June in the Kitchen Garden

June has arrived and with it the beginning of winter proper.  This is the month of the winter solstice where we experience the shortest day/night around the 21st of the month. We call it mid-winter but it’s really only the beginning of the 3 main winter months here in the southern part of the globe of June, July and August.  Of course if you live on the other side of the equator it is the summer months.

There will still be beautiful cold clear days and still a bit of warmth in the air if there is no southerly or westerly air flow.  So still some days to get out into the garden – and some days to sit by the fire dreaming of your future garden.  I always like to have some flowers on the go to use on cakes or just to bring indoors to cheer up the grey days. I would never be without the self sown calendula with its bright sunshiney colours and shape.  I’ve just found a self-sown one in the garden that is exactly like the calendula (or marigold) we had in the garden when I was a kid! Funny what the memory selects to remember.

Its still a tidy up and prepping for the next season month with some cultivation of those vegies still growing.   Here in New Zealand we now have a national holiday to mark Matariki – the Māori name for the Pleiades star system rising in winter over the eastern horizon and indicating the time to finish harvesting the old season’s crops and turn attention to the new year. For those of you using the Crop Rotation Calendar, this is when I start rotating around to the next season.  I have a free template you can use if you want to start planning your new season garden now or just want to use it to keep tabs on your garden cultivation.   Click here to get your copy.

Garlic

Traditionally of course it is garlic planting time and this is the crop that kicks off my gardening New Year. You will be rotating your root crop bed (Group 4) to where you had the heat-loving (Group 3) fruiting plants – most of which will be long frosted and died back Clear back any foliage, dig out weeds and where you are going to plant garlic and onions, dig in plenty of manure and compost.   Note: Don’t compost the whole bed – leave the area where you will be planting tap roots such as carrot and parsip free from fresh bulky manure. A little bit of ash from the wood stove (as long as its chemical free of course) will provide potassium needed for these plants.

It’s the shortening of the day length and the chilling of the air that is going to trigger bulb growth and a good crop. I think everyone should grow a few rows of garlic at least. It doesn’t take up too much room and you can grow a year’s supply with some extra to give away or save for replanting.  This year I took some braids of last year’s crop up to Auckland and gave some back to my brother-in-law, Trent. They were ones I had grown from seed he had given me years ago.  I must check with him that he is going to plant some – just in case I lose mine and need another supplier!

 You can use some of your best and biggest corms from the last season, buy some in from specialist seed growers or from our local garden centres. When you are ready, mark out the rows and plant pointy end up about 5 cms deep and about 20 cms spacing. Mark your row and mulch. Make sure you can hoe easily down the rows for ongoing weed management.

Other Crops

It’s not all about the garlic though. There’s plenty of other jobs you can get up to on the days you can get outside – remembering to never dig over waterlogged beds. If you haven’t done so already, turn your attention to perennials such as rhubarb, asparagus and strawberries.  My rhubarb must have felt the mildness of May as it is only just dying down now and some that I replenished a month ago has produced new growth. If you are in warmer parts it will still be providing you with delicious stalks for a bit longer still. Pull off any dead or dying foliage, weed any sneaky weeds and then give a good dressing of manure and straw to take it through winter.  If it has been in the same space for more than 3 years then dig up, divide and replant into well manured deep soil then water well and mulch as described.

Similarly for asparagus, chop back old foliage, weed and mulch well with seaweed and straw. Prepare any new asparagus beds now ready for late winter or spring planting by weeding thoroughly, filling with manure and seaweed then backfilling with good soil.  Should be just right for planting in a month or two.  New strawberry plants can be replanted from now on.

Keep liquid feeding your green leafy crops, broad beans and celery and leeks.  Those last two along with stored root crops will provide the basis of your winter soups.  Keep planting a couple each of brassicas every 2 weeks or so to keep up a supply.  Remember you can still sow or plant winter greens such as rocket, meslun, corn salad, mustard and some lettuces. If you haven’t got a suitable warm well drained spot in the garden then plant in pots and pull inside when frosty.  Chop or pull leaves as needed – the  most nutritious way!  Herbs also can be potted up and brought closer to the house for ease of use.

