​Yesterday, I introduced the concept of mulching in the garden.  I covered what mulch is, when and where to mulch and reasons for applying mulch.  In this post, I’d like to discuss some of the different materials that can be used as mulch.  I will finish with a couple of tips for applying mulch.  I realise this is quite a long post but I didn’t want to break it up into two parts as it will ruin the flow.

There are pros and cons for each type of mulch, which I will summarise below.  The key is to use the mulch most suited to the plant. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it contains some of the most common mulches that are used around the garden. 
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•          Pea straw – available in bales or bags (I source mine from Zoo Doo which is handy as they deliver to your door, but most garden centres sell it by the bag too).  Water well after applying to prevent it from flying away.  Don’t use hay as it contains too many weed seeds.  Pros – (i) adds nitrogen to the soil; (ii) breaks down quickly; (iii) looks neat and tidy; (iv) perfect for putting around fruiting veggies such as strawberries, melons, zucchini and pumpkins to avoid them coming into contact with the ground and rotting.  Cons – (i) has become rather expensive, especially after the pea weevil problem which led to a shortage of pea straw; (ii) pea seeds can pop up. 
•          Bagged mulch – looks a bit like compost.  The Kolush Seaweed and Manuka mulch which I mentioned Palmers gave me to try around the garden last year in my previous post is an example.  Pros – (i) there are some excellent products on the market that are rich in nutrients, Kolush being one such example.  Cons – (i) it can get expensive, especially if you have a large garden like ours.  You can’t skimp when using the product.  You need to apply a decent layer for it to be effective (see tips below)
•          Compost – I used to only use compost for digging into the soil, but a couple of years ago I discovered that compost makes an excellent mulch, too.  Yesterday, I spread some around the standard roses along the pathway leading to the front door (see photo).  Avoid using fresh compost as it can burn plants.  Try mushroom compost.  I haven’t done so yet but have heard that it’s amazing, but be aware that it can alter the PH level of the soil so it’s best avoided around acid loving plants.  Pros – (i) compost is rich in nutrients, including nitrogen; (ii) it is economical (free if it’s homemade and cheaper by the bag than specific garden mulches such as Kolush); (iii) as it’s dark in colour it radiates the heat and warms the soil.  Cons – (i) it can introduce weeds as it often contains weed seeds
•          Lawn clippings – I’ve found lawn clippings are great for putting around my roses and fruit trees.  Remember to leave some for your lawn as they act as a natural fertiliser.   Don’t use lawn clippings as mulch if you have used weed killer on the lawn beforehand.  Pros – (i) they’re free; (ii) high in nitrogen.  Cons – (i) don’t apply too thick a layer as it can hinder moisture from evaporating; (ii) it can get slimey and smelly when it rains a lot; (iii) if your lawn contains weeds this may leave seeds in the clippings which crop up in your garden later on; (iv) it decays quickly, so needs to be reapplied often
•          Leaves – Pros – (i) they’re free; (ii) they are plentiful in autumn; (iii) they encourage earth worms.  Cons – (i) it can look untidy as they rarely stay where put, especially when it gets windy
•          Comfrey – Comfrey leaves are high in nutrients and make a wonderful mulch.  This is something I should try myself now that our comfrey patch seems to have bounced back (previously the leaves looked unhealthy as they had been nibbled by pests, so I couldn’t use them to line the trenches when planting my potatoes).  Simply chop leaves up and spread around plants.  Pros – (i) economical; (ii) acts as a slow-release fertiliser
