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Summer

Feelin' hot hot hot!?! Summer: scorching sunshine, blue skies and yummy, fruity abundances!!!! Tis the season to eat berries falalalala la la la la…and loads of other juicy and exciting fruits and veggies. Also the season (in the south east at least) of long dry months and concerns about whether or not your precious new seedlings will last the distance between drinks or shrivel up and …well? Best not we think of that. Pip offers some ideas on how to help your garden stay bountiful in the hot, dry conditions to come...

What to plant now
Pips new flower kit
Tips for summer gardens
Seed saving the basics
Summer seeds of inspiration

Summer > What to plant now?!

In your scorching summer seed pack are some juicy seeds for your garden that will have your garden overflowing for a fruitful and festive summer harvest. The pack includes:

Popping corn (not to Tas or WA)
Tomato: Roma
Eggplant: Little Finger (not to Tas)
Coriander
Pumpkin: Butternut

Summer; hot sun, long days, warm soil and little rain. A time of abundant fruits. In the south, stone fruits (and other fruits) like peach, nectarine, plum, apricot and cherry abound. Whilst in the north tasty tropical fruits like mango, bananas and papaws come into season. In the veggie garden many juicy vegetables also come into season. These include cucumber, beans, capsicum, chilli, corn, eggplant, gourd, luffa vines, okra, pumpkin, rockmelon, squash, tomato, watermelon and zucchini.

This summer Pip has sent you these wonderful organic, heirloom variety, non hybrid seeds:

POPPING CORN (Zea mays)

Makes a delicious snack. To get most nutritional value harvest it just before you want to eat it. It grows to 1.5-2m and is easy to grow in fertile well drained soil with plenty of sunlight and water. Eat fresh or dry out on the plant and use as popping corn. Corn does well planted with the following companions: cucumber, melons, bush beans and peas which help to restore the nitrogen to the soil which the corn takes out. The cornsilk is reputed to have many diverse medicinal properties. Sow after frost directly where it is to grow.

TOMATO (Lycopersicon esculentum)

Originally from the Andes in South America. There are two broad types, the bush variety and the climbing. Fruits are high in vitamin C and the plant is a good companion to parsley and basil. It prefers a fertile and well drained soil with plenty of sun as it is frost sensitive. Do not grow in the same place two years in a row as this makes them more susceptible to disease. Good companions are peppers, asparagus and basil. Sow in trays and transplant after 5 weeks. They may need staking once fruit begins to set to prevent breaking. Variety: Roma: Popular small smooth bright red ovular fruits 5-9cm long with firm sweet flesh. Good for bottling, cooking, sauces, pastes, drying and fresh. They are a prolific, compact bush which are verticillium and fusarium wilt tolerant. Mature in 75-78 days.

EGGPLANT (Solanum melongena)

Originally from India, these plants belong to the same family as tomato, chili, potato and capsicum. Enjoys the same growing conditions as tomatoes. Beans planted nearby will help repel potato beetles who like to eat eggplant, or sprinkle your eggplant with cayenne pepper. They also enjoy being near lettuces and peppers. Sow in trays and transplant after 8 weeks. Variety: Little Finger: Suitable for pickling and cooking. Very productive variety.

CORIANDER (Coriandrum sativum)

Both the seeds and leaf can be eaten. It is also known as Chinese parsley. The leaves are rich in vitamin C and can be eaten in salads and soups whilst the seeds can be used to flavour curries. It has many medicinal uses particularly to aid digestion of carbohydrates. As such it is traditionally used in breads, cakes, stews and with meat. It concentrates calcium and is a good companion to potatoes. And bees love it. It likes a moist shady spot. Plant in trays and transplant into garden when 5cm tall.

BUTTERNUT PUMPKIN (Cucurbita moschata)

A summer vine that needs a good area to sprawl over. It likes rich soil. This variety has bell shaped fruits 20-25cm long and weighing up to 1.5kg. The skin is thin and light coloured with dark orange, sweet flesh. They store well if at least 5cm of stem is left attached to the fruit when harvested from the vine. Harvest the fruits once the vine has started to die off and the stem of the fruit dries out. They don't like being planted near potatoes but can be planted somewhere you need some mulch such as around the base of fruit trees as their big leaves will help keep moisture in the soil and when they die off you can leave them there as dry mulch. Sow direct in the garden where you want it to grow or in trays to transplant later.

This season our seeds have been sourced from Select Organic, Greenpatch Organic Seeds and Green Harvest.

