❂ Seed Garlic Now Available!
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It is impossible to write this newsletter to you without thinking back to what was happening this time last year. We were on the eve of the cyclone (or at least we were when I starred this newsletter!) and had no idea what was coming or that the newsletter I was drafting to go out that afternoon, would be another 2 weeks in sending. We have come so far from those first few days after the cyclone, and as the 1st anniversary of the storm comes round it is a time to offer gratitude for all we have and how much closer we are to life as it was before. Our local community came together for a BBQ on the cyclone anniversary to acknowledge this time and how were came together and helped each other. I also think of those who lost loved ones to the storm and send out condolences knowing this time of year will be hard for some.
We have had some extreme weather recently where we lost power due to very high winds and we were all transported back to our last experiences with power outages and some of the trauma remembered of those early weeks we lived without modern conveniences. Fortunately, most of the garden survived the winds and the tunnel houses stood strong. It was hard to see the wind battered leaves and broken over sunflowers, none the less. I hope the damage was not too bad for all your gardens. Mother nature is a powerful force, and we cannot assume that any crop we plant will come to fruition. We do see that with good wind breaks, attention to soil health and ideal succession planting times, we can succeed with most we plant regardless of what mother nature has in store for us.
And now onto some brighter news. Our Early Garlic Seed is now available for sale! We had a good year with good size bulbs despite the crop getting some rust in late spring. It is a testament to our strategies we use to be able to grow good sized garlic in the presence of rust. If you have not read up on our rust strategies, you can find them in our News section.
Our multiplying onions and elephant garlic will be listed later this autumn. But first, we have our early garlics available, as these are best planted in March/April.
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What to Sow Now:
January, February and March are the months to sow seeds for your winter garden! I know it is hard to believe that we need to be thinking about our winter veggies now, but if you want broccoli in June, sow now! Here is what we are planting:
Broccoli Purple Sprouting and Romanesco are designed for autumn sowing as they will not produce a crop if sown in spring until the following winter! So, try these delicious vegetables now. Broccoli De Cicco, Broccoli Raab Spring Rapini, Cabbage Chi Hi Li, Silverbeet Fordhook Giant, Spinach Bloomsdale, Corn Salad, Cress Land, Mustard Giant Red, Orach Red, Coriander, and Salad Burnet can all be sown now. We sow lettuces each month to keep in constant supply, now we focus on the cooler season varieties like Winter, Lollo Rossa, Tree, and Speckled. Now is also a good time to get Asian greens like Mizuna, and Tat Soi in, as well as Rocket and Wild Arugula to keep in supply. If these all sounds good, try our Easy Pick Greens Mix!
Remember, with all brassicas they are susceptible to the white cabbage butterfly, so to protect from this, we recommend covering your crops while they get established with fine frost cloth, or remove the caterpillars by hand. Of course, there are organic sprays available, but we do not use these. We prefer instead to create a barrier so the butterflies cannot lay their eggs. Problem solved.
Don’t forget about flowers for the winter garden! Calendulas, Poppies, Lupins and Sweet Peas are frost hardy and beautiful!
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