Planting Guides - month by month - follow these proven tips
SEPTEMBER
Nurture your soil
Compost and fertilise plots and drip lines of fruit trees. Lime paw paws.
Follow up with a good watering and mulch
Liquid manure to encourage flowering.
Plant care
Crop rotation Spring/Summer:
Root – Sow direct - beetroot (8-10 weeks), carrots (10 weeks), parsnip (14 weeks), parsley
Allium – leeks (16-32 weeks),spring onions, shallots ( 12-15 weeks)
Sow direct or in seed trays:
weeks)- Sow direct or in seed trays
Solanaceous – aubergine( 3 months), capsicum (12 weeks), chilli, tomatoes (9-17
Legumes – snake, bush and climbing beans (8-11 weeks) Sow direct or in milk pots
Leaf– lettuce, silver beet (3-4 weeks)
Sow direct and/or in seed trays
Cucurbits –zucchini ( 6 weeks)
cucumber ( 8 weeks) melons (10-14 weeks) pumpkins (15-20 weeks)
Sow direct or in milk pots
Corn (11-15 weeks)
Herbs – divide lemon balm, marjoram, mint, tarragon, thyme
Plant seedlings:
Leaf – lettuce, silver beet
Root – beetroot
Allium – shallots, onions
Solanaceous –aubergine
Herbs – basil, coriander, dill, parsley, sage
Plant
Tubers -Jerusalem artichokes, seed potatoes
Runners – strawberries
Maintenance
Finish planting and pruning fruit trees to encourage new growth.
Trim old growth of perennial herbs to maintain shape.
Remove slugs and snails. Set up snail traps
Spray citrus with white oil to combat scale
Erect supports for beans
Strawberries - tidy, remove dead, damaged and diseased leaves and old runners.
Water deeply rather than frequent light watering.
Harvest
Asparagus, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, celery, leeks, lettuce, parsnips, peas, radish, shallots, spinach, silver beet. Herbs and leaves
TIPS Medicinal uses for herbs
Bay – anorexia, digestive disorders, skin diseases, rheumatic complaints
Lavender – cardiac complaints, circulatory insufficiency, migraine, nervousness, neuralgia, exhaustion, sleeplessness
Marjoram – coughs, inflamation of the mouth, sore throat, indigestion
Parsley - inflammation of the bladder and kidneys, digestive disorders
Rosemary - low blood pressure, weakness and exhaustion, circulatory disorders, nervous and heart complaints, indigestion, rheumatic and neuralgic complaints
Sage – sore throat, inflammation of the mouth, hoarseness, smoker's cough
Thyme – bronchitis, whooping cough, chills and colds, hoarseness, digestive disorders