Summer > PIPS NEW FLOWER KIT

Spring is a time of so much beauty and explosions of color and aroma in the garden. We have a very special new seed kit now available in addition to the usual spring planting kit. Hot Buds is a seed kit which consists five different varieties of stunning flowers for the warmer months. Not only will these flowers bring joy and color to your garden (and heart) but they will also bring a variety of beneficial insects to the garden that will help maintain a healthy and balanced system. Hot Buds includes these flower seeds: Poppy (Peony Double), Marigold (Sparky), Nasturtium (Jewel Mix), Sunflower (Evening Sun) and Cosmos (mixed colors). Stay tuned for ‘Cool Buds' (the Autumn/Winter flower kit) due out in March 2010.

Sumer > TIPS FOR SUMMER GARDENS

Our climate is changing. Did anyone notice the particularly short (almost non-existent) spring we had? Summer came upon us in early November it would seem. Hottest days on record are becoming a pattern and as our seasons change, we too have to learn to adapt the way we garden and start to be a bit more creative. Summer seems to be getting longer and drier, down here in the south-east and some ways that we're learning to adapt and keep our veggies growing through the tough times are discussed below.

SHADE

Putting up temporary shade over your summer veggie garden is a good way to ensure that you don't lose all the moisture and life from your soil but do still allow your plants enough sunlight to grow. The description ‘grow in full sun' is often used on seed packets and seedling labels but doesn't necessarily apply over summer periods when to grow in full sun can mean to burn your babies to a crisp. Shade cloth still allows 50-70% of the sunlight through, but breaks up its intensity. A quick and easy way to put moveable shade over your garden is to bang in some star pickets at the corners of your garden beds and run wire in parallel lines between the star pickets/across the garden. Shade cloth can then be attached to the wires using cable ties or eyelets so that the shade cloth can be moved up and down as needed. A more long term way of ensuring summer shade is to grow a deciduous tree on the western side of your garden which will block the hot afternoon sun in the summer but still allow the sunlight through when you need it in winter.

WATER SAVING

There is a lot of information around about saving water in the garden. Here are a few little tricks:

Mulch. Mulch. Mulch. Most effective way of keeping moisture in the soil where the plants can get it.
Use drip or weeping hoses underneath your mulch to ensure water is going directly to the plants' roots and not being wasted on the leaves or indirect watering.
Recycle your ‘grey water' from the shower/bath and laundry onto the garden using anything from a bucket to a more complex greywater system.
Get a water tank so you can save and use your own water off the roof.
Water in the evenings or early morning to ensure that the water has time to soak into the ground before the hot sun hits it.
Be aware of what water restrictions your local council has in place.

WICKING BEDS

A wicking bed is a particular style of raised garden bed which uses very little water. They are built in a container (e.g large wooden box, bathtub, half an old water tank) or raised bed, and act as their own mini ecosystem delivering water to the plants where they need it the most: their roots.

Basically what it involves is lining a container or raised bed (when it's empty of soil) with plastic sheet to keep the water in to a height of about 300mm. A length of porous plastic pipe is then laid the length of the garden bed with a 90 degrees elbow at each end joining onto an upright piece of non porous pipe which will go up above the surface of the soil and be where you pour water to water the plants.

Then the length of porous pipe that is on the bottom is covered up with gravel, sand, woodchips - some kind of loose and chunky material that will form a buffer between the soil and the pipe but won't block the holes so the water can't leak out of the pipe. On top of that layer, your normal compost, soil, manure etc is added to be the garden bed, making sure the inlets for the two upright non porous pipes don't get covered. It is important to introduce worms and other soil micro-organisms to the wicking bed as the plastic layer prevents interaction with the wider soil environment of your garden and for the soil in the bed to remain healthy there needs to be some worms and minibeasts present.

You then just treat the garden like a normal garden but instead of watering all over, you just need to very occasionally pour water into the pipes at either end of the garden. The water will be made available to the plants by both the growth of their roots and by the natural ‘wicking' action of the water in the trench at the bottom rising. Because the water is stored under the soil in this garden there is little to non evaporation and so after the initial filling of the pipes, very little watering is needed.

SAVE A DROP FOR THE BIRDS

And lastly... don't forget that if your garden is thirsty there is a good chance the local wildlife will be too. A good thing to do to continue to encourage helpful pollinators into your garden and support the local ecosystem is to have a few bird baths of varying depths in shady places around your garden, and keep them full. These can be as simple as an old casserole dish from the opportunity shop with some stones and sticks in it (so the birds know how deep it is and lizards can get out if they fall in). White dishes are good as they reflect rather than absorb the heat and will generally hold water for longer.

Summer > YOU SAY ‘TOMATO'...