•          Newspaper – Best used underneath another kind of mulch.  Moisten the sheets after laying them down to prevent them from flying away.  Pros – (i) it’s free; (ii) it’s a great way to recycle; (iii) acts as a weed barrier
•          Cardboard - Best used underneath another kind of mulch, like newspaper.  Moisten the cardboard after laying it down to prevent it from flying away.  Pros – (i) it’s free; (ii) it’s a great way to recycle; (iii) acts as a weed barrier
•          Bark – Ideal for using around ornamental plants, shrubs and trees.  Pros – (i) it takes a long time to break down, maybe even three to four years.  Cons – (i) decomposition can cause nitrogen depletion so you may need to add a fertiliser rich in nitrogen to the soil to compensate for this
•          Wood chips – always use untreated timber.  Allow it to decompose for a year prior to use.  Pros – (i) it’s cheap; (ii) it looks attractive and is perfect for a woodland garden because it goes with the look
•          Sawdust – as with wood chips, always use untreated timber.   Allow it to decompose for a year prior to use.  Pros – (i) it’s economical; (ii) it breaks down quickly. Cons – (i) it can deplete the soil of nitrogen, so add a nitrogen rich fertiliser to compensate for this
•          Pine needles – lasts for between 2-4 seasons.   Pros – (i) great for acid-loving plants such as strawberries and blueberries
•          Seaweed – Seaweed is a great mulch as it’s very rich in minerals.  Wash the salt off first and chop it up a bit before spreading it over the garden.  Pros – (i) it’s free; (ii) it’s high in nutrients.  Cons – (i) it can be difficult to find along beaches, unless there has been a storm recently and it gets washed up to shore
•          Stones  - ideal for large ornamental plants such as palms and cabbage trees.  Also good for succulents and plants that require additional heat, such as Mediterranean herb gardens.  Pros – (i) looks attractive; (ii) lasts for a long time as they don’t rot down; (iii) adds minerals to the earth. Cons – (i) doesn’t add many nutrients to the soil ; (ii) can be hard to remove, so think carefully before using them as a mulch!
•          Carpet – it’s best to use a wool-based carpet and avoid fitted carpets with adhesive.  Pros – (i) it takes a long time to break down; (ii) Good for laying under garden paths, then mulching on top as it lasts a long time. Cons - (i) not so good in the garden itself, as the soil stays dry underneath.
•          Black polythene – you might recall me mentioning that I’m using black plastic underneath my melons, pumpkins and squash this year to help radiate the heat in the hope of increasing plant productivity.  Pros – (i) great for supressing weeds; (ii) ideal for increasing the soil temperature.  Cons – (i) it doesn’t break down and add nutrients to the soil; (ii) like weedmat, it suffocates the soil by restricting air flow.  This affects soil activity, including earth worms; (iii) it can fly away, especially when plants are young so it needs to be secured somehow (I place potted plants on the edges to hold it down); (iv) it looks unattractive; (v) it is hard to handle; (vi) it can overheat plants.  Commercial strawberry growers tend to use it but I’ve read that it can burn fruit as temperatures increase at this time of the year
•          Weed mat – I’m not a huge fan of using weed mat as a mulch because the soil can’t breathe, but it does serve a purpose in the garden.  We have some weedmat covered by bark in the area on either side of our front door.  I put containers on top and use the space primarily for our mini orchard.  Pros – (i) helps to supress weeds (but the weeds still manage to find a way through ours).  Cons – (i) it doesn’t break down and add nutrients to the soil; (ii) it suffocates the soil as it restricts air flow.  This affects soil activity, including the presence of earth worms

