Food Gardening Guide - Week 10/2012

To understand the thinking behind this guide and to discover how to set-up and manage an abundant organic food garden, enrol in the Go Food Gardening e-Class.

Weather permitting, and where possible, I try to garden by the moon. The days indicated with some activities are therefore the best moon gardening days.

Digging

• Clear out existing beds. Best days: Mon & Tue; Fri & Sat.
• Prepare new beds for planting using the 'first time bed preparation' technique. Best days: Mon & Tue; Fri & Sat.

Planting Activities

• Sow brassicas: cabbage, cauliflower and kale. Best days: Mon & Tue.
• Sow leaf crops: celery, cress & mustards, kohlrabi, lettuce, marogo, Oriental cabbages, spinach and Swiss chard. Best days: Mon & Tue.

Growing Activities

• Do your daily observations. First note the general appearance of crops, and then start looking at detail. Note any pests and tasks such as watering, thinning and weeding that needs to be done.
• Water daily if needed. Best days: Fri - Sun.
• Keep weeding. Start with weeds that are in flower, don't allow them to seed. And don't compost any seed bearing weeds. Don't let up your guard.
• Trim plants where needed to increase their growth. Best days: Wed - Fri.
• Fertilize. Check condition of heavy feeders and fertilize them if needed with a good quality, water soluble, organic fertilizer. Best days: Fri - Sun.

Harvesting Activities

• Daily Needs. Harvest daily for the table as needed.
• Harvest for storage (those crops that store well). Best days: Wed - Fri.

Composting and Mulching

• Sow green manures and compost crops. Best days: Mon & Tue.
• Make compost and mulch beds. Best days: Mon & Tue; Sat & Sun.

Comments

[Corrie van der Linde]

Baie dankie vir al die goue raad wat in hierdie briewe beskikbaar gestel word. Mens voel nie so alleen en dom wanneer die onkruid begin wen nie, of as die oes begin opdroog en mens nie kan besluit om in te spit of uit te trek nie. Elke brief is soos nuus van die huis af.