Here is an update on our winter veggie patch
Well basically it's feeding time at the zoo! All vegetables have been side dressed with organic pelleted fertiliser and are being watered on alternative weeks with Harvest and Seaweed solution (thanks Mum!). We are constantly picking carrots for soups, and broccoli, and salad greens. July is a big growing month for winter veg and they need to be encouraged every weekend with a little feed - don't forget to feed!

Root & stem bed
Carrots and beetroot are going great guns, particularly the carrots. We have sown a row of carrots every 4 weeks and have a great supply, we like the purple Parkistani carrot for its colour and they seem to be growing into giants! Remember carrots can be sown any time of the year and are best sown directly into the garden. Advice differs in whether you can replant thinned carrot plants instead of throwing them away. A few months ago I replanted a row when they were quite small (about 2cm long) and they have all taken and are growing well. This keeps carrot genicide down and your patch more productive as you are not wasting seeds.

Parsnip are slow but coming along (we may have a crop in 2010!!). They can be sown anytime and prefer being sown directly into the garden, like carrots. Red and brown onions, kolrabi and celeriac are all growing albeit slowly! Not helped by the local Brush Turkey digging them up last month (thanks to WIRES for relocating him/her into more bushlike surroundings!)

Legume bed
Peas and Broad beans in excellent health and peas have reached the top of their bamboo trellis. We are pinching the tops of the pea shoots and throwing them into salads, they taste just like crunchy peas and this practise won't reduce your harvest.

Brassica bed
Broccoli and broccolini growing well and we are harvesting heads every few days, broccoli certainly develops a larger head and seems to be more productive in the space. If space is at a premium in your garden (like it is in ours) it would be best just growing broccoli. Cauliflowers are taking a while, like they did last year, but a recent feed has given them a growth spurt. Kale are growing slowly.

Leafy green bed
No night goes by without a leafy salad on the table. We usually mix it up with mini cos lettuce, mizuna, mustard greens and rocket - they taste wonderful but are so good for you. Full of foliate and fibre! Winter is perfect salad time.

Rotation of crops

There is no space left, which is probably a good thing as now is the time to start thinking about spring and sowing some tomato seeds inside. It's also time, as crops are harvested and some finish, to think about rotating crops for spring/summer vegetables. Remember leafy greens should follow legumes, fruiting veg follow leafy greens, roots follow fruiting veg, legumes follow roots. Clear as mud eh? But it really works (you'll get much less pests and diseases). We are in the pattern of rotating crops now and it'sgetting mush easier. For eg as the leafy greens are harvested, compost is added and the space is saved for fruiting veg such as tomatoes. Easy! If you need more information go back into earlier entries in this blog.

Potato Harvest

After a great December harvest of potatoes we have recently discovered some that missed being harvested then and are now being picked from the earth as "main crop" potatoes. There are 2 main seasons in which to harvest potatoes, December or "new season" and July or "main season" potatoes.

Happy veggie growing!
Linda Ross