Tips for mulching

•          Weed the area first
•          Apply any fertiliser you desire before mulching
•          Make sure the soil is moist before mulching
•          Wear a mask for protection when applying mulch
•          Apply a decent layer- between 10 to 20 cm is ideal.  Any less and it won’t be effective in supressing weeds from surfacing.  Any more and you will be providing a breeding ground for pests!
•          Don’t put mulch too close to the stems of plants to allow good air flow otherwise the plants might rot
•          Depending on what type of mulch you use, it will probably need to be topped up again in future

​One of the great things about being a part of this challenge is that we are constantly reminded about what we should be doing around the garden.  Even if you’re a seasoned gardener (excuse the pun), it’s easy to overlook things, especially in spring when you’re so busy.  In her recent admin comments, Sarah reminded us to apply mulch before the rain sets in again, if we haven’t already done so.  Yesterday, I managed to spread some lawn clippings around our tamarillo, lemon and banana trees (see photo).  Fortunately I had weeded the area about a fortnight ago, so I could go straight to the task of applying the mulch.    We don’t have much of a lawn because it gave way to the garden over time.  As a consequence, we don’t get many clippings.  However, the neighbour’s property was very overgrown as it had been abandoned for a long time after the tenants moved out.  When the lawn was finally mowed two days ago, there were lots of clippings which I gathered for the garden.  There was no one around to ask permission, so I only raided the front (I didn’t want to sneak around the back and be busted trespassing!).  Anyway, their lawn looks much tidier now that the layer of clippings has been removed.  I was going to purchase some Kolush seaweed and manuka mulch which I trialled last year for Palmers Garden Centre, who kindly gave me four bags to use around the garden and follow up on through my blog and on social media.  I had excellent results using this product – lots of lush growth, flowers and fruit on our trees.  However, lawn clippings are free.  I’m trying to economise more in the garden as I’m very conscious of the fortune we spend for the upkeep.  I also wanted to experiment and try using different mulches around the garden, comparing their efficacy later on in my blog.  For now, in the challenge, I thought this would be a good time to share some tips about mulching.  There is a lot of ground to cover (again, excuse the pun!) so I will spread (haha) this over two posts.

What is mulch?
Mulch is material which is spread over the surface of soil.  I will outline some common mulches in my next post.

Where to mulch
Anywhere you are growing plants, whether in the ground, raised beds or containers

When to mulch
Mulch is important to have in the garden all year round.  Typically, I apply mulch in spring and autumn as it makes sense to do so straight after new plantings. How often you mulch depends on the material you use and the length of time it takes to break down, as well as how often you plant and replant crops.

Reasons for mulching

•          Raises the temperature of the garden bed, which can enhance plant growth in winter and extend cropping in the summer garden into the autumn months
•          Protects the soil from erosion
•          Protects the roots of plants from extreme temperatures (both heat and the cold)
•          Helps moisture from both rainfall and watering the garden absorb more effectively
•          Helps prevent diseases such as black spot and mildew
•          Improves drainage
•          Conserves moisture by slowing down evaporation
•          Encourages healthy soil life, including the presence of worms
•          Keeps weeds down
•          Adds nutrients to the soil as the mulch breaks down over time
•          Provides a clean dry surface for fruiting crops such as strawberries, zucchini and pumpkins, ensuring that they don’t come into contact with the ground and rot
•          Gives the garden a tidy appearance

​Tomorrow, I will outline the different types of mulches you can use, as well as some tips for applying mulch.

In the Yates Veggie Growing Challenge’s blogging tips, we are required to be honest in our blog.  With the end drawing closer, I thought that it would be timely for me to summarise the things that I have opened up about over the course of the competition, both explicitly and implicitly. 

•          While I enjoyed helping my parents around the garden during my childhood in Whangarei, I got into gardening after being diagnosed with schizophrenia and depression in my early 30s.  The garden has benefitted me immensely by improving my mental health.  This is something I wanted to share during the journey and now is the right time.  This topic warrants a separate post, so I will continue with this in Part II which I will write soon (I can’t promise it will be tomorrow as I have the YMCA 10k race plus lots to do around the garden, so I might have to pick an easier topic to write about)
•          Urban self-sufficiency can be achieved but it is an all-consuming job which leaves very little time for other things in your life
•          I have a love/hate relationship with the garden!  I am extremely passionate about what I do but there are times I seriously wish I wasn’t a gardener (but then as Sarah said, I also ask myself what else I would be doing with my time)
•          I take the garden way too seriously.  Both mum and I have invested a lot of our time, energy and finances into the garden.  It can be stressful and I get quite upset if things don’t work out as planned, even if some factors are beyond my control, for example, the weather. 
•          The veggies we grow helps both mum and I control Type 2 diabetes.  So far, we have remained off meds and control our condition with just diet and exercise. 
•          Increasing my intake of veggies (in conjunction with exercising consistently and monitoring my overall diet carefully) has enabled me to lose 23.6kg over the past five months
•          Over the years, gardening has taken a toll on my physical health.  I’m pretty sure I suffer from RSI.  I have issues with my neck/trapezius muscles and wrists/forearms, which are incredibly tight.  These injuries cannot be attributed solely to the gym and running.
•          I don’t gel with a couple of our neighbours who sometimes catch me while I’m outside. I am busy, whereas they are busybodies who ask too many personal questions and gossip about me behind my back.  Some people need to learn how to mind their own business
•          We stopped hosting wwoofers after two years of being hosts.  Wwoofing isn’t what it used to be.  We found it difficult to deal with the negative attitude of some wwoofers.
•          The garden is far from organic, something which I’m not proud of. I seem to be relying increasingly on sprays to protect plants from pests and diseases.  Climate change hasn’t helped.  I always sprayed the roses and fruit trees with Yates products.  Then I had to start spraying the celery with Liquid Copper for rust and now it looks like I will also have to spray the garlic, too.  At least liquid copper is organic.  I also had to spray my seedlings with Success for the first time, to protect them from being eaten by pests.  The increased use of non-organic sprays around the garden is something I’d like to reflect on more in the new year.  I’d like to come up with organic substitutes in the future
•          There is some waste from produce stored in the fridge which hasn’t been utilised and is therefore no longer suitable to be given away.  There is also sometimes waste from produce that doesn’t store well, especially potatoes (despite being kept in hessian sacks, the potato dust I mentioned that I was trialling earlier doesn’t really help them keep so I decided not to use this additional chemical in the gardening process)
•          We don’t have a composting system for disposing and recycling garden waste.  Simone’s recent post on this topic is excellent and I will be making a note of her points
•          I have plenty of crop failures!
•         I use too much plastic in the garden.  I need to follow my own advice in Mini Challenge #2 (which I definitely didn’t deserve to win!)