You may have noticed that both the spring pack and the summer pack contain varieties of tomatoes. That is two very different varieties of tomato. In spring we had the drought resistant ‘Yellow Pear' tomato, whereas in this kit we have the sweet and juicy ‘Roma'. Did you know that there are actually thousands of different varieties of tomato? So why do we only find 2 or three different kinds available at the supermarket? The beauty of being a home gardener is that you can experiment with the wide range of interesting heirloom varieties of tomato (and any other kind of fruit/veg) and discover which ones you like the most. Are you a ‘Beefsteak' kinda gal or more a ‘Tigerella' fella? Or do you like another heirloom tomato variety completely? An heirloom variety is basically one that has been grown for many many generations and has been bred naturally to be stronger, more adaptable and more interesting. By buying and growing heirloom varieties of food we are helping to support a greater biodiversity in our food supply.

Summer > SEED SAVING: THE BASICS

So some of your crops from Pip's winter or spring kits have started to dry out and set seed. STOP! Don't pull them out prematurely. Unlike many hybrid varieties of fruits and veggies, you can save the seed off non-hybrid plants and plant them again the next year. This ensures a plant that is now adapted to your local conditions and therefore stronger, and you don't have to spend money buying more seeds. There are a few basic rules of thumb when saving seed:

Pick the best plant/fruit to save seed from, mark it clearly (e.g. with a coloured ribbon) and don't let anyone eat it! In doing this you are ensuring that next year's crop will all be like those beauties.
Wait until it has set seed and almost dried out completely on the plant (for things like leafy greens, brassicas, herbs, root crops, peas and beans) or pick the best fruit when just past fully ripe (for things like tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cucumber, pumpkin).
For the first category the whole plant can be pulled out and hung upside down in a dark warm place with lots of air circulation (like a garden shed) with paper bags around the seed heads/pods to catch any seeds that burst out. The seeds need to be completely dry before they go into storage or they will go mouldy and not be viable any more. When fully dry, shake/break the seeds out of the pod/head and sieve as much dry plant matter out as possible. Store in airtight containers in a dark and cool place.
For the more juicy fruits, the seeds need to be squeezed/scooped out into a bowl of water and carefully washed clean of all flesh, then laid out on some paper to dry (with lots of air circulation) in a warm dark place. Store in air tight containers in a dark cool place.
Don't forget to label all your seed jars with the variety and where it came from, the date harvested and any other important information such as "this one didn't need much watering".

Summer > SUMMER SEEDS OF INSPIRATION

Make a little garden in your pocket.
Plant your cuffs with radishes and rocket.
Let a passion fruit crawl up your thigh.
Grow some oregano in your fly.

Make a steamy compost of your fears.
Trickle irrigate your life with tears.
Let your troubled mind become a trellis.
Turn your heart into a summer palace.

-Leunig-

SPRING

Spring has Sprung….early!? The streets are alive with blossoms, the wattles are
wafting their intoxicating scents on the wild winds, birds are starting to make
their cozy nests and the weather is well…unpredictable at best. Now as
the temperatures start to increase and the days are getting longer, its
time to sign up and get your spring seeds into the ground
for festive summer harvest.

Your winter seeds from Pip should be jumping out of the
ground after the lovely mix of rain and sunshine (and thunder,
hail, wind and rainbows!!) we’ve been having lately and hopefully
your Melting Mammoth Snow Peas are climbing taller by the day
in your garden just like Jack and the Beanstalk.

What to plant now

Pips new flower kit

Planting your seeds in spring

The birds and the bees: pollinators in the garden

A local brew: making homes for Natives

Companion planting

Recipes

Spring Seeds of Inspiration

Spring > what to plant now

Common spring crops include those which will be harvested in the warmer months, therefore those that don’t like frosts and cold weather. For some of these crops its best to sow them in trays and raise them up either in a cold frame or inside on a windowsill until the threat of frost has past and you can safely transplant them into the garden. These crops include: tomatoes, pumpkin, zucchini, eggplant, capsicum, chilli, cucumber and sweetcorn. Those that can be sown directly in the garden include carrot, beetroot, parsnip, silverbeet, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, broccoli, lettuce, onion, kale, kohlrabi, summer spinach, leeks, swede, radish, turnip, peas, Asian brassicas (e.g tatsoi) and beans.

This spring, Pip will send subscribers the following organic, non hybrid, heirloom seed varieties to plant in your gardens:

CAPSICUM (Capsicum annum)

High in minerals and vitamins A and C. In southern areas seeds can be started indoors and transplanted as an annual or plant as for tomatoes after last frost, in warmer areas can grow as a perennial. Likes sunny position with well drained soil. Keep seed moist. (cannot send to Tasmania.)

