08/07/2013 - Research For The Month of January

Actual Temperature
13 degrees Celsius
Humidity : 85%
Rainfall : 0.00mm
Wind : Calm

Mulching

This a perfect time to make compost as more surplus vegetation is produced from the garden in January than perhaps at any other time of the year. The process of compost making can be sped up by chopping vegetation first before adding it to the heap. Use a spade to cut into pieces  or run a rotary mover over it.   Mix in leaves and small amount of grass clipping in layers, adding a little compost maker, blood and bone or a similar organic fertiliser to help speed up the process of decomposition. It is important to keep the heap moist at all times in hot, dry weather and turn it occasionally.

There is no better material for improving the condition of the soil and boosting the health and quality of vegetable and flower gardens. Soak the soil well before mulching with compost. 

Getting Ready

Replant salad crop regularly as they mature rapidly at this time of the year and set seed. Allow a few plants to set seed, ripen and dry to collect seeds for the next season's crop. 

Seeds of beans, beetroot, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, celery, cauliflowers, lettuce, chicory and fennel, parsnip, parsley, peas, radish, spinach and turnip can be sown directly into the garden where they are to grow or into trays for planting out later once they are growing strongly. 

Feed lettuce and other salad crops such as basil, capsicum and maturing chilli peppers with weekly doses of liquid fertilisers. Home-made or commercial fish fertiliser has a remarkable effect on the growth of many salad crops, especially lettuce. A general garden fertiliser which worked well into the soil, will also encourage crops to develop quickly before the colder weather begins and growth begins to slow.

Frost -prone Areas

In most areas beetroots, broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, leek, lettuce, swede and turnip can all be planted an will grow rapidly. Savoy cabbages are ideal for planting out now in colder areas.

Frost-free Areas

Continue to plant beans, cucumber, marrow and melons but only in the warmest parts of the country. water is critical for young plants and it makes good sense to water with a hand-held hose. This saves water and you can ensure no plants are missed, as can happen with sprinkler systems.