach and nectarine trees (*)




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