Grant Douglas's Garden Diary

Week 31: First week of August

Just a short note tonight! Saturday night, or early Sunday morning I got woken up by heavy rain on the roof and thought "Oh ...., that's really going to slow soil preparations down as we had already had 15mm during Saturday" and thought probably now it would be more like up to 50, but when I looked at my rain guage on Sunday morning, we had actually only had another 13mm, so I was very glad that I had a rain guage. (It is easy to be fooled by how much rain has actually fallen)

I would highly recommend that if you are getting into growing seriously, you should get yourself one, if you haven't already. If you keep a record of how much and when the rain fell, it will give you a good indication of soil moisture levels. This is not only handy when you are trying to do soil preparation, but also at drier times of the year when you are irrigating so that you don't end up overwatering.

If you did some Pepino cuttings, have you potted them up yet, as the roots will rot fairly quickly if the cuttings are still sitting in water. If you planted Brassicas in the Autumn, don't get impatient with the plants and think that they are not going to come to anything. You will probably be pleasantly surprised how they come away, once the spring arrives and they should produce a very welcome crop at a low time of year for produce.

Sowing or Planting this week:
Tomatoes, Peppers, Chillie's - - see earlier Diary
Beetroot - possibly too early for direct sowing but can be sown in containers for planting out shortly.
Broad Beans (I am trying a new variety for me this year called Imperial Green, where the beans stay green, even after cooking) Standard Variety - Exhibition Longpod
Brocolli Spouting (Marathon Variety - sow now in punnets)
Cabbage (Spring or Summer varieties - sow now in punnets)
Cauliflower (Frieda - Summer variety - sow now in punnets)
Garlic
Lettuce (Loose-leaf Fancy and Triumph Hearting - outside now, or in containers. Protect when very young.)
Peas (I choose Easy-peasy variety)
Potatoes (Plant a few sprouted ones in warmer areas or in cooler areas put them in trays for sprouting)
Red Onions - protect soil surface from heavy rains (Heard the other day about the use of carpet underfelt - sounds like good idea. Just get it off as soon as germination takes place)
Shallots
Silverbeet and Perpetual Spinach - these may go to seed in late Spring but will give you a small harvest if you are low on these veges in your garden
Snow Peas (Snap Peas)
Spinach (winter varieties eg. Hybrid No.7) - not outside now, but in containers as above

Sow Direct: (in containers, protected as above)
Corn Salad
Mescalin Mix
Rocket
Radish

Preparation of beds for Strawberries and Asparagus.

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