There’s still time to whip your vege patch into shape before winter. Photo: Kim Treasure.
Soil temperatures across the Southern Tablelands and Highlands are still surprisingly warm for May.
They are still at an uncommon 14 to 17 degrees across our region, although this won’t last for long.
As we move closer to winter, and the weather continues to cool, soil temps will fall quickly. However, seeds of those wonderful winter vegetables such as parsnip, swede, turnip and carrot can still be planted and should germinate within 14 days. This will give the plants enough time to get reasonable growth started before winter sets in, so one more planting if there is space in the garden is certainly worthwhile.
As soon as the soil becomes cooler, 10 degrees and below, seeds will be very slow to germinate and the planting window for these root vegetables is over until the soil starts to warm again in spring. When soils start to cool, it is better to move to seedlings for the most reliable results.
One of the warmest winters on record is predicted. A warmer than average autumn has already extended the growing season and a warm winter can only enhance it. Planting some beetroot seedlings, sunchokes (also known as Jerusalem artichoke) tubers and leek seedlings now will add variety to your winter plate. Be warned though, sunchoke tubers might be better planted in a large pot rather than in the garden because they can easily take over a garden space and are very difficult to eradicate.
Planting now is planning for what you want to eat in late winter and early spring. Planting a substantial stock of plants such as kale, collard greens, silverbeet, Asian greens, lettuce (don’t forget about radicchio and endive) and rocket equals crunchy salads, vegetables for steaming and stir frying, and hearty nutritious greens to toss into stews and casseroles.
Beetroot leaves add plenty of flavour. Photo: Supplied.
It is usually easier and quicker to start these from seedlings but if you can’t get the seedlings, start as seeds now before the soil gets too cool for timely germination. Collard greens, kale and an Asian green such as choi joi, mizuna or choi sum make for a colourful stir-fry greens combination. Add some beetroot leaves for flavour perfection!
As the daylight hours decrease, some garden locations may have less sunlight hours. While it is generally thought that all veggies need at least six hours or full sun, this is not necessarily the case. Vegetables that produce roots have moderate light requirements and can grow well in locations that only receive four to six hours of direct sun a day, except for onions and garlic which require full sun (six hours). Vegetables where you eat the stems, buds or leaves generally have low light requirements and will grow in part shade, in locations which only receive three to four hours of direct sun a day.
Leafy greens like a rich, well-drained soil plus a good dose of nitrogen. Plenty of well-aged animal manure or blood & bone, along with compost will provide that. Then add a complete pelleted or liquid fertiliser to ensure essential micro nutrients are available to the plants. Add a very light dusting of lime/dolomite mix and organic gypsum to improve soil calcium levels and soil texture.
Plant the non-salad greens together in a bed or large pot with the taller, larger growing plants such as the kale and collards at the southern end so they don’t block sunlight. Treat the whole space like a picking greens bed and harvest continually over winter. If the kale and collards grow more vigorously than the others, just harvest more of them each time. The kale and collard greens, or indeed the leaves from any of the large brassica plants such as cauli, broccolini, broccoli, kohlrabi and cabbage can be harvested from the plant periodically and added to the stir-fry mix for extra texture and flavour. These hardier greens can be added to a soup, stew or casserole in the last 10 minutes of cooking and really add to the flavour of a humble one-pot dish.
Kale is cold hardy – and delicious. Photo: Supplied.
Kale is a very popular leaf brassica in Europe and Australia while collard greens are a popular leaf brassica in Southern American cuisine. These leaves and leaves from the large brassica vegetables plants are underrated in the garden. They are cold hardy and once the threat from egg laying cabbage butterflies has been dulled by cooler weather, are easy to grow with few pests. The exceptions are aphids and snails. Spreading non-toxic snail pellets (toxic to snails just not any other animals) and regularly inspecting for aphids (so they can be eradicated early) are a must. If these pests are kept under control, the reward is a delicious powerhouse of vitamin, minerals, fibre and antioxidants that taste terrific and can be added to any lunch or evening meal.
Collard greens are said to be the oldest member of the cabbage family and were enjoyed by the Greeks and Romans. Varieties such as Champion and Georgia Southern are popular and gaining a following in Australia since they do well in cool-climate winters. Like every cold tolerant leafy green, they can cope with frost but not repeated hard frosts which can toughen the leaves. Grow under frost-protection fabrics to ensure they thrive and remain tender.
Some of our region has already had a light frosting and it is inevitable there will be a frost or two this month. So introducing frost-mitigation fabrics and some type of cloche or frame system to support the fabric is desirable if you want tender winter greens.
