Spring’s the season to start growing vegies
Have you thought about growing your own vegies but never quite got around to doing anything about it? Well, spring’s the best time of year to put your vegie-growing plans into action.
Start by choosing a sunny sheltered part of the garden. If it’s impossible to find a suitable garden bed, don’t give up. Some of the best vegie gardens are grown in pots.
Dig some Dynamic Lifter, Yates Blood & Bone and some old compost or manure into the soil. In acidic areas (where azaleas flourish and hydrangeas flower blue) add some Yates Garden Lime or Dolomite Lime to the soil.
As the weather warms pests will take every opportunity they can get to attack your vegies. Fortunately Yates Nature’s Way Fruit & Vegie Gun will control many pests – like aphids, caterpillars, passionvine hopper and white fly – using gentle, natural pyrethrum. Success is another low toxic control for chewing caterpillars. Nature’s Way Insect & Mite Spray is an organic option for treating common sucking pests in the vegie garden.
What to Grow?
The choice at this time of year is extensive, although make allowances for local conditions. If your soil is still cold or you experience spring frosts, wait a few more weeks before planting. But you can get a head start by sowing seeds indoors or in a glasshouse.
Tomatoes
Home grown tomatoes are favourites but they can sometimes be a bit challenging for beginners. The easiest are the cherry tomatoes (pictured) like Tiny Tim or Small Fry. Small Fry plants can get quite tall and will need some support but compact-growing Tiny Tim is excellent for pots. Dusting regularly with Yates Tomato Dust will help stop pests and diseases from attacking tomato plants. Chillis and capsicum are closely related to tomatoes and grow in similar conditions. Try to avoid planting in a spot where tomatoes, potatoes or other family members have been grown for a few years.
Beans
Beans are possibly the easiest vegetables for first timers. They grow readily from seed once the soil is warm and, if picked often, will go on producing for many weeks. Yates seed packet range includes a wide choice of dwarf and climbing beans.
Carrots
Carrots need open, free-draining, preferably sandy, soil. Add some superphosphate to the soil before planting, because phosphorus is the nutrient that encourages root growth. Majestic Red is a sweet carrot variety with good flavour and colour.
Cucumber family
The group of vegetables called cucurbits includes cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchini and squash. They all germinate and grow best during warm weather and should be sown into the top of a mound of well-drained soil. One of the most popular cucumber varieties is Yates Burpless, which many people find is less likely to cause problems with indigestion.
Eggplant
Once classed as exotic, eggplants have now become part of the mainstream New Zealand diet. Eggplants take a long time to bear so it’s best to start them off as early as possible. Feed the plants in the early stages with Thrive soluble fertiliser. It’s high in nitrogen, so will encourage rapid growth. Once the plants reach maturity, switch to bloom-promoting Thrive Flower & Fruit.
Comments (8)
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Jacqui
Yates site member
07:36, 08 September 2011
Great reading once again,thanks Yates.I have a question though, for the first time in years I am going to grow potatoes,any sound advise,also do I plant the seed potato whole or can I chop it into bits that have eyes??Regards - Jacqui
Morag
Yates site member
13:08, 08 September 2011
How long do strawberry plants last ? and will I get a good crop of last years. Thanks to the garden club to be able to get it right. Regards Morag
kay
Yates site member
16:55, 08 September 2011
Jacqui,we plant our potatoes whole if you cut them up i think they rot and may cause problems for your crop, good luck. Morag, we planted strawberries 2 years ago had a super crop last year and they are shooting up again so they must last awhile.
Julene
Yates site member
16:59, 08 September 2011
How do a get a better crop from snow peas. I love these veges and plant each year - but oh so few pods!!
Betty
Yates site member
19:58, 08 September 2011
Thank you for your help. Is it time to plant rubarb?
Samantha
Yates site member
16:19, 27 September 2011
I wasn't going to grow cucumbers but now I know there's a variety called Burpless I have to just for the name.
mary
Yates site member
14:24, 28 September 2011
A great hint - grab green outside lettuce leaves and boil and leave to cool - put is spray bottle and use on cabbage, cauli and broccoli smells of lettuce and white butterfly will not visit - have to spray after rain and also every few days to maintain smell.
Jessica Rose
Yates site member
02:04, 30 September 2011
How long does it take to grow kumara? How do you grow them?
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