Gardening with Gael: Planting and feeding time

This year the rain is certainly coming in large bursts. In between, the weather is ideal for planting. The excessive rain we experienced a couple of weeks ago prepared the ground nicely. Any mulched areas soaked up the rain immediately. Where the ground was dry and exposed the rain tended to ‘run off’ and the water took longer to permeate. This is particularly true of sandy soils which have a surface tension that seems to repel the water initially and takes a while for the rain to penetrate. A light shower before the downpour is ideal but doesn’t always happen. Mulch helps enormously.

The plants love all the rain they can get. There is something heartening about seeing fresh rain on leaves. You can almost feel the plant’s pleasure. How is it though that inkweed can grow at 10 times the rate of anything else? Box’s vegetable patch has a great crop.

The continuing warm weather accompanied by further rain makes this the time to drag plants out of the shade house to plant. The ground is still warm and with the moisture there is time for new root development. My tea plantation is loving this weather. Hot days, cooler nights and misty mornings in the valley make this absolutely ideal conditions. Of course the inkweed has romped away there too.

Nurseries tend to stock plants at their most attractive, in full leaf or bloom to attract the customer. Sometimes this concept doesn’t always coincide with the right weather for planting. I struggle when, at the height of summer, something I have been looking for is there in a nursery right when it is impossible to plant. To overcome this I have a little shade house.

In the shade house I plant cuttings, seeds and plants available out of planting season. Usually I repot them into a larger pot to give the roots plenty of room for development. This helps when planting time comes. Roots that have been cramped tend to grow around and around. During planting these need to be teased out. A root-bound plant that has not had its roots released becomes unstable in the soil and doesn’t thrive. The roots can continue to grow around and the plant chokes itself. Always spread the roots.

Subtropicals grow well at this time of the year. Palms in particular. There is a great range of palm trees locally. Palms really appreciate some organic manure. Rotted grass clippings, horse, sheep, cow, chook, whatever is available. Sheep pellets are easy to buy and easy to spread. Cow, chook and horse manure need rotting down and diluting. In fact now is the right time to feed the entire garden ready for winter. My grandfather used to recommend feeding twice a year, in March and September. I have placed about an inch of horse manure in the bottom of several buckets, filled them with water, let them soak for a week or more then used the liquid on the plants. I left the manure in the bottom of the buckets and that last rain filled them all up for me.

Always check the plants requirements before planting and feeding. I look out now and the rain has cleared. The dill, fennel and coriander littering my bench are about to find themselves firmly deposited in the soil.

Now is the right time to feed the entire garden ready for winter. My grandfather used to recommend feeding twice a year, in March and September.