Yesterday, I finally got around to planting my biggest tomatoes into the garden (see picture). These are Sweet 100 tomatoes which you might recall seeing in an earlier post (they were among the many plants lined up under the eaves of our house). I purchased these plants as two punnets for 99c cents each from Kings Plant Barn during their sale back in August. I put in 13 plants, because that’s all I have space for at the moment. For all of you tomato lovers out there (and I’m sure there are lots!), here is a summary of the steps that I took in planting them:
· Tomatoes need full sun, so I chose one of the sunniest spots in the garden · The area previously had leafy crops (miners’ lettuce, cut and come again lettuce and kale) so this is good crop rotation. Veggies typically fall into three categories – leafy, fruiting and root crops. It’s a good idea to rotate crops to avoid soil diseases · The area was enriched with compost and nitrophoska fertiliser prior to planting (I haven’t been using sheep pellets this season as they’re too expensive, but I do like them too) · While I was busy digging the holes, I soaked the plants in Yates Thrive Natural Fish and Seaweed liquid fertiliser to ensure they have a strong start · I staked the tomatoes at the time of planting with the tallest stakes I have, because Sweet 100 is a tall variety and the plants are already so tall! It’s a good idea to stake tomatoes when you plant them to avoid damaging the roots later on · Normally I just use a trowel to plant tomatoes but since these plants were in huge pots and so tall, I dug a VERY deep hole with a spade. In doing so, I had to remove some of the lower leaves and the plants look a lot shorter than they actually are. It’s a good idea to plant tomatoes deeply as the stem will send out lots of roots from the sides which will anchor it firmly into the ground and result in a stronger, healthier plant · In each hole, I added some Yates Gro-Plus granular tomato food · After putting in the plants, I removed the lower leaves. In my experience, they’re the ones that are most prone to becoming diseased, because they come into contact with the ground · I removed the laterals (the side shoots at a 45 degree angle between the main stem and branches). Doing so enables the plant to put its energy into producing more fruit rather than lots of leaves. It also helps to allow the sunlight in, so tomatoes can develop and ripen faster · I tied each plant to its stake with some string · Finally, I watered the plants deeply, aiming for the roots. I tried to avoid wetting the leaves as this can cause blight Next steps for these plants · I will continue to water them well. We find it’s necessary to water the garden every day to keep plants alive but it is advisable to water more deeply less often · When it’s a bit warmer (maybe in early November), I’m going to sow some basil nearby. Basil is a good companion plant for tomatoes and is said to really bring out their flavour · I intend to mulch the plants with pea straw to add nutrients to the soil, conserve moisture and keep the weeds down. I might have to apply the mulch after the basil has germinated as seeds don’t germinate well through pea straw · I plan to liquid feed these plants weekly with Yates Thrive Tomato Liquid Plant Food (remember that photo of all my Yates liquid fertiliser in the garage in an earlier post?) · As the plants grow, I will continue to remove the laterals · I will also continue to tie the plants to the stakes as they grow Has anyone else planted their tomatoes yet? What varieties are you growing this year?
