Happy New Year – I do hope you have been able to enjoy a break with all this lovely weather we’ve been enjoying.  Now that the Christmas festivities are behind us it’s time to get back in the garden and get those green veggies in the ground – cabbages, cauliflower, silverbeet and spinach can all  be planted now.  

Spinach is an especially easy plant to grow – in fact it can be too easy at times as it is inclined to ‘bolt’ if you’re not careful – so keep a close eye on it. It is a quick-growing hardy plant and matures in around seven to nine weeks.

Sow seeds directly into well-drained garden beds or containers approx. 60mm apart, in rows about 200mm apart or into trays and transplant the seedlings when they’re large enough. Seeds will germinate in 7–18 days.  Spinach loves organically rich soil with good nitrogen content.

 As the plants grow, transplant alternate plants to thin the rows or harvest tender young plants to eat in salads; pick the outer leaves and allow the inner leaves to develop for later harvest.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on your cucumbers and courgettes – powdery mildew can be an issue at the moment, and keep a close watch on your tomatoes.  Pick regularly to ensure you have continuous cropping.

 Your garlic should be ready to harvest now – so dig it up and leave to dry before you store it.  Watch for onion stems to bend over; this is the signal they are ready for harvesting. Be sure to leave them in a dry spot for a couple of weeks after harvesting.

Most herbs will be enjoying this weather – don’t forget you can make pestos or freeze most herbs if they’re producing more than you can eat.

With the best of summer yet to come, we can still look forward to delicious homegrown salads.