September!
Busy, busy month ahead in the garden! If you haven’t already, you really must prep your beds for planting! Weather has warmed up and is predicted to stay warmer than usual for all of September and into October so you can probably get away with getting in some veggies in earlier than usual, such as zucchini and tomatoes.
Weather
Check Niwa’s seasonal outlook for updates
Summer Home Garden Workshops are here! Book your spot today:
In the vege garden
Seeds to Sow for planting in October
- Zucchini (plan on 3-4 succession plantings every 8 weeks or so).
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers (sow in greenhouse/very warm sunny spot)
- Beans – dwarf beans will give you a quicker crop (about 4 weeks from sowing), runners count on at least 6 weeks til crop.
- Start kūmara tipu for planting mid October onwards
- Peppers, chilis, aubergines for planting out in 6-8 weeks; protect from cold night temperatures and from rats who love the seeds, (sow in greenhouse/very warm sunny spot)
- All your greens: lettuce, silverbeet, kale, broccoli, pak choy, cabbage etc
- Herbs: parsley, basil, oregano, marjoram, dill, sage, lovage, bronze fennel, chives, garlic chives
Direct Sowing in September
- Coriander (soak seed for 24 hrs before sowing, use fresh seed)
- Dill
- Rocket
- Radishes and turnips
- Peas, including sugar snaps and snow peas (until December latest)
- Carrots (soak seed for 24 hrs before sowing, use fresh seed)
- Beetroot
- Beans (from mid September)
Seedlings to Plant in September
- All your greens: : lettuce, silverbeet, kale, broccoli, pak choy, cabbage etc
- Zucchini (plan on succession plantings every 8 weeks or so).
- Tomatoes (cherry toms often cope with early planting better than beefsteaks),
- Basil (if it’s warm)
- Parsley
- Cucumbers from end of September (they like really warm soil)
- Peas
- Beans (usually mid September on)
Watch Out For
- slugs and snails (use beer traps or iron phosphate bait)
- caterpillars (use nets or Bt)
- aphids (plant alyssum, let your ooriander flower!)
- birds after your seedlings (use nets)
In the Orchard
- Prune apples and pears
- Feed citrus with sheep pellets or chook manure (3x per year but not in winter) too late to prune as borer beetle out and about
- Mulch fruit trees while the soil is damp
Other Tasks
- Collect/make mulch spread thickly as you plant to retain precious moisture in the soil over the coming hot months and reduce weeds.
- Sort out your watering system for summer. If you have adequate water, set up drip tape. All fittings available at BBS and through Irrigation Express.
Words & Workshops by our brilliant Food Resilience Coordinator, Caity Endt
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