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Have you noticed how dry spring has been so far? Sure, it’s been cold and windy, but there hasn’t actually been much rain. We had to start watering the garden much earlier than usual. The lack of rain in summer can be a problem for gardeners. While we can’t control the weather, there are a few things we can do to prepare for the drier months so plants have the best chance of survival. Here are some tips:
· Water the garden early in the morning or in the evening when the sun isn’t at its strongest and plants can absorb moisture more effectively · Use the ground for planting as much as possible. As much as I love container gardening, I’ve found that pots dry out a lot faster and plants sometimes end up dying from lack of water · Remember that the smaller the pot, the faster it will dry out. Use bigger containers where possible. Any plants in punnets or 10 cm pots will dry out very quickly in summer so they might need to be watered several times per day · For plants grown in containers, use a high quality potting mix, which often contains a wetting agent · If the potting mix you are using doesn’t contain water storage crystals, you can add some, such as Yates Waterwise Water Storage Crystals · Use mulch around plants in order to retain moisture. I really like using pea straw. Mulch comes in many different forms. It need not be expensive. Lawn clippings are great for putting around your fruit trees and roses · Start collecting rainwater now! Rainwater can be collected in a simple bucket or a drum for use over the drier months · Depending on how much space you have, you might want to think about adding a small tank to the garden, so you have a water supply in the event there are watering restrictions or a total ban in summer · If you’re watering the garden by hand, invest in a decent hose. It’s worth it! · Instead of watering the garden superficially every day, try to reduce watering to several times per week more deeply. In saying that, this hasn’t worked so well for us and we still find ourselves watering the garden every day because it really needs it. Bear in mind though that any containers might need to be watered every day as they dry out faster than plants in the ground · Look into installing an irrigation system, which waters the garden in a more economical and effective manner. This could be as simple as a sprinkler or soaker hose. A gardening friend of mine swears by dripline as the water goes straight to the roots of the plant, avoiding the leaves which can lead to mildew for cucurbits and blight for tomatoes · If you’re going to be away over Christmas, try to get someone to water the garden. You can also look into getting a house sitter through the NZ House Sitting Association, Wwoof or HelpX. Our neighbour usually waters the garden while we’re at our bach over Christmas. We personally wouldn’t trust wwoofers to look after the property while we’re not home based on some of the past experiences we have had while we were here! Would anyone like to add anything I may have overlooked? NB the photo is of our garlic in the garden Can you believe it’s already THAT time of the year! I can’t believe how quickly time flies. I’m so glad I propagated my plants from seed and don’t have to face the garden centre this weekend as it’s going to be crazy busy! To be honest, Labour Weekend isn’t really that significant for me as a gardener for the following reasons:
· I’m busy outdoors year round, so it doesn’t really feel that different to other weekends · Given the size of the garden and number of different things we grow, there’s no way I’ll be able to get everything done in three days, so tasks run on into November and even December · Even if I wanted to plant the entire summer garden now I couldn’t because I’m still waiting for the last of my winter and early spring veggies to mature to make room for new plants · Even if the space was available, I wouldn’t plant the entire summer garden now as temperatures are still unstable and I don’t want to risk losing all my plants · I also like staggering sowing and planting, so we have a continuous supply of veggies over summer. This means I’m still planting the summer garden in November and December · Some of my seedlings are too small to be planted outdoors and are still in the greenhouse · In my opinion, it’s too early to plant some things outdoors now, such as melons and also too early to start some things, such as okra, which needs very hot weather to do well These are my tasks for Labour weekend: · Continue to harden off plants in the greenhouse, moving them outdoors for a few hours during the day (weather permitting; we haven’t been doing this over the past couple of days because it’s been so cold and windy) · Water the garden as necessary (at the moment we only need to do the punnets and pots) · Pot up any plants that are ready to come off the heat pad and sow more melons · Remove bulb baskets with spring bulbs which have finished flowering from the ground · Plant marigold seedlings into some terracotta troughs · Plant bedding dahlias around our lily garden infront of the house · Plant rhubarb seedlings grown from seed one year ago into the garden · Prepare ground space that is presently unoccupied (not much at the moment!) with compost and fertiliser so it’s ready for planting tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers · Plant the biggest tomatoes (Sweet 100) into the area that was previously occupied by kale and miners lettuce. Stake and secure plants with string. Remove any laterals · Spray roses and fruit trees with Yates Copper Oxychloride (weather permitting; only if it’s sunny and there’s no wind!) These are my tasks for the rest of October: · Sow more cucumbers, zucchini and squash on the heat pad · Lift Jersey Benne potatoes · Start planting the larger capsicums and chillies into containers · Plant corn · Plant zucchini and cucumbers What’s on your to-do list for the garden this weekend? NB The picture is of the radishes which I grew successfully in a 35 litre container Are you happy with the design and layout of your plot? Sometimes we get so caught up in the time-consuming process of propagating and caring for plants that we need to take a moment to stand back and think about the bigger picture. An effective layout not only looks attractive but also means that space is better utilised, increasing its overall productivity. Who wouldn’t want that, no matter how small or big your garden is?