CALIFORNIAN WONDER

This is a popular and original bell shaped variety. Bears a good crop of thick and sweet fruit to up to 10cm. Can be eaten green or left to ripen into a rich red. Red capsicums have maximum vitamin C. 68-89 days to harvest.

TOMATO (Lycopersicon esculentum)

High in vitamin C a good companion plant to parsley. Can suppress couch grass it prefers open sunny positions. Sensitive to frosts. Doesn’t like water logging. Sow anytime in frost free areas, can sow indoors 5 weeks before transplanting in cooler areas or after last frost.

YELLOW PEAR

Excellent flavour. Abundant crop throughout season, drought tolerant. Good for eating and pickling. This variety is acid free. 70-80 days to harvest.

ZUCCHINI (Cucurbita pepo)

Quick growing, popular vegetable. Likes to be kept moist. Can sow them indoors 5 weeks before transplanting as they are frost sensitive, take care not to damage roots. Pick whilst still small at about 15cm.

BLACK BEAUTY

Early fruiting variety with dark green, bushing type with good quality cylindrical fruit. 50-63 days to harvest.

BASIL - SWEET GENOVESE (Ocimum basilicum)

Italian large leaf with strong smell, popularly used in cooking. Grows up to 90cm and is frost sensitive. Basil repels flies and mosquitoes and is an excellent companion to tomatoes as it deters nematodes. Plant in a warm, sunny position.

BEAN, CLIMBING (Phaseolus vulgaris)

A very popular vegetable which takes up little room yet is high yielding and nutritious. It bears its crop later but longer than bush type beans and ensures a continuous supply. It doesn’t like waterlogged soils or frost.

PURPLE KING

Has straight, flat, bright purple pods up to 17cm long. A popular variety with an abundant and continuous harvests over many weeks. The purple pods turns green when cooked, and are also called the Magic Bean. 65-75 days to harvest.

SUNFLOWER (Helianthus annuus)

Originally from Peru, Mexico and North America, sunflowers are spectacular as a cut flower. The kernels are edible and seeds can be used as sprouts. They do well in hot dry times but don’t like frost.

EVENING SUN

Grows to 120cm with high producing and very attractive flowers up to 15cm across. Petals are shades of burgundy, pink, yellow and orange.

This season our seeds have been sourced from Select Organic, Greenpatch Organic Seeds and Green Harvest.

Spring > pips new flower kit

Spring is a time of so much beauty and explosions of color and aroma in the garden. We have a very special new seed kit now available in addition to the usual spring planting kit. Hot Buds is a seed kit which consists five different varieties of stunning flowers for the warmer months. Not only will these flowers bring joy and color to your garden (and heart) but they will also bring a variety of beneficial insects to the garden that will help maintain a healthy and balanced system. Hot Buds includes these flower seeds: Poppy (Peony Double), Marigold (Sparky), Nasturtium (Jewel Mix), Sunflower (Evening Sun) and Cosmos (mixed colors). Stay tuned for ‘Cool Buds’ (the Autumn/Winter flower kit) due out in March 2010.

Spring > planting your seeds in spring

In spring you are getting your garden ready for the hot and dry months of summer ahead. Ensuring that the soil is well prepared for your seeds and seedlings and is also mulched and ready to help store the moisture in the soil away from the evaporating rays of the sun.

Once your seeds have grown to about 5cm tall, its time to transplant them into your well prepared garden. To do this gently pries them out of the seed trays using an old kitchen fork being careful not to damage or tear the roots. If seedlings are ‘root bound’ (have grown too big for the tray and roots are heavily enmeshed) you can soak the tray in water to loosen the soil around the roots.

Next dig a hole for the plant that is big enough for the roots to spread and deep enough to bury the roots but not the stalk of the plant. You may like to add a handful of good compost to the hole before putting the seedling in it to ensure food for the plant at its roots. Put one seedling in each hole, fill the hole in with soil/compost and gently push all around it to fill in any air holes.

Give the transplanted seedlings a light watering and remember to water them every day or so for the first week while they reestablish themselves in their new home.

If the threat of frost has not entirely passed you may also like to cut the bottom out of a plastic drinking bottle, take the lid off it and put it over the plant as a mini hothouse/frost protection. It can get quite hot in these mini hothouses so don’t forget to water them regularly.

Bare ground (not shaded by plants) in the garden is area where water/moisture will be lost through evaporation in summer. When working out where to plant your seedlings it’s a good idea to think about this and space your seedlings apart so that when they grow up they will be in close enough proximity to the other plants around them so as to shade the majority of the ground yet not have their growth hindered.

This creates a ‘micro climate’ where moisture and humidity will cycle through your veggie patch and not be lost to the elements.

