Gardening and DIY: Last of the summer vines

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The summer crops are coming to an end as we bid farewell to our hottest month. Weeding, watering, mulching and harvesting are key tasks this month.

Ripe for the picking
Potatoes, pumpkins, courgettes, peppers, cucumber, basil, corn, tomatoes and rock melons are all plentiful and fresh.?Harvest your crops regularly. If you haven't already, dig up your garlic now. I use a fork and ensure I dig down under each bulb. Fresh garlic is fragile and if it bruises it will not store well. Dry the cloves in the sun for several days before storing in a cool dry place.

Sparrows can be an absolute menace this time of year as they eat your vegetables to feed their growing families. Use bird netting or try hanging CDs and foil in the branches of trees.

This is now the time to sow any winter crops or green manure crops as they will get off to a racing start before the cold weather descends upon us. Plant lupins, mustard or oats, in any areas of the garden which you are not going to use over winter. Think of this as living green compost.

As you remove any spent plants re sow the areas with some of these varieties; mesclun, beetroot; carrots; rocket, peas, cauliflower, cabbages, broccoli.

Herbs
Tea bush
Tea comes from Camellia sinensis or assamicus. If you can grow Camellias you can grow your own cuppa .Pick the young leaves and tiny shoots, the younger and greener the better. For green tea just dry the leaves in a sunny spot.

Urban orchard
Keep up the watering around your fruit trees. Water deeply by placing a dribbling hose around the tree for at least ½ an hour. Apples are ready to harvest if they come off the tree easily. Stone fruit is also in abundance. Prune your stone fruit trees once you have harvested the fruit. Table grapes may need to be netted from the hungry birds.

Coffee
If tea is not your brew grow coffee. A coffee bush requires a frost-free climate and can grow up to five metres if happy and well-fed. Each red berry contains a seed which when dried and roasted is the coffee bean we know.

Coffee plants can be found at many garden centres.

Eco Tip
To keep produce fresh for longer, line the vegetable crisper in the fridge with paper towels. It will ?absorb moisture and ?makes cleaning ?easy?.

Urban Livestock
Backyard chooks
If you have any chooks that seem a bit off-colour try this natural remedy. Add a dash of Apple cider vinegar to the flock's water. This will clean out any bacteria in the chickens' gut. The next day add some natural yoghurt to the birds' feed to help restore the beneficial gut bacteria.

North Holland Blue

This is a rare breed in NZ. It was created around the turn of the 20th century in Holland, as a laying breed. They are quiet, docile and the hens are good layers of brown eggs. They have black and white barred feathers and ?white legs.

Worm farm
Your late summer crops will benefit from a feast of worm wee now. I run the hose through my farm with the worm farm tap open and a bucket placed underneath and collect the liquid to put on the garden. The worms don't seem to mind the sudden deluge as long as the water can drain out.