You can spend thousands consulting with a landscape designer to help you with this task…or you can do what I did and DIY. A professional might be able to help if you’re time poor or really stuck, but only you know your vision for the garden! It doesn’t matter if it takes some time to get there, or you make a few mistakes along the way. Gardening is about the journey, not the final destination. I’ve often been asked when the garden is going to be finished. The reality is that it never will be. Our garden is constantly evolving through the seasons. It’s not picture perfect either. I allow plants to self-seed freely, so our garden has a relaxed rather than formal look. Don’t forget that everyone’s garden looks different because it is shaped by the tastes of the individual gardener. It’s fine for your garden to evolve organically, as ours did. I never intended to create such a large garden but as my interest in gardening grew, so did our plot. Sometimes I do envy people with small gardens. As I once read in a NZ Gardener magazine, large gardens are lovely but they are a lot of work and ours is a testament to this. Even if your plot is small, don’t despair as it can still be pretty and productive. You’ll also probably feel more in control of it! How did our garden come together? I read the NZ Gardener’s Homegrown series book on garden design, which gave me some ideas. As I spent more and more time outdoors, my vision for the garden crystallised. In order to create the garden of my dreams, I had to get remove a lot of kikuyu, which was hard work. Our lawn mowing man helped us dig up our front lawn with his rotary hoe. I was also lucky that we hosted an American couple who made easy work of removing the kikuyu in between the garden beds when they wwoofed with us two years ago. Spraying the area with Yates Zero Weedkiller beforehand helped. I eventually sat down with some graph paper to sketch a plan for the different beds, where I was going to plant fruit trees and the position of the standard roses I wanted to add to the garden to frame the pathways (the picture is of the David Austin rose “Alnwick”, which has just started flowering). The next step is to purchase some paving tiles from Bunnings to create a little walkway around the garden, but they can be quite expensive and somehow the garden budget ends up being spent on seeds and plants before I can get around to doing this! When planning the design and layout of your garden, here are some things to bear in mind: · Raised beds look attractive and are easier on the back, but they can be expensive to fill with soil and tend to dry out faster than the ground · Crop rotation is a good idea to keep the soil healthy · Root and fruiting crops need full sun in order to do well · An Arch or pergola can provide a focal point for the garden · A bare wall or old fence can look stunning when planted with grapes, passionfruit or a climbing rose. You can also espalier fruit trees such as pears and apples · Flowers help bring bees into the garden, which aids pollination so don’t be frightened to grow some in amongst your veggies · Borders can be formal (eg hedges) or edible (eg herbs, a row of silverbeet or spinach, blueberry and Feijoa bushes etc) · If you’re short on space, dwarf fruit trees are ideal for growing in containers or the ground. They look stunning when planted in a row I just found out that I won a prize for Mini Challenge Two! Thanks so much, Yates. I really enjoyed thinking and writing about how to reduce plastic around the garden. It was very challenging! Now I really have a duty to walk the talk and implement many of the changes I want to make in the future. I do feel quite bad about the amount of plastic I have in the garden, but I don’t think the solution is to put everything into the recycling bin. As Collette mentioned, it’s a good idea to recycle whatever plastic you have in the garden year after year. Going forwards, I just need to make sure that I don’t add more plastic and try to find alternatives wherever possible.
