This time of year is traditional for planting garlic, shallots and onions. Photo / 123rf
We are rapidly approaching Matariki this coming week, marking the start of the Lunar calendar.
The shortest day is also a week away on June 21.
This time of year is traditional for planting garlic, shallots and onions.
It is often said the coldest weather arrives after the shortest day.
Although temperatures are cool, it is planting time for many trees and shrubs too.
The decent rainfall over the past few weeks makes for excellent planting time for the many new-season fruit trees, deciduous trees, camellias, rhododendrons and roses – which all arrive at garden centres during the winter months.
Good soil moisture combined with lower sunlight hours means minimal transplant stress for plantings made during these winter months.
How is your vegetable garden looking? So many have planted vegetables this autumn.
If your planning has been thorough, the garden will now be full of vegetables for winter use.
Spinach, silver beet, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and brussels sprouts nearing maturity will benefit from a liquid feed of “Ican Fast Food” or similar, so that the nutrients are immediately available.
These vegetables are heavy feeders and a fertiliser application at this time will increase their size and maintain good health.
Slugs and snails are likely to be active on young seedlings, so lay pellets to protect plants from attack.
Frost covers should be brought out of the shed and, on clear nights where the temperature looks set to drop below 4C, tender plants should be covered.
The use of cloches at this time of year can greatly enhance growth rates.
Any such methods where soil temperature can be increased during these cooler months will increase growth.
Planting lettuce cell plants on a small mound of compost or mulched with straw, or even black plastic mounding as for strawberry plantings, can help to give a good winter lettuce crop.
The lower temperatures are needed by some plants to initiate flowering and fruiting, while other plants regulate their growth cycles based on the length of day and night.
So, as the days lengthen in the coming weeks, many trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs will react in varying ways.
I have spotted some early bulbs such as paper whites and early jonquils with the odd first flower, while traditional daffodils will start to come through the soil in the next few weeks for flowering in August and September.
Crocus is always one of the earliest of the spring bulbs to flower.
It is said that crocus herald the coming of spring, as these tend to flower around late July and August.
Gardening is very much about working with the seasons and we have created “traditional” planting times that help us to remember when to plant certain crops.
So just as many people will always plant tomato plants at Labour Weekend, many will always plant garlic bulbs on the shortest day and harvest it on the longest.
Through the month of June is the main planting time for this frequently used culinary favourite.
The window for planting and harvesting is in fact a lot longer, with plantings being able to be made from April through into July.
This health-giving food has become extremely popular in recent years as cooking shows and the like have shown the wide range of culinary dishes that garlic can be used in.
Garlic is easy to grow. For many years it suffered very few pest or disease problems and the presence of it in your vegetable garden can actually help other vegetables, with it showing to be beneficial when grown in close proximity to lettuce and cucumber plantings.
In recent years some have had trouble with fungal disease of “rust”.
A recently available product that looks promising in the treatment of this disease is called “Botryzen”.
This BioGrow-certified organic fungicide is a natural fungus which colonises the leaf area, preventing pathogenic rotting fungi or bacteria from establishing.
I read recently of a home gardener having less rust incidence by growing their garlic much farther apart than in the traditional rows – something to try if you have space.
Garlic is generally sold as bulbs, which then should be broken up into individual cloves for planting.
Garlic cloves should be spaced 10cm apart and approx 5cm deep.
The soil should be loosened and dug over prior to planting. The soil should be fertile with good drainage.
The addition of compost, blood and bone or potato food is advantageous.
Harvest is made in December or January when the tops start to fall over or brown off.
At this time they should be pulled from the soil and allowed to dry in a sunny, well-ventilated position for 1-2 weeks.
Then they should be placed in a dark, dry, well-ventilated location where they will store for up to a year.
Shallots too are planted in a similar manner and should be planted now.
Another vegetable crop that is excellent for healthy living and should be sown now is onions.
The bulb of an onion develops in response to day length, so for best results following the correct sowing and planting times is important.
They are not difficult to grow and take up little room. Before sowing the ground should be well worked with all lumps of soil broken down and all weeds removed.
Sprinkle the soil with general fertiliser and fork in. A shallow furrow should be made, and seeds planted at 6mm deep and covered with seed-raising mix or fine soil.
Watch out for slugs and snails and protect seedlings with slug bait. They germinate within 10-14 days.
Seeds and seedlings can be purchased from garden centres. Planted now they will be ready for harvest in mid-summer.
Gareth Carter is the general manager of Springvale Garden Centre in Whanganui