Time to harvest and sow

CARE NEEDED: Blossom end rot is caused by irregular watering which limits the supply of calcium from soil to the fruit. PICTURE: GARETH CARTER

The vegetable garden is always a place of action with sowing and planting best undertaken little and often to ensure continuous harvesting, providing a year-round supply of vegetables.
Thinking ahead to autumn and winter harvest, now is the time to make plantings of leeks and brassicas. Planting now will allow some fantastic growth and vegetables ready to harvest in May and June. Plant brassicas too late and they will not be ready until spring as the growth stops when temperatures get cold.
Planting now you must be vigilant in the battle against the white butterfly caterpillars. While not as bad as last year due to a wetter summer, white butterflies will eat brassicas like cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts and kale. If something is not done to avoid or control the attack, your crops can be destroyed.
Another pest that will damage brassicas, which is often blamed on the white butterfly, is the diamondback moth.
The caterpillars of the diamondback moth are similar to the white butterfly caterpillar but a lot smaller and are capable of more damage as they can drill deep holes into the host plant. The adult moths are very small but can be seen flying off the crop when disturbed.
There are several products for the control of both of these pests. Derris Dust has some control but must be applied frequently for effectiveness, especially after rain or irrigation. Mavrik is also effective and is bee friendly, but will affect some other beneficial insects like parasitic wasps.
An excellent control product is the new Yates Success Ultra. This product is derived from naturally occurring bacteria specific to the control of caterpillars only. This is not harmful to us or the environment, and does not affect the beneficial insects. It is very effective when applied about every 14 days over the white butterfly breeding season.
Onions With the hot sunny weather onions should now be drying off before harvesting and storing away for the winter. Once the stems of onions have bent over they need to be pulled and left to lie in the sun for a few days to dry and cure.
There are various ways of storing them including:
¦Stringing - hang in the kitchen for a French flavour
¦Wire netting - strung between garage or shed rafters ¦Onion bags - hang in onion bags where air can circulate freely.
Carrots & beets Make new sowings of carrot and beetroot for a tasty autumn/winter crop. Cylindra is a long oval, good-flavoured beet popular for slicing and preserves. Small, rounded baby beets are pulled while young and tender to obtain the best taste. They are great for use in salads, entrees and hors d'oeuvres. Soak beetroot seeds in a cup of water for a couple of hours before sowing to help overcome slow germination. Thin out plants for a better crop and keep moist and weed free. Protect seedlings with slug bait and feed regularly with Powerfeed, Thrive or similar liquid fertiliser. Very few pest and disease problems are encountered when growing beetroot.
Some popular carrot varieties are:
¦Topweight - the most popular of all carrots is vigorous growing with long fleshy red roots. Rich in vitamins and takes 16-20 weeks to mature
¦Early Chantenay - a short-rooted carrot favoured for its early maturity. A reliable heavy cropper that is ready to eat in about 10 weeks from sowing and is a delicious fine-grained carrot ¦Egmont Gold - a large superbly crunchy and vigorous variety that resists running to seed
¦Manchester Table - a blunt-ended variety well known for its great taste and good-sized roots
¦Baby carrots - popular for their crisp, sweet flavour. They are quick to grow (10-12 weeks), rich in vitamin A and carotene and great for growing in patio containers. Kids love growing these too.
Carrots and parsnips sown in November and December are growing rapidly now. Finger-size carrot thinnings can be pulled out and eaten to leave more growing space for the others. Carrots grow best in soil that is low in nitrogen. A soil too high in nitrogen may result in the roots forking - a common problem for home gardeners. Carrot seed is very fine and difficult to handle. To get an even distribution mix the seed with sand or fine organic matter to increase the bulk. Sprinkle this mixture along marked rows 1-2cm deep with rows 15cm apart. Keep moist until the ferny foliage appears. Thin 4-7cm apart depending on how large you want your carrots to grow.
Growing from seed can be daunting if you haven't done it before but Yates seed tapes take the scary part out of the process. These are seeds impregnated at even intervals into soft tissue. All you have to do is lay the tape in a groove about 1cm deep and lightly cover with soil. Keep moist and before you know it the seedlings have emerged at just the right spacing.
Carrot splitting is caused through irregular water supply and with soil being over-fertilised or manured with excess nitrogen. The general rule is higher-nitrogen fertilisers for leaf crops such as silverbeet, and lettuce; superphosphate for root crops such as potatoes and carrots; and potash for fruit and flower crops such as tomatoes and broccoli.
Plants of course require some of each element and many other trace elements as well.
Carrots are ready for harvest when they are about 2cm across at the top of the carrot. You may need to carefully remove some soil from around the carrot to see this, or sometimes you will be able to see the carrot slightly above the ground. Carrots are generally sweetest when they are slightly on the small side and will lose flavour if they get too large.
Don't store damaged carrots. Soft rot can be caused by growing in a heavily manured garden particularly if there is poor drainage. Carrots prefer a deeply cultivated soil and can be sown anytime from spring to autumn.
Tomatoes Regular watering and feeding of tomatoes is important to ensure a healthy plant and good cropping. Direct water around the root zone and not over the plant and be careful not to over water. Beware of blotch ripening - blotchy green or yellow areas on the fruit that do not change colour and ripen with the rest of the fruit. These patches occur usually on the sides or the blossom end of the fruit. The major cause of blotchy ripening seems to be an over-supply of water to the plant which it cannot get rid of by evaporation. This gives rise to "hardcore", the first symptom of the disorder. As well as excess water, the balance of salts in the fruit seems to play a role in plant health. Blotchy ripening fruit has also been associated with high calcium levels.
Remember if you are gardening during hot weather water only in early morning, avoiding contact on the leaves. This will minimise the risk of mildew and blight which is prevalent this year. Mulch as much as possible to help preserve soil moisture.
¦Gareth Carter is general manager of Springvale Garden Centre.