Every spring, I look forward to growing spinach. It’s one of our summer staples. We use spinach in a variety of dishes, including quiches and frittata. It’s really easy to grow and expensive to buy, making it a good thing to have in the garden. We just pick spinach as we need it, but it can be frozen if you have surplus. This year, I’m growing a few different varieties of spinach. In September, I planted some punnets of “Hybrid No 7” and “Perpetual Spinach” which I purchased during Kings Plant Barn’s sale. They have been growing really well and we have even started harvesting leaves from these plants. In September, I also sowed “Perpetual” (Kings) and ““Oriental Imperial Green” (Egmont Seeds). These both grew very well and the wwoofers helped me transplant them from punnets into seed raising trays. I’ll wait until they’re a bit bigger before planting them in the garden. All I did was sow the seeds in some punnets with a little seed raising mix and leave them in the patio to germinate. As with all seed sowing, I recommend using a high quality seed raising mix such as Yates Black Magic Seed Raising Mix or Nature’s Way Organic Seed Raising Mix. Later this month, I’m going to sow some Malabar Spinach and NZ Spinach on my heat pad. These varieties are more sensitive to the cold than the other varieties I have planted and warmth aids the germination of the seeds. I came across Malabar Spinach a couple of years ago, when a lady in a vege gardening group I belong to gave me some seeds to try. It grew amazingly well and was great for using in green smoothies during summer when it becomes too hot to grow kale. Unlike bunching varieties, Malabar Spinach is a climber and needs the support of a trellis or other frame. You can harvest the leaves as you need them, without removing the entire plant. I have noticed a number of Malabar Spinach seedlings which popped up by themselves in the area that I grew it last year (see picture), a sure sign that the weather is warming up. This variety is sub-tropical, so the plants will die as soon as the frosts come. I grew NZ Spinach successfully for the first time last year. In previous years, I had difficulty getting the seeds to germinate. I discovered that it helps if you soak seeds prior to sowing them. I also found that seeds germinate better if sown on the heat pad and are then transplanted into the garden rather than sowing them direct, but other gardeners might have had different experiences. NZ Spinach tastes a bit different to other varieties but we really enjoyed having it steamed with a bit of butter, salt and pepper. Spinach doesn’t require a lot of care in order to do well, but I’ve noticed that plants benefit from regular liquid feeding. I highly recommend Yates Thrive Natural Fish and Seaweed fertiliser, which I’ve been using in the garden this spring. Is anyone else growing spinach in their garden this year? I thought I’d use this post to provide a snapshot of progress around the garden in mid-spring.
· Every day, I have been hardening off smaller plants, exposing them to the outdoors for a few hours during the day before moving them back into the greenhouse overnight. Most of my larger plants are at a point where they stay outside all the time (remember the photo of the row of plants under the eaves of our house?). This weekend, when I start planting, I’ll begin with these ones · Because the weather was so windy and cold over the weekend, I decided to wait until later this week to start planting my marigold and dahlia seedlings. · With the help of the wwoofers, I have been busy repotting punnets of seedlings into trays (such as lettuce, spinach and silverbeet) and plants in the greenhouse from six-cell punnets to individual pots · I’m still busy sowing more seeds indoors. At the moment, I have rockmelon and watermelon seeds on my heat pad, with plans to sow honeydew and banana melon once there’s more space on the heat pad. Once I’ve finished sowing the melons, I’ll move onto sowing African Gem Squash and finally Okra. This year, I’m growing “Clemson Spineless” from Yates. · The radishes that I sowed in two 35 litre buckets in mid-September have matured and we have been enjoying them in salads and raita. Yesterday, the wwoofers helped me sow some more radishes, which should be ready in mid-November · The parsnips that I sowed on 17th September have germinated (see photo). However, a cat has been digging in a couple of places! · In June and July, I planted more cabbages and broccoli to replace the ones that I harvested over winter. The cabbages are growing really well and should be ready soon. I harvested the first of this lot of broccoli yesterday · The beetroot seedlings I planted on the 20th of September are coming along nicely · The leek and spring onion seedlings planted by the Danish couple who were wwoofing with us in early September are growing very nicely · We have been harvesting broad beans every day · The seed garlic that I planted in April and May is growing nicely but with root crops it’s hard to tell what’s underneath! · In the winter, I added 13 more standard roses to the garden. They are mostly David Austin varieties that I had to order from D & S Nurseries because you can’t find them in garden centres, at least not in Auckland. Some of these new roses have started flowering and are simply stunning · I’ve been spraying the roses and fruit trees around every ten days, alternating between Yates Liquid Copper and Copper Oxychloride · I fed the roses with Yates Thrive Granular Rose Food and the fruit trees with Yates Thrive Granular Citrus Food. I normally sprinkle some granular food around them every 2-3 months during the warmer months · Since plants are growing actively, I have increased the frequency of liquid feeding from fortnightly to weekly. The product I am using at the moment is Yates Thrive Natural Fish and Seaweed Yesterday was another cold, windy day in Auckland. The wwoofers and I spent some time indoors, cleaning the fridges and freezer. We also washed the windows of the house from the outside and the wwoofers helped to do a bit of weeding under the eaves of our house (underneath those plants in that previous photo, which I’m hardening off). Today is the girls’ last day with us, so we’re going to finish off the weeding (only the strawberry patch is left) and sow some more radishes in buckets, as our last lot did really well and we are harvesting them right now. The ones sown into the ground around about the same time were a complete failure! They didn’t bulb up at all. I think the reason was because I planted them in between two rows of potatoes and used a lot of compost in the area. If the soil is too high in nitrogen, root crops generally tend to do poorly, forming lots of leaves at the expense of roots.
In Saturday’s mail, I received a complimentary packet of “Butterfly Field Beneficial Insect Mix” seeds courtesy of Yates (see picture). As part of National Gardening Week, which runs from 15th until 22nd October, Yates are very generously giving away free butterfly friendly seeds. All you have to do is go to https://www.yates.co.nz/nationalgardening/ to request your free packet of seeds. As much as I love growing veggies, for me, gardening is about so much more than just growing for our consumption. You might recall my earlier post about how important growing flowers in the veggie patch is for the butterflies and bees. There are many reasons why we should strive to preserve our ecosystem. Monarch butterflies are a threatened species and need to be protected or they will become extinct. Every insect has a role. I remember reading a really interesting article in the New Zealand Gardener magazine written by the late Virgil Evetts. In his view, despite slugs and snails being such a nuisance in the garden, we couldn’t quite wipe them out completely or it would upset the delicate balance in the environment. I LOVE butterflies because they are so beautiful. We have lots of swan plants and monarchs are drawn to the garden year round. A few years ago, we saw the Blue Moon butterfly on six occasions, which was very exciting. I reported the sightings to the Monarch Butterfly Trust, because it was so unusual. The biggest threat to monarch butterflies seems to be wasps and the lack of food for caterpillars. Let’s all do our bit for the environment and put in a few swan plants this summer. Every spring (including this one), I sow a packet of swan plant seeds from Yates. My swan plants usually survive the winter and self-seed freely around the garden, so once they are established they should last for awhile. If wasps are a problem as they were in our garden one year, Jackie Knight (aka “Madam Butterfly”) suggested either using one of her swan plant “castles” or draping some net curtains over the plants to protect the caterpillars. Don’t forget to plant some flowers for the butterflies to feed on. They’re particularly attracted to bright colours. Dahlias and zinnias are my favourite butterfly attracting flowers. This year, I’m growing the zinnias “Gold Medal” and “Lilliput” from Yates Seeds. I’m also growing Tithonia Goldfinger for the first time, which butterflies supposedly adore. Does anyone else have plans to put swan plants into their garden this year? Has anyone else spotted unusual butterflies in their garden, such as the Blue Moon, as we have? Have you noticed how windy it has been lately? I’m not sure about other parts of the country, but this is very typical of weather in October and November in Auckland. There can also be storms in summertime. Wind is a natural element that is beyond our control. It can be brutal and destroy plants in the garden. However, there are a few things you can do to mitigate damage. Here are some suggestions.
