Well summer has arrived and it’s time to be very careful in your kitchen garden – summer heat and dry is as deadline there as it is on the rest of the farm. 

It’s a good idea if you can manage to have a small drum in your vege patch so that any rain you do get, can be used for the vegetables without taking it from other areas of your lifestyle block.  This is especially helpful if you are on tank water.

Now is the time to be sowing things like beetroot, carrots, radishes, spinach, silverbeet and sweetcorn. Nothing is better in summer than homegrown sweetcorn with butter or a small dollop of honey. You will need to sow seeds about every two weeks for a decent crop. 

If you are not quite up to planting seeds – or if you want a bit of a headstart – then seedlings are the way to go.  Stock up on  lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, tomato, sweetcorn, beetroot, pumpkin, courgette, capsicum, eggplant, melon, and of course cucumber.

There is no point going to all this trouble however if don’t protect your baby veggies from slugs, snails and caterpillars. I admit I tend to use Derris Dust to keep caterpillars away but I’ve found good old fashioned beer traps perfect for foiling the local snail brigade.  I have no problem at all with the thought of inebriated slugs! If children are bothered by the idea of killing potential butterflies, why not plant some swan plants in the corner of the garden and let them watch the life cycle of a Monarch butterfly unfold.

Tomaotes like a liquid feed about once a week and it’s a good idea to apply mulch around all your vegetables to help conserve moisture.  While you’re at it, your garden shrubs will thank you for some mulch at this time of the year too.  If you usually lift your bulbs – do it now and don’t forget to deadhead your roses to encourage new blooms.

Water your plants – vegetable, garden, and pot – in the morning or early evening to get the most from the water.