Getting Ready For Summer In The Garden

At this time of the year it is important to make sure your garden beds don’t dry out with the heat of summer approaching.  Obviously that means keeping water up to the plants.  It also means that you need to mulch your garden beds. 100-150mm deep is about right.

Something to be mindful of is that when  the garden bed is covered with mulch you can’t see the soil and, if you don’t dig down and check it regularly, the first clue you will have that the soil is drying out is when the plants are wilting.
Cucurbits can still be planted up to the end of spring, so you could be eating watermelons and cucumber sandwiches at the end of January if you plant them now.  Well drained soil with plenty of organic matter and regular watering are the main requirements of watermelons.  If you go for seedlings rather than planting from seed I would stay away from so called seedless varieties.  I always thought the seeds were half the fun of watermelons!
If you planted potatoes back in July then you should be seeing the plant starting to die off, meaning they are ready to harvest.  If you pick them as this starts to happen they will be smaller but sweeter and you could sit down to a plate of them.  However, if you leave them in a bit longer, they will of course be a bit bigger, though the flavour won’t be quite as good.
Salad veges like lettuce should be planted in a slightly sheltered spot this time of the year or you will be using huge amounts of water to keep them alive.
Happy Gardening.
(For enquiries about the Dayboro Organic gardening club email fuller.Dayboro@bigpond.com.au )