Planting tips · Remove the lower leaves of seedlings and try to plant deeply below ground level. The stem will send out more roots which will anchor the plant firmly into the ground. · Plant corn in blocks rather than rows which will help the plants to support each other. This is also advisable to ensure that all the kernels are pollinated, as corn is pollinated by the wind · Put sensitive plants such as tamarillos in a sheltered location. Low growing veggies like lettuce and creepers such as melons, pumpkins, cucumbers and zucchini are generally fine in more exposed areas · If you’re using black plastic for growing melons and other veggies, I suggest placing some potted plants around the edges to prevent it from flying away Plant support · Make good use of any walls, fences and even the house, which all provide shelter for plants · Consider building a shelter belt around your garden. This can take many forms and sizes. My friend Leah runs the holiday park at Tauranga Bay, where our bach is situated. Her husband built her a cute black shelter belt made from cloth around her little veggie patch at the back of their house as they get quite a bit of wind being so close to the sea. This also functions to keep rabbits and other pests out of the garden · You can build a shelter belt made of cloth and sticks around individual plants to protect them · Stake plants securely (ideally at the time of planting to avoid damaging the roots later on) and keep fastening them to the stake as they grow. Make sure you drive stakes deeply into the ground to prevent them from toppling over. Examples of plants which benefit from staking include broad beans, sunflowers, tomatoes, swan plants, dahlias, gladioli and Christmas lilies · Use wooden stakes for fruit trees and roses as they’re much stronger than plastic stakes. Use old stockings instead of string to tie plants to the stakes. For fruit trees and roses, I normally place one stake on either side of the plant for more security Final tips · Don’t forget that planting at Labour Weekend is just a general guideline, so use common sense! Sometimes it can be really windy. If this is the case, it might pay to wait until the bad weather has passed before putting plants in so they don’t take a hammering · Accept you’ll lose some plants to the wind along the way. It might pay to put in a few more just to cover yourself · If you do lose a branch off a tree due to the wind, it isn’t necessarily the end of the world. Our Feijoa “Unique” tree bounced back after losing a main branch to wind two years ago, much to my surprise Please do feel free to add anything I may have missed as I’m sure you have some really good ideas. NB: the picture is of our corn seedlings, which have started to germinate on the heat pad. I gave the wwoofers the day off today. It’s horrible outside, so I’ve decided to also have a bit of time off from the garden to catch up on some tasks indoors. I need time to plan and prepare for the busy weeks ahead. There isn’t much to report on the garden front, so I’ve put together a list of some random thoughts, tips and ideas about gardening. I’m limited for space, so I can’t share all my ideas here. As always, I’m very interested to hear others’ opinions and experiences!
Caring for the garden · To dig or not to dig the garden over? Some experts say that doing so can be beneficial, but others believe it can do more harm than good. I usually keep it to just once a year, when I want to work compost, sheep pellets and fertiliser into the ground. I’ve found that seedlings planted in ground that hasn’t been dug over still do well · I’ve read in a lot of gardening magazines that it’s best to water the garden several times per week very deeply, rather than superficially every day. However, we find that in order to keep plants alive (not just potted plants but even the ones in the ground), we have to water the garden every day in summer. What do other people do? Does anyone have irrigation? I’d really like to hear about other people’s watering system because ours could be improved · This might sound like an excuse to avoid weeding, but sometimes it pays to wait for the weeds to grow a bit so you can see what has self-seeded in the garden. Plants that have popped up recently include wildflowers, poppies, calendula, sunflowers, malabar spinach and raspberries · In winter, I recycle the potting mixture used to grow capsicums, chillies and eggplants in pots over summer and sow carrots. In spring, after I have harvested the carrots, I use the old mixture to help mound the potatoes so they remain covered with dirt and grow better · Lawn mowing clippings makes a good mulch around fruit trees and roses Gardening organically · An organic method of pest control for growing potatoes is to line the trench with