This month there’s loads of great things to enjoy in the garden with gorgeous Spring weather in the South and beautiful cooler temperatures in the North.
Here’s a few ideas for things to do this month…
For Southern Hemisphere Gardeners –
- Sow seeds directly into your garden or into punnets to transplant out into garden when ready. Try these ‘easy to grow’ plants – Lettuce, Rocket, Climbing Beans, French or Bush Beans, Celery, Capsicum, Cucumber and Beetroot. Remember to mix up the planting (Inter-cropping) to help confuse pests and reduce nutrient deficiencies in the soil (by not having only one plant family growing and taking valuable nutrients) and also mix in a few Herbs and Flowers for good Companion Planting. Add Calendula and Dill to the list!
- When growing crops that have one life cycle and are eaten and removed, called Annuals, consider replanting another crop each month to ensure you have a constant supply of fresh food to harvest. Read my article on ‘Succession Planting’
- If you’re renting or have a small space to grow, grow in tubs or boxes for ‘Themed Gardens’. Try growing a Salad, Asian Stir-Fry, Pizza & Pasta or Herb Gardens.
- Grow a variety of Basil this month. Try the very tasty and beautiful Opal, Thai, Greek, Lemon or plant Tulsi, the holy or sacred Basil to attract bees to the garden or use as a medicinal herb. Grow these throughout your gardens, in containers or try Basil grown as Micro-greens…they are delicious!! (image courtesy of www.greenharvest.com.au)
For Northern Hemisphere Gardeners –
- Gather Autumn leaves fallen from trees and add to the Compost Add a handful of bone meal (blood and bone)
slow release fertiliser to help the decomposing process of leaves. Also add some fresh garden clippings or lawn clippings to balance out the carbon from the brown leaves.
- Plant a quick pick crop of Lettuce, Spinach and leafy greens to harvest before the frost hits your garden. Grow them under covers or cold frames to keep moisture, warmth and light in and the cold weather out.
- Prune Roses and other perennial shrubs prior to cold winds. Use these for hard-wood cuttings to propagate and grow in greenhouse, ready for Spring.
- Prepare the ground for bare-rooted plants. Dig a hole in the ground, add compost or rotted manure, slow release organic fertiliser and cover in hay until ready to plant.
- Plant Spring flowering bulbs this month and consider growing a few in containers. Here’s some tips on growing bulbs in this video from the Royal Horticultural Society.
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Until next month happy growing,
♥ Cath
© cath manuel 2 october 2015
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