Today’s photo is of some of my many celery seedlings in the nursery.  I hope to keep them rust free by spraying them every fortnight with Yates Liquid Copper.

Over the past week, we’ve been seeing a lot of rain in Auckland, with much more to come.  Despite the downpours, I’ve managed to continue to progress the summer garden.  Here’s a little summary of what I’ve been up to over the past five days.

Friday

•          Sprayed the roses with Yates Shield (to prevent black spot), the celery with Yates Liquid Copper (to present rust) and the tamarillo trees with Yates Success (to protect against damage from insects)
•          Liquid fed the rest of the garden with my Yates Thrive pods (I did the strawberries, tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, capsicums, chillies, eggplants, tomatoes and squash the previous day)
•          Planted more zucchini (Amanda from Egmont Seeds and Fiorentino from Franchi), cucumbers (Apple from Yates, Beth Alpha from Franchi and Muncher from Kings Seeds), tomatoes (Big Beef and Dr Walters Special from Egmont Seeds) and pumpkins (Queensland Blue from Yates and Tonda Padana from Franchi)
• ·         Sowed more radish seeds in three 35 L buckets (Golden Helios and Halloween from Kings Seeds)

Saturday

•          Sowed okra (Clemson Spineless from Yates) and snake beans (Yard Long Runner from Kings Seeds) on the heat pad
•          Potted up cucumbers that were ready to come off the heat pad.  These varieties were Marketmore (Kings Seeds), Beth Alpha (Franchi), Spacemaster (McGregors), Lebanese (Oderings) and Patio Snacker (Egmont).  I then moved these plants into the greenhouse
•          Potted up some celery into 6-cell punnets.  These varieties were Utah (Kings Seeds) and Groene Pascale (Franchi)
•          Planted a blackberry (Black Satin from Incredible Edibles) to replace the one that died last year
•          Planted more tomatoes (more of the exotic varieties I mentioned in my previous post)
•          Weeded the asparagus patch.  Keeping on top of the weeding in this part of the garden has really paid off.  We had a good harvest and mum made Anabel Langbein’s potato, asparagus and red pepper frittata again (remember the photo from an earlier post of this same dish?)
•          Potted up kumara slips.  You may recall me mentioning that my kumara weren’t forming any shoots.  However, a couple of weeks ago, they started sprouting like crazy!  I’ll write more about the process I follow to grow kumara in a separate post (not that anyone should follow my advice as I haven’t had a lot of luck, except for the first year that I grew it!)