comfrey leaves prior to planting. This is supposed to protect against the potato worm. Admittedly, I haven’t tried this myself yet. I really wanted to this year but our comfrey leaves seemed to have been eaten by insects themselves and didn’t look very healthy, so I didn’t want to spread any diseases. Has anyone else done this? · Speaking of comfrey leaves, they can be used to make liquid fertiliser. Again, I didn’t want to this year as our comfrey plants were in such bad condition · Planting garlic near roses is said to help keep aphids away. Parsley grown around roses is thought to help prevent black spot Free plants! · If you remove the laterals from your tomato plants, you can pot them up. They will soon form roots and you’ll have some free plants · Perennials easily propagated by cuttings include roses, lavender, hibiscus and hydrangea. Herbs that can be grown from cuttings include rosemary and mint. Use a little Yates Clonex Purple Rooting Hormone Gel to improve the strike rate of cuttings Other ideas · Plant bulbs in bulb baskets to make them easier to find after they’ve finished flowering Do you have any other random gardening tips you’d like to share with others? I’m writing my post for today before we start working as I’ll be going into the city in the afternoon for the second 10k run in the YMCA summer series in the Auckland Domain. I completed last week’s run in 1 hr 14 mins 54 secs which I was very happy with, considering it was the first run of the series and the course is more demanding than all other 10k races I’ve competed in. My goal is to reduce my time to under an hour. Races are held every week, with a break over the Christmas/New Year period. The series ends when daylight savings does in April, so I still have plenty of time to work on my goal.
You may recall me mentioning in a previous post that I sowed some “Hale’s Best” rockmelon seeds from Yates. They are now ready to be taken off the heat pad and planted into individual pots, which I will get the wwoofers to help me with today. It will free up some room on the heat pad, so I will sow the watermelon “Sugar Baby” from Yates Seeds, as well as another packet of “Hale’s Best” rockmelon seeds from Yates. When there’s a bit more space on the heat pad, I’ll sow Honeydew Melon (Yates). Now is the perfect time to start thinking about growing melons. It took me several years to master the art of growing melons and was largely thanks to help from my gardening friend Kylie Stringer, who lives in Motueka and grows the best melons out of anyone I know. They can be a bit tricky to grow, so if you’re unsuccessful at first as I was, don’t give up. Last year, I wrote a comprehensive guide to growing melons, which you can read here: https://www.anitakundu.co.nz/blog/growing-guide-melons. I thought it might be useful to summarise my top tips. · Melons can be started from seed or you can find potted plants in garden centres. Starting from seed allows you to grow unusual varieties, such as “Banana Melon” from Kings Seeds and “Inverno” from Franchi Seeds, both of which I’ll be sowing a bit later on · Place seeds in a warm place to germinate. Using a heat pad or hot water cupboard is ideal · Use a high quality seed raising mix, such as Yates Natures Way Organic Seed Raising Mix · Don’t be in a rush to plant melons outside as temperatures are still fluctuating wildly at this time of the year. I’ve found that mid-November is perfect · Melons need full sun in order to grow well so choose the site carefully · Melons are gross feeders. Mix lots of compost, sheep pellets and fertiliser into the ground prior to planting · I plant my melons into black plastic, which I lay down over the area I intend to grow them. This warms the soil and helps radiate the heat · Space plants about 1 m apart as they need room to creep · Liquid feed plants weekly with a good fertiliser such as Yates Thrive Natural Fish and Seaweed · When watering your melons, try not to get water on the leaves or they may develop powdery mildew · Melons need to be pollinated in order to produce fruit. They may benefit from being pollinated by hand, as the flowers are small and are sometimes missed by bees · As melons develop, pop an old plate, saucer or lid underneath fruit to avoid it coming into contact with the ground and rotting · Don’t pick melons too early or they won’t be ripe. If your melons are ready, they should slip away easily from the vine. Another way to tell if it is ready is to knock on the melon. If the sound is hollow, it’s a sign the melon is ready for picking I hope these tips are helpful. Is anyone else growing melons this summer? Are you a first time grower or have you grown them in the past? Have you had any luck? All the best for this season! |
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