Pruning season is coming up so get your tools ready by getting them cleaned and sharpened ready for a dry day to get to work on your fruiting plants.  So always something to do if you want to but always a good time to be inside and think about next season while eating the preserved produce of this last season’s harvest.

The Time Poor Gardener. (or the Fair-Weather Gardener)

For those of you short on time and who prefer to hibernate for winter, clear each bed in your garden and then check what the requirements are on the Crop Rotation Poster for the plants you plan to grow in each bed in spring.  Compost where it says compost, feed where it says feed and make sure you match the fertiliser to the crop you are planning on growing as per the advice under “what to do in Winter”.   Water well if needed, maybe chuck over some lawn clippings and then cover each bed with a sheet of plastic, weedmat or thick cardboard. By the time the sap has risen and your gardening blood has warmed up you will be ready to go come spring with a lovely new blank weed-free canvas!

Garden Jobs for June

Sow indoors; brassicas such as broccoli, cabbage, cauli and winter greens.

Plant: Garlic and Shallots, broad beans, green crops, flowers such as pansies and violas.   Plant brassica seedlings such as broccoli and cabbage, cauli and bok choy for spring eating.  Strawberry and rhubarb.

Cultivate: Use liquid manure to feed your leeks. Keep weeded and mounded up. Cut back asparagus fern, weed and mulch crowns. Split big clumps of rhubarb and replant. Keep weeds hoed, green crops sown and mulches laid.

Harvest: Silverbeet and spinach, broccoli, parsley, and any other herbs and vegetables you have growing in your garden.

Ceremonial Planting Of Winter solstice Garlic

Well the mid-winter solstice is upon us now and today I am going to be doing a bit of a tongue-in – cheek ‘ceremonial” planting of garlic. It is traditionally planted on the shortest day and harvested on the longest and as I am a fan of tradition – I am going to plant some in a facebook live.   All going well.   Meaning – if I can get my husband to be the cameraman as I won’t be able to plant, talk and hold the camera at the same time.

The other reason I wanted to mark the occasion is that it is the point at which I rotate my vegetable beds around to the next year. So the beginning of the gardeners New Year. It coincides nicely with the traditional Maori celebration of Matariki – the rising of the star cluster of the Pleidies or Matariki in the eastern sky – the signal to finish gathering all the old year’s crops and start preparing for the new. Worth taking time to mark the occasion!

Although we always associate garlic planting with 21st of June, you can start planting anytime from the autumn equinox and aim to get it in by the shortest day.  For those with warmer climates and the risk of rust in the heat of summer, then planting earlier is a good idea. (note to self for next year)!,  Having said that, it is better to get it in the ground when you can rather than not at all so don’t be put off by strict rules but get planting.  I have planted well into July before and still get good results. 

Most imported garlic is treated with some fairly drastic chemicals so garlic is definitely on the list of things to plant in your family vegetable garden.  Not only can It be used as a culinary food but it has wonderful therapeutic qualities – great for our immune systems.   How much you plant depends on how much your family needs.  If you think that you use one big clove per week – then plant 52 plus a few extra for unexpected occurrences.  Then plant another 25 or so to ensure you have seed for next year.  Garlic seed is getting harder to come by these days and it is something you can grow yourself then do it. 

If you haven’t done so already, add plenty of manure, compost and blood and bone. Some wood ash and a little lime is also beneficial.  I mark out rows then lay out the cloves around 15cms apart.  Plant at twice the depth so between 2-5 cms apart.   Space between rows is up to you. I put mine 20-30 cms apart which is quite intensive but you do need to be able to hoe down each row if needed.  I then water in with a bit of liquid seaweed once they have started to grow and mulch with whatever is available. I also have to cover mine with some wire netting to prevent the occasional naughty chook from foraging for my precious cloves.

For me following the Crop Rotation Poster, I have completed a four-year cycle and so going back to the year one plan.  So it’s a good time to pick up your own copy of the Poster plan, join the Crop Rotation and Garden Calendar facebook group and follow along.  Great if you are starting out in the vegetable garden or don’t know where to start! You can also get the digital copy and print it yourself.https://www.facebook.com/groups/353726023718424

Wrap up warm and enjoy your forays into the winter garden in between sitting by the fire planning your spring garden.