Grant Douglas's Garden Diary

Week 44: First week of November

From the wettest September, we have now been through the driest October - very stressful for your plants, so keep up the watering. A moisture-stressed plant is far more prone to attack by insects such as Aphids, so avoid any stress.

Notice that Kumara plants are now available in the shops - personally have never had a lot of success with them, mostly due to the soil I have grown them in, heavy clay or pure sand, neither of which are ideal. They have mostly gone too deep and broken when harvested, and a damaged Kumara does not keep. Best soil is a river loam with a solid base.

If you are only doing a few, it is worth trying the technique of digging a trench about 30 to 40cm deep, laying a board in the bottom and then filling the trench back up. A tradiitional planting technique is to run hill rows north-south but plant the Kumaras east-west (head to the east) in a fishhook shape.

Also time for the first sowing of Brussel Sprouts for planting out mid-December to have nice strong, tall plants before winter arrives.

Also planting out time for Rock-melons, Watermelons, Pepinos and other warmth loving plants. For the melons, ensure good drainage.

Sowing or Planting this week:

Tomatoes, Peppers, Chillis, Egg Plant
Basil
Beetroot
Beans - Scarlet, Runner (Shiney Fardenlosa), Dwarf
Cabbage (Red and Green)
Cauliflower (Frieda - Summer variety)
Celeriac (for transplanting or direct)
Cucumber (am trying Lebanese Cucumbers this year - short type with very tender skin)
Kohl Rabi
Leeks
Lettuce (Loose-leaf Fancy and Hearting (Webbs or Greatlakes)
Onions
Peas (I choose Easy-peasy variety)
Potatoes - keep a succession of plantings going
Pumpkin/Squash
Red Onions
Shallots
Silverbeet and Perpetual Spinach
Snow Peas (Snap Peas)
Spinach (New Zealand)
Spring Onions
Sweet Corn
Watermelon/Rockmelon
Yams
Zuchini

Sow Direct: (Protect soil surface from heavy rains)

Carrots - I find Topweight a good early variety
Chinese Greens and Cabbage
Corn Salad
Corriander/Dill
Mescalin Mix
Parsnips
Rocket
Radish

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