It’s also a good idea to plant more seeds in trays 2-4 weeks after the first lot, so that you can replace plants which have died or finished harvesting with more seedlings. Don’t forget, most of the seeds from Pips autumn and winter kits can still be grown in the warmer months, especially the greens like lettuce and rainbow chard.

Spring > the birds and the bees: pollinators in the garden

Plant sex. A fascinating topic. You’ve got to feel for plants; rooted to the ground, they can’t move around and search for a love muffin or honey bun to procreate with. Destined to just look from a far at their potential lovers, plants rely on ‘pollinators’ to do their dirty work.

Pollinators are the amazing creatures including thousands of insect species (bees, tiny wasps, butterflies, beetles, and flies) and other animals (such as some species of birds and bats) who carry pollen from the male parts of flowering plants (the anther) to the female parts of another flower (the stigma) so that the plant can be fertilised and produce fruit and seeds and thus reproduce. Without pollinators 1/3 of the food that we eat would not exist and 80% of the flowering plant species that we now have also wouldn’t exist.

Only 10% of flowering plants are able to ‘pollinate’ without the help of animals (i.e. using wind or water). This means that 90% of flowering plants rely on pollinators to grow fruit and thus reproduce. Different flowering plants have evolved to have very intricate and specific kinds of flowers to attract the pollinators that they need to reproduce.

Of the plants in Pips Spring kit they all need pollinators to set seed and the Zucchini, Tomato, Capsicum and Beans also need them to set fruit. The Spring/Summer Flower Kit is a great way to attract a diversity of pollinators to your garden. Don’t forget that pollinators also need water so having a shallow dish of water or a bird bath with also help them see your garden as a great place to come and hang out.

Spring > a local brew: making homes for natives

Native animals have a bit of a rough trot when it comes to finding suitable places to live, nest and feed since we’ve covered over lots of their natural habitat with footpaths, roads and buildings. Not to mention introducing many species of animals that either compete for that limited habitat or eat our friendly natives. Planting some local indigenous plants (i.e. those that grow naturally in your area) in your garden can help to provide both food and habitat for those little Aussie battlers. Not only this, but the other great news is that local indigenous plants are totally adapted to your area and as such will be better able to survive the existing conditions of your soil, rainfall and climate unlike many introduced species.

If you can’t grow big trees or shrubs at your place, putting up some nest boxes is a great idea to provide habitat. For more information on how to build these go to www.nestboxes.com.au . Each animal has a specific kind of home they like to live in so check out what native animals are meant to live in your area and make some boxes to entice them in to your own back yard. They also help pollinate your garden and keep the pests at bay.

Spring > companion planting

Companion planting works on the principle that some combinations of plants growing together can help each other out in some way. They do this in a number of ways like deterring pests, improving growth, making them taste better, attracting predators and good bugs to the garden, fixing nitrogen and confusing pests.

There are also some combinations of plants that don’t do well together. The key to a healthy garden though, is biodiversity. Having as many different plants as possible, all mixed up together. To find out more about what plants like getting neighbourly and why, head to Pips Tips on the website. But for now here are a few basics:

Plant your tomatoes near your basil and/or parsley to enhance flavor of tomatoes and repel flies.
Zucchini will like being near nasturtiums as their flowers repel aphids and coddling moth. Nasturtium flowers are also very attractive to Cabbage White Butterfly and they will leave your cabbages alone if there’s nasturtiums around.
Capsicums like to be near carrots, onions and tomatoes.
Climbing beans like to be near broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, corn, lettuce, lovage, majoram and parsley.
Brassicas (broccoli, cauli etc) don’t like to be near tomatoes.
Garlic is great for deterring aphids, especially from roses and raspberry. It also repels Cabbage White Butterfly but don’t plant it near beans, cabbage, peas or strawberries.
Marigolds are great to plant near most vegetables especially tomatoes as they kill root knot nematodes and eel worm and you can eat the flowers.
Tomatoes like asparagus, basil, celery, borage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chives, dill, gooseberry, grape, hyssop, lovage, marigold (French), marjoram, mint, nasturtium, onion, parsley, parsnip and turnip.

For more info go to Companion Planting Table

Spring > recipes

Don’t forget to visit Pip’s spring harvest page for some delightful and delicious ideas of what to cook with your spring harvest.

Spring > spring seeds of inspiration

We praise the character of birds,
Their constancy, their desire for freedom,
Their flair for music and talent for flying.
May we always marvel at their ability to fly.
Especially we praise their disregard for the human hierarchy
And the ease with which they leave their droppings
On the heads of commoners or kings regardless.
Grant them fair weather, fresh food and abundant materials
For building their nests in spring…
Guide our thoughts to the joy and beauty of birds.
Feathered angels.
May they always be above us.