Sunday

•          Planted 4 passionfruit plants grown from seed last spring
•          Planted 4 Tumbling Tom Yellow tomato plants in hanging baskets
•          Planted more tomato plants.  I replaced some of my existing plants which appeared diseased with ones that I had grown from seed.  These were mainly Big Beef from Egmont Seeds
•          Sowed more White Butterfly beans given to me by Rob Hammington (Koanga)

Monday

•          Planted more tomatoes (Big Beef and Dr Walters Special from Egmont)
•          Put in a few chillies, capsicums and eggplants to replace weak plants which I pulled out
•          Planted bean seedlings along our trellis at the back of the house.  These were grown from seeds given to me by the Heritage Food crops Research Trust
•          Planted more rockmelons into our patch (Hale’s Best from Yates)
•          Re-potted my watermelon, honeydew and banana melon seedlings.  Some were very frail when initially potted up so there were 2 or 3 per pot, but most had grown well so I put each one into an individual pot.  Some of my Charleston Grey watermelon seedlings (Egmont) were so big that they needed to be moved into bigger pots.  Even if we don’t get a good crop of melons this season, I’m pleased that I won’t need to purchase potted melons this season.  With the addition of the greenhouse to the garden, I’ve had far more success raising them from seed this season than in previous years

Today

•          Planted another Tumbling Tom Yellow tomato plant in a hanging basket after removing an existing plant which looked diseased
•          Planted more eggplants, capsicums and chillies in containers
•          Sowed more “Italiano Classico” basil (Franchi).  This is my favourite variety of basil.  The leaves are huge and glossy, perfect for making pesto
•          Sowed more beans from the Heritage Food crops Research Trust, as well as Asian Winged Beans (Kings Seeds) and Scarlet Runner (Yates)
•          Potted up the rest of the celery.  There are a lot of punnets in the nursery so it looks like we’ll be having a lot of homemade veggie soup next winter!

Action list for the coming days

•          Sow asparagus seeds (Mary Washington, Kings Seeds)
•          Plant more zucchini, pumpkins, cucumbers and tomatoes.  It’s getting hard to find space!
•          Liquid feeding
•          Clear area along the pathway to the front door which currently contains poppies that have finished flowering.  Prepare the bed with compost and fertiliser.  Sow zinnias (this year I’m growing “Gold Medal” from Yates)

Today’s photo is of my two Tumbling Tom Red tomato plants which I grew from seed (Egmont) and planted into hanging baskets.  I’m very pleased with how these are coming along.  Is anyone else growing tomatoes in hanging baskets this year?

​Rain is great for the garden (watering with the hose just isn’t the same!) but there has been a lot lately and it’s sometimes a bit frustrating as I can’t get as much done outdoors! I bet those of you with smaller gardens have finished planting your veggies and are enjoying a rest.  I’m jealous. I’m far from finishing the summer garden for two main reasons: (i) successive sowing and planting is great because you have a continuous supply of veggies but it also means that the garden is never complete; and (ii) in my opinion, it’s still too early to plant some things out such as watermelon, okra and snake beans.  I’m waiting for December for these heat-loving plants.

You may still be able to get some work done outside in between showers.  Depending on how much it is raining, the more general conditions (wind, temperature etc) and what tasks I need to do outside, I sometimes put on a raincoat and continue with my tasks.  If, like me, you still want to use time constructively to further your garden when you can’t be outdoors at all (eg if it’s raining torrentially), here are some ideas for indoor (or at least undercover) activities:

