SEPTEMBER in the garden

Updated: Feb 3

by Kathy Finnegan

Spring is well and truly here with many things flowering early and deciduous trees and

shrubs budding up.

If you're raising seedlings start weekly liquid fertiliser (with Power Feed or All-Purpose Thrive) on

all potted plants. Seedling can be fertilised with half strength power feed once they have developed at

least two sets of true leaves.

With warmer temperatures it is tempting to start sowing seed of summer crops but generally around

the highlands the soil is too cold to plant beans, tomatoes etc until late October. By delaying planting

till then you will also avoid any late frosts which can kill young seedlings of summer crops.

Start sowing your summer crops into seed trays/punnets. Pop them in a protected environment such

as a glass house or sunny windowsill and pot them on so you can plant them out as soon as the soil

warms up. My big indicator for when to do this is when I see random self-sown tomatoes germinating

in the garden. Don’t do this for carrots or beetroot they are best sown directly into the soil.

What I like to grow at this time of the year are what I call my tweeny vegetables. These are the

in between seasonal crops such as Snow Peas and English spinach. I plant these in autumn and

spring. I also have self-sown rocket and coriander germinating in the garden so again this is a good

indication it is time to plant seed of these two staples.

Time to start chitting your seed potatoes for planting in October. Chitting is the process of

allowing your potatoes to form shoots before planting them in the ground.

Continue to do soil improvement as part of your preparation for your summer crops. I use mushroom

compost to restore organic matter and nutrients to the soil. Along with a liberal dressing on pelletised

chicken manure and blood and bone. I simply spread it over the garden beds and allowing it to settle

for a couple of weeks in before planting into it. Cultivating wet soil can ruin soil structure and cause

compaction so I find a no dig system work well for me.

It is time to control leaf curl on peaches and nectarines. This needs to happen before the leaf buds

open.

Prevention is better than cure - I plant lots of garlic (50 to 60 bulbs) under each tree and mulch heavily.

The spores of the fungus that cause leaf curl emerge from the ground to infect the new leaves. Garlic

kills the spores, and the mulch creates a barrier that reduces the spores entering the air.

RESOURCE: Here is an article for Agriculture Victoria which discusses symptoms and control of leaf curl.

Now is the time to be removing any dead leaves, fertilising and mulching your strawberry plants. A bit

of effort now will see you getting a great spring and summer crop. Why not divide them as well and try

some in hanging pots and pillar plantings and compare which production method is the best.

If you would like to know more about growing organic strawberries check out my blog here

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