-Leunig-

autumn

What to plant now

Autumn is the time to be thinking about planting your winter crops.
These are crops that will be able to grow in colder conditions and
possible tolerate frosts. Common winter crops include carrots, radish,
turnips, parsnips, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, chard,
kohlrabi, kale, beetroot, lettuce, parsley, leek, onion, chives,
oregano and brussel sprouts.

This Autumn, Pip will send subscribers the following organic,
non hybrid, heirloom seed varieties to plant in your gardens:

BEETROOT

High nutrition and vitamin content, tops are rich source of vitamin C,
eat in salads or soups. Native of northern Africa and western
Mediterranean, ancient Greeks used leaves only. Beetroot can
be steamed with other vegies or grated raw as well as boiled and pickled
for salads. Best results in soil with pH over 6 and if always kept moist.
Can sow indoors and transplant. Sow after frost. Roots store well after harvest.
Sow spring to autumn, anytime in mild climates.
Variety: EARLY WONDER
Tall topped dark red variety, a favourite for greens, flattened globe shaped roots which may develop the attractive colour zones, good for summer planting, matures 55 days. The earliest beet. Bio-dynamic Sow: direct in garden with enough space to grow (3-5cm apart) or in trays and transplant later Good Companions: onions, silver beet, kohlrabi, lettuce, cabbage and dwarf beans.

CARROT (Daucas carota)

Very nutritious vegetable originating from central Asia. Richest vegetable in vitamin A. Used by ancient Greek physicians as stomach tonic, known in Roman times and widely used as a vegetable by 13th century. Sunny spot. Good in all soils, likes well drained friable soil, fertilized for previous crop. Rotate crops to prevent disease build-up. Cleaned carrots store well in cool conditions. Sow spring, summer and autumn, best not sown in heavy frost.
Variety: CHANTENAY RED-CORED
About the broadest and shortest root, orange-red colour through-out, sweet and tender. Suited to heavy soils. Sow spring to autumn. 60-74 days. Sow: direct into garden and cover with Hessian or similar material until germination and keep moist. Thin to 20-50mm between plants and eat thinning as baby carrots. Good Companions: peas, radishes, lettuce, chives, sage onions and leeks.

LEEK (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum)

Originating from the Middle East and cultivated in Europe since pre-historic times. Richer than onions in vitamin C, sulphur, potassium and calcium. Eat in salads, stews, quiche and soups. Likes deep, rich soil. Stems are hilled with soil to blanch. Start harvesting at 2cm thick, stores well in fridge. Sow spring to autumn in cooler areas. Autumn to Spring in warmer areas.
Variety: CARENTAN
Large thick white stems 20cm x 5cm, dark green leaves, very productive. Old European variety. 95-110 days. Sow: in seed trays and then transplant 3-5cm apart. Good Companions: carrots and celery.

SILVERBEET (Beta vulgaris)

Known in Mediterranean in ancient times. Sometimes called Spinach. Likes soil pH above 6.0 Sow anytime outside frost, cool weather is preferred for growing, and plants suffer in hot dry times.
Variety: RAINBOW CHARD
Stems of white, yellow and red, with glossy dark green crumpled leaves, attractive and nutritious.
Sow: direct in garden with 5-10cm apart.
Good Companions: onions, beetroot, lavender, strawberries.

TURNIP (Brassica rapa)

Originally from Russia and enjoyed by ancient Greeks and Romans. Tops used in salads or cooked, excellent vitamin A and C and calcium. Roots are most tender when young, leaves in stir fries. Likes soil high in organic matter well drained and friable. Sow early spring to late autumn.
Variety: PURPLE TOP MILAN
White flat root with purple top, early producing. 30-35 days.
Sow: direct in garden 5-10cm apart.
Good Companions: peas, nasturtiums.

PARSLEY (Petroselinum sativum)

Most valuable culinary herb. Vitamins A, B, C. Organic source of iron and potassium - it has been found that cancer cells cannot multiply in potassium. Tea of crushed leaves will deter head lice. Good for kidneys. Companion to tomatoes and asparagus. Biennial, liking partial shade. Keep seeds moist. Slow germination. Sow spring, autumn.
Variety: ITALIAN
Vigorous, hardy variety with large leaves, stronger flavour than curled types, self seeds readily each year, tastes great, suited to drying. 78 days.
Sow: direct in garden 5cm apart.
Good Companions: tomatoes, asparagus, roses, chives.

Seeds sourced from Select Organic www.selectorganic.com.au

WINTER

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Winter is upon us and its time to pull the winter woolies out of the

cupboard and rug up for a wet (hopefully) and wonderful season in the

garden.