•          Planning – Now is a good time to make some lists of what you want to grow next season, any new plants you may want to add and any capital expenditure you might incur for additions to the garden
•          Ordering garden supplies – Stock up on seeds (Egmont, Kings Seeds and Franchi have an online shopping facility on their website), fertilisers (I often purchase from Gardn Gro, as they deliver direct to your door) and other products you need around the garden.
•          Sowing seeds – Since my heat pads are in the lounge, I always sow seeds indoors whether it’s raining or fine.  I work on an old bed sheet and bring the equipment I need (seed raising mix, punnets, incubators, labels, a marker and spray bottle filled with water) inside for the task
•          Potting up seedlings – Normally, I’m still able to do this outside without getting wet, so long as I sit underneath the eaves of our garage.  I always leave the garage door open while I’m working.  The garage doubles as our garden storage shed so everything I need is easily accessible.  I always sit on an old swimming kickboard and we keep potting mix in a stack just outside the garage, so I can access it without getting wet
•          Tidying the storage shed – our gardening supplies become rather jumbled in the garage, especially during spring when I’m very busy in the garden. When you can’t be outdoors, use the time to tidy and organise your materials
•          Blogging – Rainy days are perfect for working on your gardening blog, whether you’re taking part in the Yates Veggie Growing Challenge or not.  If the weather is terrible and I can’t be outside, I sometimes start drafting my post for the next day in advance (like this one!).  It’s also a good time to brainstorm ideas for future posts, so you don’t struggle to think of things to write about later on!
•          Gardening education – I hardly have any spare time to read gardening books and magazines, so I’m a bit grateful when the weather prevents me from being outside.  It’s also a great time to research any issues that have cropped up in your plot and fire off enquiries to the experts, such as Yates, who have given me excellent advice over the years
•          Caring for house plants – What better a time to pamper your house plants?  We only have one, a dancing lady orchid, yet I still somehow nearly managed to kill it.  The irony that I have a thriving flower and veggie garden outside, complete with a mini orchard, doesn’t escape me.  I have been feeding our plant weekly with Yates Brigitta Liquid Plant Food, which is formulated for orchids.  Hopefully this will help to revive it.
•          Updating your garden diary – If you’ve fallen a bit behind (it sometimes happens), spend some time updating your gardening records with the dates of seed sowings and other activities you have been doing outdoors.  I don’t record all my gardening activities (I’d like to note down the dates of plantings but just don’t have enough time for a garden this size), but I like to note the dates I plant potatoes so I know when they’ll be ready to be harvested.  It’s a good idea to check how long it takes for specific varieties to mature rather than relying on the appearance of flowers, as not all spuds flower.

​Today’s photo is of a strawberry smoothie that we have been having every day, using fresh strawberries from our garden.  Mum found the recipe in an old Weight Watchers magazine.  It tastes delicious!

​In my previous post, I discussed growing okra and outlined some general tips for success.  In this post, I will cover some specific tips for sowing, planting and harvesting okra.

Sowing seeds

•          Okra is most commonly green in colour.  The main variety in New Zealand is Clemson Spineless (distributed by Yates and Kings Seeds).  Kings Seeds also have a green variety called Millionaire F1 and Egmont Seeds have one called Emerald Green.  It’s also possible to grow red okra.  Both Kings Seeds and Egmont sell a burgundy variety.  Kings Seeds also have an orange variety called “Jing Orange”
•          I personally think it’s better to raise seedlings in punnets first and then transplant them later, either into the garden or in pots, depending on how you want to grow them
•          Don’t sow okra seeds too early.  Depending on the weather, I normally sow seeds between mid-November and the beginning of December.  By this time, temperatures are consistently warmer, especially at night. There’s no point trying to get a head start only for temperatures to drop later on, which will cause your plants to die
•          Okra seeds have a hard coating, so soak them overnight to aid germination
•          Okra requires warmth to germinate.  Using a heat pad can help, especially as the temperature falls at night time
•          Use a high quality seed raising mix rather than potting mix or garden soil for germinating seeds.  I recommend Gardn Gro’s seed raising mix (the company delivers direct to your door).  I have also used Yates Black Magic seed raising mix in the past, with good results
•          If your seedlings fail, it is possible to find okra plants at certain garden centres.  I’ve seen plants at Palmers and Kings Plant Barn in Auckland.  Getting okra to germinate isn’t the hard part though, it’s seeing your plants through to maturity that can be more tricky, especially if it isn’t a great summer.  Even if you purchase plants, you might still encounter problems later on

Planting okra

•          Choose a site with full sun, whether you’re growing okra in containers or in the ground
•          If you’re going to the effort of growing okra, aim to have at least a dozen plants.  This might sound like a lot, but you’ll find that okra doesn’t mature all at once.  In order to have a decent feed, you’ll need more than just a couple of plants
•          Once it is warm enough, okra grows fairly rapidly.  Generally speaking, okra grows over summer and crops in autumn.  Our plants usually crop in March and April
•          Take care when transplanting seedlings not to disturb the roots too much
•          To encourage growth, liquid feed plants weekly.  A fertiliser that’s formulated for fruiting veggies is perfect.  I’m going to use my Yates Thrive Tomato Liquid Plant Food fertiliser on ours
•          Okra is self-pollinating.  Plants produce both male and female flowers and are fertilised by their own pollen.  They do not require insects or the wind to pollinate them.  This makes them suitable for growing in a glasshouse, which I recommend if your climate is marginal

Harvesting okra

•          Pick pods regularly otherwise they will become tough to eat.  Harvesting regularly will also encourage further fruiting
•          Okra can be stored in the fridge if you don’t want to eat them immediately.  It should keep for a week or so, but usually doesn’t last that long around here!

