Spring is on its way and that is an exciting time for gardeners in the Southern Hemisphere. Our landscape is going to change drastically with all the new growth, and even better, our shivering days will be fewer - but what should you be planting in your yummy-producing raised vegetable gardens in New Zealand at this time of year??
August Planning For A Raised Vegetable Garden
Late winter and pre-spring are when you can plan to focus on sprouting seed potatoes. Potatoes usually take about twelve weeks to mature, so now’s the time to get your end-of-December, holiday season new potatoes growing.
In addition to planting, there is lots of nurturing and preparation that you can do to set your raised vegetable garden beds up for spring and summer success. You will need a little planning time for decisions and preparation of the beds so that when you do plant, your veggies grow well! quickly and easily.
Dig in your compost and add some sheep pellets to rejuvenate the soil nutrients. If you are planting potatoes, you will have to turn the soil (about 300 mm deep).
Make sure you use a high potassium boost for the raised vegetable garden containing tomatoes, and you will be harvesting big, juicy fruit.
Always be on a sharp lookout for weeds as they are entrepreneurial survivors. The warmer temperatures will awaken all the dormant plants, including the weeds, which will spring into action (no pun intended). If a part of your garden pod, or an entire raised pod, is not being planted immediately, then you may look to cover the soil with pea straw mulch. This will greatly assist with hampering the growth of weeds. Some may still make it through, so keep a watchful eye and don’t let them deplete any of the nutrients in your carefully nurtured soil.
Spring In The Garden
Spring is a wonderful, rewarding time for gardeners and ‘home farmers’. A few of the flowering plants that show off for weeks during this time are
- Magnolias
- Blossom trees
- Daffodils
- Tulips
- Chrysanthemum, and
- Salvia
Vegetables to Plant In August
There is a whole green grocer’s worth of vegetables that you can pick and choose from for planting in August. You might need to get extra raised vegetable gardens!
Here’s the list of vegetables that you can plant now to look forward to in weeks to come
Asparagus, beetroot, cabbage, silverbeet
Bok choy, broccoli, celery
Carrot, radish, cauliflower
Kale, lettuce, parsnip
Onion, parsley, spinach
Peas, potatoes, rocket
Pumpkin and squash
Rhubarb, spring onions,
Sweetcorn (add sheep pellets and your corn will reward you)
Tomatoes, basil
Apples, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries
Citrus fruit
Your summer vegetable garden is going to be a living cornucopia!
Select gorgeous raised vegetable garden beds for your summervege project!