Your Autumn seeds from Pip should be well and truly thriving and

ready for harvest soon, so now is the time to get your winter veggie

seeds in the ground to keep your kitchen cranking through the

colder months. Sign up for your winter seeds pack now!

What to plant now
Watering your seeds in winter
Dealing with frost
Welcoming winter weeds
A warmer approach to pest control

Winter > what to plant now

Common winter crops include carrots, radish, turnips, parsnips, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, chard, kohlrabi, kale, beetroot, lettuce, parsley, leek, onion, chives,
oregano and brussel sprouts.

This Winter, Pip will send subscribers the following organic, non hybrid, heirloom seed varieties to plant in your gardens.

Click here for more detailed information on getting started and how to sow your seeds.

BROCCOLI (Brassica oleracea var. italica)

High vitamin C and protein. Likes soil rich and well watered.
Sow anytime to ensure harvest during cooler months, doesn't
do best in hot weather. Frost hardy.

GREEN SPROUTING CALABRESE
Medium sized dark green head, continues producing tasty side
shoots several weeks after harvesting the heads. 60-90 days until harvest.

Sow: Sow seeds in trays and then transplant into garden with 15-20cm spacing.

KALE ( Brassica oleracea var. acephala )

A primitive vegetable from the Mediterranean area. High in vitamin A, young leaves used like lettuce, older leaves cooked, like cabbage. Likes well drained soil and sunny spot. Keep well watered. Mature plants tolerate frost.
KALE (RED RUSSIAN)

Sow: Direct in garden or in seed trays and then transplant to garden with 15-20cm spacing.

LETTUCE (Lactuca sativa)

One of oldest, most popular salad vegetables, spread from India in ancient times and enjoying a resurgence. Mostly dislikes very hot conditions and will tolerate some shade. Rich well drained soil.

FRILLY PINK
Open hearted bumpy green leaf with purplish tinge, very attractive.

Sow: Direct in garden or in seed trays and transplant to garden with 10-15cm spacing.

SHALLOTS (Allium fistulosum)

Salad onion, straight leaf, forms no bulb.

EVERGREEN BUNCHING
Clusters of 4-9 slender silvery shanks, non-bulbing, hardy and withstands cold weather. Approximately 60-120 days until harvest.

Sow: Direct in garden with 10cm spacing.

SNOW PEA (Pisum sativum)

Sweet and tasty winter vegetable, eat fresh or dried. They can grow in bush/dwarf form or climbing. Snow peas are a legume and as such form a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen fixing bacteria in the soil. This means they don’t need too much feeding and other plants planted near by with also benefit from the bacteria. Spent plants can be pulled up and make a valuable addition as mulch or in compost.

MELTING MAMMOTH
Strong climber to 2 metres bearing a heavy crop of sweet pods. Provide support for plant to grow up and harvest when young and flat. They can be eaten fresh or cooked.

Sow: Direct in garden with a 5-10cm spacing.

CATNIP (Nepeta cataria)

This woody perennial herb has medicinal properties as a mild sedative, a digestive herb and for treating colds and flu. It’s a good one for treating the winter sniffles. Leaves can be steeped in hot water and drunk as a tea. Cats love this herb too. It can grow to 1m high and quite bushy so be careful not to plant it somewhere where it could block the sun from other plants. A pot could be a good option. It will lie for a number of years and die back.

Sow: Direct in garden or pots.

Seeds sourced from Select Organic www.selectorganic.com.au

Click here for more detailed information on getting started and how to sow your seeds.

OTHER THINGS TO PLANT NOW

GARLIC

Traditionally garlic is planted after the Autumn equinox (March 20) and before the Winter Solstice (21st of June) when the days are starting to get shorter and the nights cooler. Garlic is super easy to plant and grow. Simply buy some organic garlic of the variety you enjoy eating and separate out the individual cloves. Plant each one in a hole twice the depth of the clove and cover over with soil. Ensure that you plant it in loose well drained soil with plenty of sun. They should be ready to dig up and harvest in spring time once the green above ground growth has started to die off. The green shoots can also be chopped up and used in cooking.

SPUDS

Potatoes are another crop very easy to cultivate. The spuds grow from the roots underground. Simply buy some organic spuds from your grocer and leave in a cupboard until they start to grow shoots. You can then cut them up to ensure there is about 3 shoots per piece and plant them about 15 cm deep in loose well drained soil.

