GARDENING THIS WEEK

Wake up call: By Wally Richards

Crop losses from Pukekohe and Hawkes Bay are going to impact us this coming winter.

Already we see fresh produce is several times more expensive than this time last year.

About $5.00 for a lettuce, $9.00 for of tomatoes.

People on a tight budget can’t afford those prices which means their health will suffer.

February is still not too late to get a winter garden going for when prices of produce such as a cabbage may no longer be $5.00 but well over $10 a head.

So time to reduce the size of your lawns, plant some vegetables into ers and compost and get growing before it is too late.

If you want to convert a part of your lawn to vegetable growing then mow the chosen area (a sunny area is best by far) as short as possible (called scalping).

Around the lawn edge of this area dig a small trench about half a spade depth. The soil and grass from this trench can be stacked somewhere for future use.

age and as a mowing strip between ing lawn. Place the lawn clippings caught in the catcher over the scalped area (extra food for your vegetables crops).

Now cover the scalped lawn area that has the lawn clippings with a layer of cardboard or alternatively several layers of newspaper. You places, super markets etc. leeks, silverbeet, spring onions and spinach plant now as seedlings. mally eat then don’t bother growing them or only grow a few to try them.

Sprinkle any animal manure you can get hold of or blood & bone with sheep manure pellets.

A sprinkling of Wallys BioPhos plete the nutrient requirements.

Then over this place a layer of purchased compost which I prefer Daltons as it does not contain green waste and thus herbicide problems.

This layer need only be about 5cm thick just deep enough to plant seeds or seedlings in.

Sow seeds of carrots, parsnips, celery, pak chou, Kohi Rabi, onions, radish, Swede and broad beans.

There is one more product you need and that is Wallys Magic Botanic Liquid (MBL) which you will mix up with water and spray your seedlings weekly and your sown seeds before they are covered with compost.

When your seeds germinate spray their foliage also with MBL.

One word of caution is try to keep your vegetable plots away from trees or larger shrubs as they will rob the nutrients from the beds. It will be ok for this season but likely not good for the next season.

For those with no lawns but having areas of concrete or cobbles then low raised gardens work a treat.

See compost and the other goodies as explained previously.

I have several of these which are strong and durable hot dip galvanised steel construction and just ordered another two. sive.

Best place on a concrete pad if there are trees or shrubs around.

When a crop is harvested then your apply more goodies and cover with fresh compost and plant again.

Money well spent on getting