Autumn Garden Maintenace | Aplus Farms
"Shorter and cooler days mean it's time for harvesting and for autumn planting"
The Vegetable Garden
Top of the list for April is harvesting pumpkins.
Pumpkins
Pumpkins are ready to pick when they are large. sound drummy when rapped with the knuckle and the vine is dying back. In cold zones, early frosts kill off the vine to reveal the large pumpkins. which were hidden beneath foliage. Where the vine is still rampant, tread carefully with an eye out for snakes!
Pumpkins store well if picked with a piece of stem attached. Check each pumpkin carefully for damage such as cuts or bruises as these lead to rot and make the fruit unsuited to storage. Store pumpkins in dark, airy, cool spaces. Check them regularly while they are stored and use any that are showing signs of rot.
Tomatos
In warmer zones, tomatoes continue producing fruit but in cold zones green tomatoes will fail to ripen. In areas with early frosts the vines are quickly destroyed. Use green tomatoes to make relish or preserves. Remove the spent plants and old stakes and prepare the soil with added fertiliser and organic matter for new crops of brassicas and peas. Also plant onions, spring onions and shallots in well-drained beds.
As the humidity ebbs away, start dry-season plantings such as a crop of potatoes to harvest before the wet season returns. Plant the tubers into well-drained soil, gradually covering the shoots as they appear, to encourage lots of tubers. Regular watering encourages large tubers.
Veggies
Also plant onions, spring onions, parsnips, peas, radishes, silver beet, tomatoes and swedes. In tropical and warm frost-free zones it's also safe to plant sweet potato, sweet corn and zucchini now. Water leafy crops each day to keep them growing and producing.
Fast-growing lettuce, rocket and spinach benefit from weekly doses of liquid organic fertiliser. Herbs such as coriander and basil can bolt to flower and seed if allowed to become stressed from lack of water or nourishment or if exposed to hot sun. Many plants benefit from light shade cloth, a trellis or the shelter of trees to keep them from drying out.
Fruits To Grow In Garden
In cooler parts of Australia, autumn is all about harvesting, storing and processing apples. Ripe apples detach readily from the tree. Store unblemished fruits in a cool, dark space, taking care that the fruit isn't touching as this can lead to rot.
If there's space, apples can also be stored for months in the crisper section of the fridge. Apples with blemishes can be cooked, bottled or dried with the excess juiced or pressed to make cider. Also harvest pears, medlars, late raspberries and other berries. Cut back spent raspberry stems from summer croppers.
Citrus
In warmer zones, Citrus trees continue to crop. Enjoy good harvests from mandarins. Ahead for winter are ripening crops of lemons, limes and grapefruit. In dry conditions, deeply water citrus each week. Oranges are prone to splitting with irregular water. Keep the area under citrus free of weeds and grasses and cover bare soil with a thin layer of mulch. Also ready for harvest now are kiwifruit and tender young chokos.
Allow chooks to forage among fallen fruit in orchards or under backyard trees to clean up and reduce the likelihood of pests and diseases. Poultry eat fallen fruit and clean up pests. so access between the chook run and the orchard makes sense.
The Avocado
Avocados are still fruiting, but these are big trees that can overwhelm modern gardens. Where space is at a premium, look for dwarf grafted plants and grow several varieties to aid with pollination and to extend harvest times. Late-maturing variety 'Hass' crops from winter to spring.
If space is tight but more fruit crops are wanted. invest in climbing plants. Passionfruit, tropical grapes, dragon fruit and fruit salad plant (Monstera deliciosa) produce plenty of fruit. Passionfruit and grapevines can also be used to shade outdoor living areas or to protect sun-sensitive crops and ornamentals. For flowers among the climbers, add nasturtiums.
How To Prepare Soil For Planting
Gather fallen leaves to make leaf mould, a form of rich compost that's used to enrich soils. Expect leaf fall to continue well into winter, so erect leaf bins in out-of-the-way spots. Easy-to-erect bins can be made using star pickets or stakes to support cylinders wrapped with chicken wire. Keep adding more leaves to the bin as autumn progresses. If the leaves are dry, moisten them with a sprinkle of water from the house.
Backyard Farming
- An alternative to the chicken wire leaf bin is a leaf sack (made from sacking) or a large garbage bag with holes punched in it.
- Additional leaves can also be gathered and stored in large plastic garbage bins.
- As productive annuals and perennials die back or are removed from garden beds, cover areas of bare soil with compost (or last year's leaf mould), well-chopped leaves or organic mulch to prevent weeds from germinating.
- Fallen leaves can also be mown over and used as instant mulch on bare garden beds.
- Alternatively, sow a green manure crop to grow through winter to help to naturally enrich the soil.
Farming
Raised beds, which are a boon during the wet season as they help drainage, may need frequent watering during the dry season.
- As the weather dries. compost ingredients may need to be moistened to aid decomposition.
- Heaps should be damp but not soaking wet.
- Chop up woody and leafy material well before adding it to the compost heap to assist the rapid breakdown that leads to good compost.
- Large fallen leaves can be easily mulched into smaller pieces by using the lawn mower.
- Gather the chopped leaves in the catcher then add to the compost heap or place them directly on garden beds.
Planting Tips and Tricks
If compost appears ready to use but still contains some uncomposted material such as orange skins or woody material, chop these pieces up using the spade and return them to the heap. Turn the heap (that is, dig it over or transfer the pile to an adjacent site) and add poultry manure.