Get organised early for the best spring garden ever!

G'day,

Welcome to the Green Harvest Spring Newsletter with updates on new plants just arrived and handy gardening hints especially suited to where you live!

Hardy, reliable perennial vegetables including delicious Asparagus, Rhubarb, Strawberries and Yacon
Gorgeous heirloom vegetables that add a richness of flavour and colour to your cooking
What to do in the garden now to keep your fruit trees vibrant and abundant
What you can sow now and in the weeks ahead in cool temperate areas

A productive food garden is all about the planning and getting an early start.

We have certified virus-free bags of 'Desiree' ,'Dutch Cream' ,'Kennebec' ,'King Edward' ,'Kipfler' ,'Nicola' ,'Pink Eye' ,'Pink Fir Apple', 'Ruby Lou' and 'Sebago' available now! They always sell out fast, so if you were looking at planting some spuds this spring, order some now List of all available plants

Spuds go in the ground 6 weeks before the last frost, so if you expect to get frost until mid-September your spuds can be planted early August.

Hardy, reliable perennial veggies are the backbone of a productive garden

Early spring is the best time to plant perennial food plants such as yacon, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes and rhubarb.

Detailed growing guides are available:
Asparagus
Jeru salem Artichoke
Rhubarb
Yacon

Jerusalem Artichokes
Hardy and easy to grow tuber that is gaining popularity for diabetics as it contains no starch

Rhubarb 'Red Dragon'
A unique flavour to enjoy! Red Dragon is a strong growing variety producing a very even crown; luscious long stems of very large, dark red, sweet stalks

Confused about your climate zone?
If you live in a coastal zone south of Sydney you are in a Warm Temperate zone as the ocean modifies the climate. Cooler inland areas are in a Cool Temperate zone with average daytime temperatures between 5 and 13 degC. Those who live in mountain regions know that it's going to be too cold to plant for some time but thinking about it warms the soul. Read more...

Sow seeds or seedlings in August of broad bean, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chicory, endive, kale, kohlrabi, onions, parsnip, peas, radish, spinach, swede and turnip.

Get organised for the big planting month of September when you can add to the list: beans, beetroot, bok choy, capsicum, carrots, chilli, Chinese cabbage, cucumber, eggplant, fennel, lettuce, mizuna, pumpkin, rocket, silverbeet, squash, tatsoi, tomato and watercress.
Start seed of the heat lovers such as capsicum, chilli, cucumber, eggplant, pumpkins, rosella, tomatoes and squash in a warm, sheltered place to plant out after all danger of frost has passed.

Soil temperatures need to be around 20-22degC to germinate seeds of these warm season vegetables.

To be prepared for future seasons have a peek at our complete List of all seed

Everyone loves full of flavour heirloom tomatoes!
The bigger a tomato is, the longer it takes to produce, so get started early with magnificent 'Black Krim', 'Beefsteak', Australian heirloom 'Grosse Lisse' or our all-time favourite 'Cherokee Purple'.

All tomato seeds

The trick is to start the seed early with a bottom-heat mat or on top of a hot water heater, prick the seedlings out into pots and place them on a warm sheltered verandah or in a glasshouse. This means you will have sturdy seedlings 30cm high, ready to go once all danger of frost is past. More info on growing tomatoes

Successful seed raising

Garden Cloche
For a bit of extra protection for your tender, little seedlings consider using a cloche to keep them safe from frost, wind, birds, rabbits and bandicoots.

Gorgeous heirloom vegetables that add a richness of flavour and colour to your cooking
Colour isn't just attractive it also makes your food more nutritious with a wider range of antioxidants - that goes for edible flowers too, that are not just pretty on the plate but high in vitamins and minerals.

List of all heirloom seeds

Try broad bean and pea flowers for a crunchy sweet treat in salads

Ants in your lemon tree?
What abundance a citrus tree can produce, with little effort. However, a few little pesties can wipe out the entire crop. Here is an excellent clip on dealing with scale / ants / mealybug / mildew from Gardening Australia that Green Harvest has been advocating for over 25 years! Ant control products

Scales are small, sucking insects closely related to aphids and because they are small and usually not moving, they often go unnoticed. Control of scales is important; as the damage they can cause is out of all proportion to their size e.g. Californian red scale can seriously damage or kill small citrus trees. Organic control of scale

Deciduous fruit trees will benefit from a winter clean-up, start by removing all dead or damaged wood, as well as suckers from below the graft. Clear away the soil around the suckers and cut as low and as close to the trunk as possible to prevent a re-appearance. Next remove branches growing towards the centre of the tree. These generally don't produce fruit and tend to provide nooks and crannies for pests and disease. Then remove branches that are rubbing together. Keeping the centre of the tree open encourages insect-eating birds to your pest control for you.

For apple trees check the lower trunks for woolly apple aphid and destroy any colonies by painting with methylated spirits. Have a good look for cocoons of codling moth, a good trick for this is to go over the tree gently with a wire brush. This also helps control borer, spider mite and fruit tree moth borer. Codling Moth Traps can help with control and monitoring.
All your trees will benefit from fertiliser, fresh mulch and a clean-up spray. For stone fruit use Lime Sulphur for peach leaf curl (lumpy pinkish blisters), shot hole (gumming of fruit buds), rust, brown rot and freckle, spray at early bud swell. For scale, spray Eco-Oil and apply horticultural glue to the tree trunk.

Citrus trees need regular maintenance to produce sweet, juicy fruit - read our Organic Care of Citrus

As the year turns and the days gradually warm up it's time to start planning for your abundant spring garden

In cooler areas you will need to start seed earlier indoors as otherwise the growing season may simply not be long enough to produce successfully. You can try a warm windowsill, the top of a hot water heater or a Mini Propagator.

Don't worry about the lack of light if your source of bottom heat is indoors. Seeds don't need light to germinate; in fact many germinate better in dark conditions (lettuce is the exception). Just keep a close eye on them and move them to a well-lit area as soon as they are germinated. Remember: air temperature is always warmer than soil temperature. As the soil will still be cold for some time you may want the help of a Heat mat with thermostat, (at a special price if you buy both together) or a Seed Starting kit. Sale save $10.00

Read all our helpful hints on seed raising.

Grafting is a great way to propagate fruit trees
Grafting supplies

Good Bug Alert
Introducing the Striped Ladybird Micraspis frenata
Most ladybirds are beneficial with only a few causing problems. As gardeners, it's important to be able to distinguish the good guys from the bad so you don't accidentally squish one of your helpers. The Striped Ladybird, pictured here feeding on our Queen Anne's Lace, is a good guy.

Early spring is a great time to improve the habitat for beneficial insects and bees. Good choices are either Good Bug Mix or our lovely Give Bees A Chance seed mix.

Or try to plant nectar-rich flowers such as phacelia, dill, coriander, borage, Sweet Alice and, of course, Queen Anne's Lace, to attract ladybirds like these to your patch. Striped Ladybirds are medium sized (4mm) orange ladybirds with 3 black stripes on their back while the larva are dull brown with white spots, a black head and longish black legs. The adults feed on fungus found on grass seeds, pollen and nectar, while larvae feed on aphids, and have a fairly voracious appetite at that!

Green Harvest

9 Gumland Drive

Witta, Qld 4552

Australia