 
Today’s photo is of my bean seedlings. These were a variety of seeds from the Heritage Food Crops Research Trust.   Our cat Ginger just loves sleeping in her bed in the greenhouse!  Sorry the picture quality is poor – I tried taking this photo many times but it always came out blurry.

This morning, I sowed a packet of Yates Clemson Spineless okra seeds in a punnet on my heat pad.  Sometimes, I wonder why I even bother growing okra.  It is more suited to growing in a tropical climate.  Plants can reach over six foot in certain parts of India, Fiji and some of the southern states of the US.  Indeed, this is primarily where okra is eaten.  By contrast, my plants are usually grown in pots (if they make it to that stage, as they can be difficult to get growing in the first instance) and are pitifully short by comparison.  They’re hardly what I would call heavy croppers.  If we’re lucky, we can harvest a handful at one time. 

What is okra?  It’s a green vegetable quite unlike anything else you have eaten.  It doesn’t have a lot of flavour in itself, the real taste comes from the spices you add to it.  Usually, you would wash and cut the ends off before cooking it.  Okra can either be eaten by itself or added to a dish with other ingredients.  You may have come across it in Indian or Chinese dishes.  Indian people refer to it as bindi.  It is also a key ingredient in gumbo, which is a dish eaten in the southern states of the US.  I used to be vegetarian and one of my favourite meals was lentil (dahl), rice, spinach, eggplant and bindi.  We love preparing okra with some onion and a little turmeric.  We cook it in a little pot on the stove.  It doesn’t take very long to cook and tastes delicious!

Here’s why I go to the effort of growing okra every year:

•          To my knowledge, it’s only possible to purchase imported okra, usually found in ethnic grocers and grown in Fiji.  It isn’t always that fresh and the pods can be quite tough.  The okra has also been sprayed, probably quite heavily, both during growing and prior to entering the country.  Sometimes, ethnic grocers also sell frozen okra which isn’t very nice.  If you want fresh, locally grown okra you have to grow it yourself!
•          Okra isn’t easy to grow.  I’m always up for a challenge in the garden!
•          It’s worth growing just for the flowers alone.  They belong to the hibiscus family and are very beautiful

While okra can be a bit tricky, it is nevertheless possible to grow successfully, depending on (i) where you live and (ii) how long and hot your summer turns out to be. Here are a few of my top growing tips.

•          Okra needs very hot weather in order to grow and crop.  Don’t bother if you live in a place with a temperate climate.  If you’re still determined to give it a go, you could try growing okra in a glasshouse
•          I’ve never had much luck growing okra in the ground, so I grow it in pots.  This keeps the soil temperature slightly warmer.  It also means that you can move the plants around so they get maximum sun and bring them undercover when the temperature drops in April.  In saying that, I visited the garden of a couple who live in Otahuhu, a neighbouring suburb of Auckland. Their okra was planted in the ground.  The plants were tall, healthy and cropping well.  I also noticed that they managed to grow their eggplants in the ground successfully, which is something I could never achieve, so I keep them in containers as well.  It might come down to the soil.  Maybe ours is lacking in something for these crops.  Other fruiting crops such as zucchini, cucumbers and tomatoes seem to do fine though
•          This is the first summer that we have a greenhouse, so once my seeds germinate, I’m going to pot up my seedlings into 6-cell punnets.  Once they’re big enough, I’ll move them into 9 litre buckets (just the household type, nothing fancy) and keep them in the greenhouse until it gets really hot, which probably won’t be until the new year if the current weather is anything to go by.  By that time, the greenhouse will be empty and they will be able to stay inside for as long as necessary

​I’ll cover my specific tips for sowing, planting and harvesting okra in my next post.

