A quick check in on your garden
Happy New Year everybody! I am not really supposed to be posting today, but we have been back from travels and I have spent quite a bit of time in the garden (quite a bit of time in the rain, too, as a result).
I am aggressively cutting things which grow large
My pumpkin was growing over my tomatoes, it has gone everywhere. I cut it off where it was annoying me, there are so many pumpkins growing this year that I won’t even notice.
My rose is getting cut back to the middle wooden bar (a reduction of almost a metre)- there is no reason for it to be left where it is.
What you could look at cutting back-
Roses, especially climbers or ramblers, if you would rather they be bushy at a lower point or if they are far too long. The difference between cutting something back now compared to mid winter is that they will get really bushy where you cut them back now, so this is a good technique for anything which is a bit leggy
Camellias especially, if they are leggy, or anything vaguely tree like which you would like to be bushy at a lower point (in my house this is michelia)
This is also the time of year to cut back plums and overgrown peach trees, to where they are fruiting at the time. I find that this stops them getting too out of control, and if you prune plums at funny times of year they can get silver leaf, so mid summer and mid winter are your only options.
Cut back random tomato, pumpkin, overgrown vege shoots. Cut back dahlias where they look manky. This is a beautiful time of year where everything is extremely forgiving.
I am removing things which aren’t doing well
This is my romanesco cauliflower, which is supposed to be green- but any cauli or broccoli that looks like this is going to seed and needs to be eaten very quickly or removed. It won’t get any bigger.
Thankfully given my style of gardening, the only thing I had to remove was the above broccoli. “Going to seed” is when a vegetable is pretty much not good for eating- it’s now trying to flower and set seed. So I am leaving everything which is going to seed- and a lot is- spinach, lettuce, coriander, parsley- but I am not fussy about locations of any of those things, and embrace them going to seed- it means that I don’t have to plant them for Winter. If you don’t want them self seeding everywhere, you might want to check on any of your leafy greens that are suddenly getting quite tall…
I am planting replacement plants for the rest of the season
In my case, lettuce, spring onion, leek and a very hopeful zucchini
Let’s talk really quickly about things you should not be planting.
Corn
Peppers of any kind, unless already fruiting
Cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, tomatoes- anything which needs to grow a fruit of some sort that you would eat- unless already fruiting.
Smaller annual flowers that give you one nice set of flowers- like cosmos, nicotiana, anything that will only live one season. They won’t have time to flower.
I know this feels harsh, but they just won’t give you what you want. They won’t give you the flowers or fruit you are after.
Give these a go-
Anything that has leaves to eat (silverbeet, lettuce, spinach), but plant in the shade
Any herbs
You can probably get away with root vegetables like carrots and beetroot, but parsnip prefers winter
You can probably get an OK crop out of potatoes.
Perennial flowers and smaller annual flowers- this is a great time.
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That’s it! That’s the blog. I hope you are getting out and having fun despite the tumultuous weather!
Zoe