Winter Gardening Jobs

Winter in Ipswich brings a mix of cold nights and warm days. As a gardener, you might find yourself stripping off layers one minute and bundling up the next. Here's how you can make the most of this season in your garden:

Fertilise Gardens and Pots

At the turn of every season I also like to soil wet and fertilise my gardens and pots. I use Plant of Health’s granular Soil Soaker and Organic Link Fertiliser. Soil Soaker enables hydrophobic soils to become water penetrable and retain water. It also houses beneficial microbes, nutrients, silica and diatomaceous earth these make soil healthy which in turn improves root and shoot development and also reduces plant stress.

I will use Soil Soaker first then in a week or so give them all a good fertilise with Organic Link.

I also use Silica and Potash monthly to help plants naturally withstand cold damage. For young plants susceptible to frost, apply Envy frost protectant monthly.

While insects aren’t usually bad at this time of year if you do notice an attack a spray with neem oil is usually all you need.

Feed my winter flowering plants

Sometimes we just can’t get around to fertilising all our plants. At this time of year if I can’t fertilise everything I like to pay particular attention to my camellia sasanquas and japonicas, rondeletias, zygo cacti, azaleas and my poinsettias to keep them looking good and help promote flowers. I will also start to liquid fertilise these plants with Silica and Potash fortnightly to promote flowering.

Mulching

Mulching isn't just for summer; it's equally important in winter. It helps keep the ground temperature even, reducing cold stress on your plants.

Pruning

Late winter is a great time to prune most plants to ensure healthy spring growth.

Lawn Care

At the turn of every season I like to soil wet and fertilise my lawn. Even though I know winter isn’t a time for large growth, I find the heathy it is all year the better it looks and less attention I need to ultimately pay to it. I use Plant of Health’s granular Soil Soaker and Lawn and Turf Fertiliser.

I find lawn weeds don’t grow anywhere near as quickly in winter as they do in spring. I believe if I can get on top of them now I won’t be doing the bindii dance in summer! Normally at this time of year I can easily dig up any stray weeds and I always mow with the catcher on. If by chance I do need to spray I try to do it about three days after rain when the weeds are young but not in flower yet. I use Searles ‘Lawn Perfect’ as it kills most of the weeds coming up in my lawn. I don't worry too much about winter weed as I find out it dies out quickly as soon as the weather warms up.

Fruit Tree Care

Citrus trees can prone to Leaf Curl and Leaf Miner. Both these problems are mainly caused by insects. Normally when my plants are under attack I trim off affected growth and fertilise with Organic Link. At this time of year my citrus are usually in fruit or flower and I don’t want to stress the plants out and cause a flower or bud drop. So I will start a weekly spray for at least four weeks with Plant Care and Neem Oil, mixed together to give them an immediate boost.

After fruiting I will trim and fertilise.

While fruit fly isn’t meant to be active in winter I always change my fruit fly wick every three months or on the turn of the season, so beginning of Winter. Any fruit that is forming with get a spray with Eco-naturalure, an organic fruit fly spray to protect them from the odd pregnant female flying about! For more information on Fruit Fly click here.

What to plant

With the cool nights and warm days, it has become a vegetable gardeners paradise. There are so many vegetables that grow at this time of year beetroot, broccoli, snow peas, Asian greens, strawberries, onions, kale, leeks, cauliflower, spinach, rocket, coriander, cabbage, peas (though I don’t know why… Yuk!), just to name a few. Tomatoes and zucchini can also be planted now to get good growth before summer hits with fruit fly.

Winter is also a great time to start a herb garden. Herbs like basil thrive in the cooler months. Instead of paying high prices for fresh herbs, you can grow your own. Trevallan offers a variety of everyday herbs like chives, oregano, lemongrass and unique herbs like bergamot, chamomile, and chia. Now is also a good time to try seed potatoes, garlic and shallots.

 Regularly fertilise with Triple Boost and Neem to enjoy a bountiful harvest of winter vegetables.

Jobs done … I can kick back relax read my Winter About the Garden Magazine and enjoy the sunshine!

The Autumn Vegetable Patch

The beginning of March is traditionally the time to plant our winter crops.

Sometimes this is not the case in SE QLD, Ipswich in particular! Every year is different but most years we can get March day time temperatures exceeding 35 degrees. In weather like this I wonder how anyone could seriously be thinking about planting cabbages!

We do get vegetable garden bored. We want to play yet we know it's to early.

There are a number of things you can be doing to get your vegetable patch up to scratch so when the ‘autumn' (cooler) weather starts you’ll be ready.

Most winter vegetables will grow better if the soil’s pH reading is quite high around 6.5. Your soil’s pH is a measure of its alkalinity or acidity and different plants thrive at different pH levels.

Before you add anything though, you should always measure your soil’s pH with a testing kit. Adding lime will increase your pH reading - making your soil more alkaline. Attempting to make your soil more acidic - a lower pH reading - is a lot more difficult.

Eden Seeds

If you need to add lime to your soil it might be too late for granulated lime to work. It can take months to break down. Eco-flo lime is a liquid concentrated form of lime and is very effective. Enriched with seaweed eco-flo lime is perfect for rapidly correcting acidic soils and boosting calcium levels in your soil. It is also registered organic.

