APRIL
As you harvest the final summer crops it’s time to prepare the patch with winter staples including kale, spring onion, spinach, blueberry, citrus, cauliflower, parsley, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, celery and silverbeet.
• It’s time to turn the soil• If your beans are floppy, tie them and keep them well watered, and they should keep producing for another month or so.• Stake taller brussels sprouts plants to prevent them from falling over.• Once sweetcorn has finished pull them out and add stems to the compost heap.• In cooler climates pull out tomato plants and leave any green fruits on a windowsill to ripen in the sun (this may take a few weeks).• Feed established plants with nutrients to keep them going as the seasonal weather changes.• Control slugs and snails with products or cracked egg shells or beer traps. If you can give up a small amount of your favourite ale, leave a wide jar in the garden that will attract slugs and snails that will crawl in and drown.• Add a layer of mulch around the base of fruit trees to keep the soil warmer over the winter months and keep the area weed-free.
