Gardening for Extraterrestrials - Late summer on the tip of Africa with still plenty of planting season left!
If you beat the weeds and cleared some space in your garden to plant some types you would rather have in your garden instead, then the last stretch of summer heat without rain might have been very discouraging. Baby plants, like any other babies, needd a temperate and moist environment.
To add to the challenge of drought conditions all over the Highveld and beyond, there are signs of Autumn’s approach in the drying up of squash plants and leaf fall off some deciduous trees.
Don’t be put off, chin up, get your best sun hat on and get ready to make use of the rain that is coming. Store up as much water from the rain when it comes, for when there is no rain. There is plenty of growing season ahead. Escarpment areas have some advantages on the Highveld and you can grow a lot before the first frost, potentially only arriving in May!
This is what you can do this February. Choose short life summer veggies, like lettuce, spinach, and even tomatoes and germinate them in medium pots for a little longer stretch than in a shallow seed tray. Water repeatedly for the dry days, morning and night.
Plant peas and carrots in deep seed trays and ready a bed where they can grow together. Grow the peas on a line trellis or fence edge with carrots in lines between them. They both like the cooler weather and if you find a shady edge under a tree that will lose its leaves and let sun through in the winter, you can give them a longer growing period.
If you can control insect invasion with shade net, plant a variety of brassicas (Cabbage, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts and Kale) in deep seed trays and water well. They love the cooler winter months and can feed you very well with enough to share. They like a rich nitrogen soil, being that they are leaf based. Plant them out at a distance that prevents them from having so much space between them that the sun dries them out and the water you give them gets wasted. Imagine the size of a cabbage head and space them as close as that.
If it helps to save you time, it is not recommended that you plant corn now. Not onions or garlic either. Don’t let me stop you from trying but consult your seed packets for suggested planting months and how long they take from seed to plate.
Send in your garden successes or challenges in the comments below or email me here, and let us know if there is something you want to know about. Maybe you are not growing vegetables, but rather soft lawns and roses instead. Share your particular garden skills and feature your garden here on the Garden School page.
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Happy gardening!