Another thing to note is if your soil’s pH is great you may still want to add some Dolomite. Dolomite helps add calcium and magnesium back into your soil. These two trace elements are water soluble so are easily leeched out of your soil. Especailly after a lot of rain. Lack of calcium is the number one cause of blossom end rot, so even if your garden’s pH is around 6.5 I would still add some Dolomite.

Next make sure your vegetable garden is free of weeds and if you need to add more compost (we use Searles organic compost) or manure now is time to do it.

While it may be too hot or wet to be planting seedlings into the ground, it's a great time to be raising seeds.  Seeds are a great way to try different vegetables. The seed range is so extensive at Trevallan we have a “seed wall”. An added bonus of using seeds is you can stagger your crops so everything doesn't ripen at once.

Trevallan stocks Eden Seeds. Eden Seeds distributes old traditional open pollinated varieties of seeds, preferably old Australian varieties and organically or bio-dynamically grown where possible.

It is believed that these types of seeds grow plants that are more nutritious and better tasting, hardier and easier to grow for the home gardener. These older varieties also produce over an extended period of time.

When growing seeds it is best to use a seed raising mix. Some seeds require pre planting preparation, beetroot supposedly germinates quicker if soaked overnight. Some people also do the first water with a weak solution of liquid fertilizer.

As for what to plant your seeds into, there are a myriad of choices - plastic pots, folded up toilet rolls, egg cartons, old seedling trays.

Home Grown Eggplants and Capsicum

I find the trick to seeds is keeping them in part shade and a really LIGHT watering every day to every second day in hot weather. You want to keep them moist but not wet. Once the plant starts to grow I add a little Triple Boost Liquid fertiliser to my watering.

Once the weather cools down continuously it will be time to plant out all those seeds into your garden beds.

If you don't get the chance to raise your own seeds Trevallan stocks a great range of vegetables in seedlings. These seedlings won’t start arriving until about April as it’s still just too hot to plant. Some of your choices could be beetroot, broccoli, snow peas, strawberries, Asian greens, onions, leeks, cauliflower, spinach, rocket, coriander, kale and cabbage. Some people may also like to plant out peas, though I don’t know why… Yuk!

Don't forget we are now proud stockist's of VEGEPOD. Vegepods are an easy to manage contained raised gardening bed that has self-watering technology by using a wicking system. Plants can last weeks without watering in our Vegepods. They also have a Protective Cover that protects crops from UV and pests. We have two set up in the garden centre and for the first time in years we had a tomato crop in summer without fruit fly stings!

Once everything is planted out in your garden don't forget to give it some Organic Link and fortnightly applications of Triple Boost and Neem.

Happy gardening.

Winter Vegetables

Autumn. Warm Days, cool nights. Perfect for vegetable planting.

By now your vegetable patch has been freshly composted and manured. It’s just waiting for you to plant out. If you are having trouble with how to start off your vegetable patch, check out my Vegetable Patch Checklist

The basic cool season vegetables that I find grow well in most areas are –  broccoli, beetroot (my favourite), cabbage, cauliflower, leek, onions, shallots, silverbeet, spinach, snow peas, strawberries (my other favourite), peas, kale and rhubarb. 

If you don’t get a frost or you can cover your vegetables - beans, lettuce, capsicum and tomatoes can also be grown.

If you get really cold you can give brussels sprouts a go.

This is the basic vegetable range; there are so many different variations on these classic cooler weather vegetables.

In seedlings alone you can get about four different versions of broccoli. 

If you start using old fashioned open pollinated seeds, the list can be endless. 

If your vegetable patch consists of a variety of different sized pots don’t worry, there is a large range of dwarf vegetables available in seedlings and seeds. 

Leek, lettuce, capsicums, shallots, silverbeet, spinach, snow peas, strawberries, peas and rhubarb all grow well in pots without needing dwarf varieties.

The secret to growing any vegetables in pots follows the same principles as growing in the ground. 

Start with the best quality soil or potting mix, mulch with an organic material (I like organic sugar cane mulch that is free from weeds), fertilise with a complete organic slow release fertiliser and liquid fertilise fortnightly with a complete organic liquid fertiliser. 

I like using the Plant of Health range of fertilisers – Organic Link and Triple Boost and Searles' range of garden soil for gardens and potting mix - Platinum Potting Mix for pots

I find the cooler months are the best time for growing herbs.  Nearly all the herbs are available now. Herbs grow well in the garden or in pots and most herbs can be grouped together in pots to make mini herb gardens. 

The best thing about growing cool season vegetables is that it’s usually too cold for the pests to be out and about.  If you do get a few pests a pyrethrum based spray or one of the new organic sprays like eco oil or eco fend work well.  Mildew and mould is a common problem during wet winters - copper spray (some are considered organic) can be the best solution. 

I have heard that having pretend white butterflies in your vegetable patch not only looks pretty but helps deter moths. Jerry Coleby-Williams has also mentioned that Land Cress is a confirmed biocontrol. We stock Land cress in seeds and in plants. 

Remember though the healthier the soil, the healthier the plants and the less likely you are to get problems. Now get outside and get dirty!