June in the Kitchen Garden
The Gardeners New Year
There is always a powerful psychological factor when it comes to new beginnnings. As humans, we love the idea of ‘turning over a new leaf” and starting afresh don’t we? I think every day is a chance to start afresh and do my best to create a better outcome each day but for many of us, we love the idea of a whole New Year stretching out into the future 12 months.
Our traditional New Year in New Zealand comes to us from our European forbears where it falls on the winter solstice – the longest night – but over here on the other side of the world, falls on the summer solstice. So we miss the connection to the land and the cycles of the food-gathering season that it is tied into. It doesn’t stop us loving the idea of the New Year though and I’m all for a starting point to kick off a chance to put our ideas, thoughts and dreams into planned action!
So we can take advantage of the talk of the Maori New Year here in New Zealand with the commemoration of Matariki. This is traditionally a commemoration of the start of the new garden year for Māori and a time to get together, finish harvesting the previous seasons root crops, give thanks for what has been received, and prepare hearts and thoughts for the new year.
The name refers to the star cluster Matariki – known by the name of the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters in other parts of the world – which makes its first appearance as it rises over the eastern horizon just before dawn. It’s always good in my book to reflect on what has gone before and be grateful. It is a very good foundation to prepare for the future year as we follow the seasonal cycle of our beautiful planet around the sun.
As Matariki is close to the shortest day (or the longest night!) it is a very traditional time for tidying up, planning and getting organised for the coming new season – just as it was for both our Maori and our European forbears. As its cold, dark and miserable for a lot of the time (we still have gorgeous sunny days of course!) and we don’t really want to be going outside too much, then use the time to think and plan your garden for the new season.
The traditional shortest day planting time for garlic means that it is the star plant to symbolically kick off the new garden rotation. If you are on facebook you can see my rather hilarious live version of a symbolic planting of garlic. I’m just going to say – it was my first live ever and didn’t quite go to plan so it has some interesting camera angles and they are not always flattering. I have toyed with the idea of taking it down but haven’t. Gardening is by definition a humble past time – so I am happy to stay humble and not be always present a perfect image to the world.
So Matariki is the gardeners New Year. This is when I rotate the beds to the next year in the four year cycle. You will still have plenty of vegetables finishing off their own cycles from the previous year, so its not like you clear all the beds and shut them down for winter. I have lots of brassicas slowly growing which I do liquid feed every 3 weeks or so, and know that they will start to take off in a month or two as the days get longer and the earth starts to warm up. So I am eating from that bed and planning on eating from there in the coming months. All the potatoes have been lifted and stored and we are enjoying them in all the ways you can enjoy them in our old coal range. (wood-fired). Winter is the time we enjoy our root crops. Parsnips, carrots, beetroot – I tend to lift them all by now as we can get some hard frosts in the Otago region. I don’t really grow turnips or swedes mysef but they are a traditional southern crop that loves the proper winter weather. My husband is a proper Southerner and grew up munching on a bit of raw swede but he can grow them himself if he really wants them.
Take the time to chat with your family about what they want to eat and use to guide you in what you want to grow. Get the kids involved. Look at the seed catalogues out now – and get your orders in. We are so lucky that we have garden centres now where it is possible to purchase well-grown seedlings and plant them when the time is right, but its still good to grow your own from seed. We are also so lucky in the wide range of excellent seed suppliers out there so choose your favourite suppliers and start dreaming of spring.
There are so many advantages to sowing your own. You get access to a lot more varieties, you can practice succession sowing over the season to ensure a good food supply, you can sow more than you need so can share with others, and you can experience the satisfaction of working with nature and watching that seed you sow fall to the earth and disappear – only to be reborn as a brand new plant!
July at a Glance
Feed and keep weed free any plants still growing. Chop and dig in any green crop sown in autumn. Keep adding to your autumn compost pile as you come across suitable material but keep covered either with straw or other water proof material. Keep tidying up old spent plants, pruning fruit trees and getting your potting shed ready for the spring busy time. Sharpen tools.
In cooler parts of the country you can sow or plant garlic, shallots, onions, cabbage, perennials such as rhubarb, asparagus, artichokes, strawberries and start chitting potatoes for later planting.
In warmer areas – sow or plant broad beans, peas, carrots, beetroot, silverbeet, spinach, lettuce and chit potatoes. Plant perennials such as rhubarb, asparagus, artichokes and strawberries.
Seed Potatoes
You can use your own potatoes for seed. I know it is a good idea to purchase seed that has been certified free of disease but if your potatoes are disease free and good and healthy then there is nothing to stop you doing so. We are seeing a bit of scarcity out there at the moment so be prepared in case there is a seed shortage. Choose smallish potatoes – around the size of a large egg, wrap up in newspaper and store in a single layer tray. Keep in a dry dark place until late winter when you can start chitting them in trays on the window sill.
Enjoy your long weekend and keep growing!