Kem Ormond’s vegetable garden: How to ready your garden for spring

Kem harvested the last of the peppers from her tomato house this week.

Kem Ormond is a features writer for The Country. She’s also a keen gardener. This week, she’s into her veggie garden, boots and all.

OPINION

Well, next month it will be daylight saving.

Admittedly, it is at the end of September, which in my books means spring has officially arrived!

Spring is the time when the North and South are at their most obvious divide.

Jobs in the garden that can be done in the North will still not be possible for a few more weeks or more in the South.

You just can’t hurry Mother Nature!

The best time to sow most warm-season seeds is six to eight weeks before the last frost day: late October in the North and late November in the South.

However, you still need to be on guard, and of course, we all live in different areas of the country.

I have started chopping down cover crops, and now that the ground is not so wet, I am weeding.

Plus (can you believe it), I harvested the last of my peppers in my tomato house this week.

I have hilled (or earthed) up my early potatoes, and my main crop of potatoes (Agria) is now in the ground.

My brown onion plants are planted, and my red onion plants and shallots are at a decent size and waiting to be sown.

Because I do not get frosts and have large, raised vegetable beds, I can start planting earlier than usual.

I can sit on the edge of my vegetable beds, which shows how tall they are from the ground.

Also, 12 years of cover crops being dug into the soil means it is rich and pliable.

The chop and drop method really is worth considering; no organic matter has to be brought in, and nothing taken out.

I have a bumper crop of peas…pity they never make it inside, but that is because they are so delicious to nibble on when working in the garden.

Leeks are coming out of my ears at the moment, and I am eating the last of my brassicas and am now planting some new cauliflower and broccoli, so they are well established before the white butterfly makes an appearance.

I also have a great supply of spring onions, and my curly parsley is like a huge bouquet!

Now is the time to gather last-minute supplies, check that tools and containers are in good condition and make sure your working space is clean, clear, and ready for a busy season.

Vege tasks

Kem has a bumper crop of peas.

Start thinking about feeding your existing veges with a liquid fertiliser for a quick “pick me up” as the weather and soil begin to warm up and growth speeds up.

You can start planting early-season lettuces and other salad crops, although in colder areas you may want to use poly tunnels or protective cloches.

Perennial herbs can be divided to reinvigorate them, and they seem to thrive from this.

Plus, it is an ideal opportunity to share the extras with family or new gardeners starting out.

There’s still plenty of time to plant new fruit trees for future bottling and preserving.

Start preparing your beds for your summer crops, turning them over and giving them a feed of some of your home-grown compost.

Hopefully, you have worked out your crop rotation for this year’s vegetables, so you have a better chance of avoiding diseases.

Some sad news on the garlic front, the rust has found my garlic, even though I planted it in May to try and avoid the gold rush!

Not to be outdone, I will have a chat with the garlic grower at my local market for any further ideas on how to beat the rust.

Gardening is all about trial and error, and even we gardeners who have been doing it for years can still learn.

On the up, tamarillos seem to have been cheaper this year, and as my new tree is yet to produce any, I have been purchasing a few kilos, plus begging from friends and have been stewing them to have on my morning porridge.

Total indulgence and I love it!