Hello Gardeners of the Waikato!
Welcome to your weekly garden update! Hope you all had an amazing weekend. The weather gods (Thank you El Nino) have confused our summer season a little with unusually windy days and cooler nights. A few posts I've been seeing in gardening groups are people asking why their tomatoes aren't colouring up. I planted Tomatoes in early November, and my cherry tomatoes are starting to colour up in the last 7 to 14 days, with a small handful each day. My larger tomatoes like Albenga OXheart and Thessaloniki are taking a little longer. If you are experiencing the same issues, I promise they will come
TASKS IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN
Harvesting: Keep picking ripe vegetables like tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, beans, and capsicum. Frequent harvesting encourages continued production.Planting: Keep sowing fast-growing crops like lettuce, radish, and spinach for quick harvests. Start planning for autumn crops like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower.Pest Control: Check for caterpillars, aphids, and whiteflies, and use organic sprays (last resort) or manual removal if needed. Companion planting is super important to manage some of these issues (e.g., marigolds, nasturtiums, and lots of herbs like chives), so keep planting.Mulching: Keep mulching where necessary to keep watering to a minimum.No Waste: Any harvests that are in excess (i.e. too much for you to eat), you can preserve by bottling, canning, drying or freezing or sharing with others within your community. Our local Crop Swap group is perfect for this. https://www.facebook.com/groups/cropswapcambridge
TASKS IN THE ORCHARD
Pruning: Lightly prune summer fruiting plants like berries to encourage new growth. Keep grapevines trimmed to allow sunlight to ripen the fruit. Once other fruiting trees are finished, give trees a prune by up to 1/3).Netting: Protect ripening fruits such as plums, peaches, and berries from birds with nets.Feeding: Apply a balanced fertilizer to fruit trees and citrus to support fruit development.
EVENTS COMING UP
SEEDLING SHOP OPEN DAY - come and get your organically grown seedlings and keep planting all summer long! https://www.facebook.com/share/19rtwDyZW3/
Cultivating Creativity and Harmony -Journaling inspired by gardening is our journaling journey to develop our creativity in harmony with our garden and nature. Join us for this six week workshop series. https://www.facebook.com/share/1Lkv6UwZnN/
Growing Great Gardens Autumn Planning Session is coming up in March. Learn how to garden from sowing to planting with the goal of planning for our Autumn garden. https://www.facebook.com/share/1E1xjFjkd6/
Finally, check out our January planting guide here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18UuMSoyzt/
We have a new team member starting Tuesday, so thank you to everyone who has applied.
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Hi there! I’m Rebecca from Love Grow Eat. If you don’t know me yet, most mornings, you’ll find me in my dressing gown, cuppa in hand, happily watering my plants, admiring my plum and peach trees, or occasionally covered head to toe in dirt after a big day in the garden. (It’s all part of the charm!)I’m a qualified organic gardener with a serious passion for turning backyards into edible wonderlands, packed with delicious, nutritious fruit and veggies. Whether you need a bit of garden TLC, a total refresh, or some advice to get started, I’ve got you covered. I also love sharing my knowledge, so check out our workshops or book a 1:1 garden coaching session with me.Ready to grow something amazing? Get in touch at www.lovegroweat.co.nz. Let’s get planting!