They can also be grown inside old car tyres, buckets, Hessian sacks and garden beds built up on top of the spuds. To do this first lay down a bed of compost or well rotted sheep manure, put the chopped up spuds down about 20cm apart and cover with a layer of mulch. As the green shoots start to grow above the surface keep adding layers of mulch (and tyres). Spuds will be ready to harvest at 16-20 weeks but you can start to dig up small ones after about 6 weeks. To harvest simply dig around where the shoots are with your hands or a fork. Spuds will come out clean if the soil is dry.

this season > watering your seeds in winter

The first 2-3 weeks of seed raising is a crucial time, no matter what time of year. In the first stage of seeds germination it soaks up enough water to double in size and trigger the growth of the first roots. These first roots are fine and fragile and need to have sufficient moisture available to them to so that they can send up the first shoot.

This means for you, the carer of the seeds, that you need to make sure that the soil stay consistently moist (whether that’s directly in the garden or in seed trays). The soil should not be soaking wet as the seeds will rot, but nice and moist. This can be achieved with a light sprinkle from a watering can or gentle spray hose once a day until the first two leaves have sprouted above ground from the seed.

From then on, you need to continue to water them, but the frequency with which you water them can decrease as they grow. Hopefully with a bit of help from the weather gods this winter, they will look after the watering for us!

If it rains heavily on your seed bed it can wash your seeds away so it may be best to raise you seeds up in seed trays under cover where you can keep an eye on them if you’re expecting a lot of rain. Transplant them once they are about 6cm tall and strong enough to stand up to heavy rains.

Click here for more information on grey water systems and watering your seeds.

this season > dealing with frost

Winter brings rain and an abundance of green growth, but it also brings the frosty fingers of early mornings that can put a quick end to young seedlings. Whilst some plants thrive in and depend on frosts, others get ‘frost burn’ and quickly die when exposed to frost. We have specially chosen frost hardy vegetable varieties for the winter subscription, but it is useful to be aware of some ways to prevent frost damage in your garden.

Frost flows like water, and will settle in the lowest points in your garden.
You can create frost barriers to stop frost from settling where you don’t want it. These can be made from any kind of solid material like bricks, rocks, timber, pots plants or by planting a dense bush.
Frost cloth can also be bought from most nurseries which you can drape over (without touching) frost sensitive plants.
Raised garden beds are a good measure to prevent frost settling on your garden as they are generally raised above where the frost settles.
Mulching is another way to ensure your plants have some extra insulation.
Position your plants where they will get the most hours of sunlight.
Look for ‘thermal banks’ around your house and position your plants/gardens near to them. A ‘thermal bank’ is any cluster of dense materials like walls made out of rock, concrete or bricks that absorb heat from the sun during the day and then slowly releases throughout the colder night thus keeping your plants warmer at night.

this season > welcoming winter weeds

With the increase in moisture in winter, weeds will often be quick to spring up in your garden. Weeds are useful for many things and many are even edible. Rather than pulling up your weeds and putting them in your green bin to become someone else’s problem, consider a few of the options below and turn the problem into the solution.

Cut the weeds off at ground level and use them as mulch on top of your garden beds. Many beneficial bugs live in the area around the roots of a plant, they can’t survive above ground and when we pull weeds out of the garden, we lose many of these helpful garden friends. By cutting weeds off at ground level this leaves the roots in the ground to decompose therefore adding valuable organic matter to the soil. It also leaves the beneficial bugs in the soil where they will continue to help your plants.
Make weed tea out of them- a natural fertilizer for your garden
Green growth contains a higher proportion of nitrogen then when it has dried out. This is an essential element in healthy soil and compost and as such any green grass clippings or weeds are a fantastic ingredient to add to compost piles. For more on compost see the Pip’s Tips : Preparation: Compost.
Weeds can also be dug back into the ground by digging up the whole plant and turning it upside down so that the roots face up and then putting mulch on top. This will kill the weeds and add organic matter and moisture back into the soil. Make sure you put mulch on top directly after digging weeds back into the soil to give the beneficial bugs some protection.
It is important when using any weeds in your garden to harvest them before they set seed so that you aren’t spreading the seeds further throughout your garden.
For a list of common edible weeds you may find in your garden visit Pip’s Tips page on our website.

this season > a warmer approach to pest control

You may be noticing some familiar mini beasts (insects, bugs, worms, beetles, spiders, micro organisms etc) showing their faces this winter? Cabbage eating caterpillars for a start…

It is important to always remember that even if the mini beasts are causing a problem, they are still an important part of our garden system and we don’t want to get rid of them completely.

There are many ways of naturally controlling and deterring garden pests, for example using garlic, chili or espresso sprays to crumpled egg shells and beer traps. Click on the following link for an in depth look at specific garden pests and some natural methods to control these not so desirables.

Send me Seeds Pip