Gardening and DIY: Bean there done that and apartment tricks

Photo / Paul Thompson

Let your beans go
By now climbing beans should be past their best and pods will be turning stringy and getting tough. Don't give up on them though, leave plants so that they can ripen as many pods as possible.

When the pods are beginning to dry out they can be harvested and the beans inside can be stored. You can use them through winter as you would a kidney bean or dried cannelloni bean - they also look beautiful and make good counters for card games!

Leave the fleshy roots in the ground and - unless you get hard frosts - they should re-grow just fine next spring when the soil warms up again.

Get growing without soil

If you are renting, live in an apartment, have no access to a garden or live in a part of the country where winter weather can be cold and harsh then think about filling a bunch of containers with potting mix so you can still enjoy a reasonable harvest through autumn and winter.

Carrots, mizuna, spinach, dwarf peas, garlic, corn salad, cress, parsley, coriander and winter lettuces will all do well sown in pots and planters. Use anything that's about the height of a bucket with a few drainage holes in the bottom - an old recycling tub, half barrel, plastic pot or wooden box will do.

Fill to ¾ full with potting mix and then top up with seed raising mix. Sow your seeds and hey presto! Position your containers in as sunny and sheltered a spot as possible and keep well watered.

Gardeners on the go
Remove leaves from tomato plants to expose remaining fruit to sunlight. In
cooler areas watch out for frosts - protect vulnerable plants with frost cloth or newspaper draped over them
Remove canes that have already fruited from blackberry, boysenberry and loganberry plants. Give plants a feed and mulch remaining stems well.

For full-scale, seasonal edible gardening advice and inspiration see www.podgardening.co.nz or check out Pod Gardening on facebook.