Today’s photo demonstrates how the garden works in mysterious ways.  I noticed that something has popped up in my chilli plant which is in a 35 litre container.  To me, they look a bit like watermelon seedlings, but I’m not sure how that can be as I used fresh potting mix!  What do others think?  If they are, I’m pretty happy as I find watermelon quite tricky to germinate and don’t have many plants to show for all the packets of seeds I went through!​

In this series of posts, I will continue to explore common problems with raising seedlings and plants.  Two days ago, I covered the topic of death.  Yesterday, I focussed on damage, in particular the issues of breakage, pests and disease.  In today’s post, I will cover poor crops and a failure to crop at all.

Poor crop

•          Sometimes, you can put poor crops down to bad weather, which is beyond our control.  That’s why the price of veggies can be so absurdly high.  Even if your own crop is smaller than usual or the quality isn’t as good, you’ll be really glad that you did grow some in times like this!
•          Remember that some varieties are more prolific than others eg fancier varieties of pumpkins are not as prolific as crown pumpkins
•          You might not be feeding your plants enough.  Plants need more than water and sunshine to really thrive.  Veggies like pumpkins are gross feeders and need lots of compost worked into the soil before planting.  Liquid feed your plants weekly during spring and early summer to promote growth, flowering and fruit set
•          Don’t forget that fruiting and root crops need full sun to crop well.  Leafy veggies can be grown in partial shade.  Simone recently wrote a great post on this topic
•          Ensure that you’re sowing and planting veggies the right way.  Corn should be planted in blocks, not rows, as it is pollinated by the wind.  This helps ensure that all kernels are formed and there are no gaps in the cobs.  To avoid forked roots, carrots and parsnips should always be sown directly where you want to grow them and not transplanted

Failure to crop

•          Sometimes plants go to seed prematurely.  This has happened to me in the past with celeriac.  It can be due to fluctuating temperatures in spring, which are beyond your control.  Some advice given to me by Yates to help prevent celeriac from bolting was to keep it well watered
•          Don’t leave veggies on the plant for too long otherwise they may start going to seed.  This can happen to broccoli, especially as the temperatures increase in spring.  It’s better to pick them when they’re ready, even if they’re on the smaller side rather than wait in the hope that they will grow bigger
•          Don’t plant seedlings too late in the season, otherwise they won’t have enough time to grow, mature, set fruit and ripen.  The first summer I grew veggies, I remember planting eggplants in February.  There simply wasn’t enough time left for all this to happen before it started getting cold
•          Fruiting plants sometimes have lots of foliage but few flowers and fruit.  This can be due to poor pollination.  Make sure you plant lots of flowers nearby to help bring the bees into the garden.  For tomatoes, remove the laterals (side shoots at 45 degree angles) so the plant puts its energy into forming fruit rather than lots of leaves.  To encourage more flowering and fruiting, make sure you harvest regularly otherwise the plant will put all its energy into existing fruit rather than forming new flowers and fruit. 
•          Brassicas sometimes fail to form a head.  This is usually due to too much nitrogen in the soil.  This can also happen when plants are spaced too close together
•          Root and bulbing crops can fail to form roots or bulb up.  I like using a little superphosphate fertiliser at the time of planting, which encourages the development of strong roots.  It’s fine to use a little blood and bone fertiliser (I like the one in the Yates Nature’s Way line) but don’t use too much otherwise you’ll end up with lots of leaves at the expense of anything happening underground!
•          Plants can fail to produce if grown in the wrong climate.  Generally speaking (there are some varieties which are exceptions), cherries and apricots need a cold winter and a long, dry summer in order to fruit well.  Peonies also need a chilly winter in order to flower, so don’t bother trying to grow them if you live in Auckland!
•          Plants can fail to produce if the soil is depleted of nutrients, so make sure you work in lots of compost, sheep pellets and fertiliser before putting in new plants.  I like to dig the garden beds over when old crops come out but have read that it’s not a good idea to do this too often.  Consider planting a cover crop every now and then to replenish the soil

​Today’s photo is of our new David Austin rose Grace, which I have been spraying with Yates Super Shield to prevent black spot.  If you’re after David Austin standard roses, D & S Nurseries have an excellent range.