for the pruning JANUARY

i cannot quite seem to get my head around the fact that the previous 3 months have simply flown by.
i am sitting in the lounge in the soft golden glow of the lamp light. it is nearing eleven o'clock at night and i am listening to iron and wine and updating my calendar for januarys gardening.

i have the desire to get more from my garden this winter, not to mention getting more done in my kitchen which has been a busy place lately (and all without any photo documentation or note taking of course).
i have begun gardening with the little now. she has always joined me outside when i wander to the garden, in fact we are lucky to get out of the house un-escorted at all, such a love of the out doors has she developed. if i pop out for a quick grab of something fresh to garnish dinner with, she will be keen to dash out the second the door is open and is completely broken-hearted when, at times, she is not permitted to escape. last month when the sowing cycle began i waited until after her nap time and we wandered out together. she diligently popped seeds in to the holes i left with my finger in the soil and (at times rather too fiercely,) helped me ease the dirt over them, encasing them in the earth. most days of course she has been sparrow eating strawberries and peas as we wander around the back yard checking how everything is progressing together


so, into the gardening jobs for january, following the moon cycles here in new zealand to maximize our harvest.....

2nd of january is the new moon so we will be digging our soil to prepare it for sowing from new years day until the fourth (if anyone is up for a wee bit of work to help burn off that hangover this is where it is all at!) 2 spade depths is the best way to go if you can. this will allow you to get more bang for your buck when growing. the well turned soil will allow for your plants to reach their roots further down instead of outward and you will be able to fit more plants into a smaller space. turning your soil lets air into it and also helps to mix in any fertilizers you have put on and spread them more evenly throughout, giving your plants a better go of it. in the next few days i will be digging in some lime and a small amount of blood and bone, coffee grounds, plus a bit of chopped up seaweed will go into the area i have laid aside for the brassicas to go into (if possible pop them in after you pull out your silver beet as they will be loving the nutrients that silver beet brings out of the earth.)

from january 5th until the 11th  it is sowing time. (first quarter is jan 8th)
pop in any peas that you have left ( mine didnt go as winningly as i would have liked them to and i will be putting another packet and a half in if i can find the room for them as i adore picking and chomping on fresh peas whenever i wander past them.
along with the peas, pop in beans, zucchini, basil, coriander, parsley, celery, leeks, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale and silver beet. if you have any seedling of tomatoes give them a hurl, though you may be lucky to get them to a harvest able stage in the more southern parts of the country, but i always hope for the best and would chuck them in just in case.

from the 9th of january until the 18th take a break and run a hoe over any weeds that may be trying to get their grubby little roots in. (full moon is on the 16th)

19th and 20th is for planting any root crops and giving everything a good dose of liquid feeding (we use worm wease tea - that stuff is magic for your plants!) i will be putting in radish, turnips and having my first attempt at celeric. it takes an age to grow i am told, but they say the delicious, delicate flavour makes it all worth the effort. fingers crossed it goes well....

jan 21st through to the 25th are good for harvesting( 3rd quarter hits on the 24th )
i will be digging up be garlic around here ( i bent the leaves down on mine a few days ago and am hoping to get bigger bulbs because of it). potatoes are good to be dug out if the leaves are starting to brown. we have been smuggling new potatoes out around the edges for the past week or so to add to the table at dinner time too, so if they are not quite there leave them be for a little longer before removing - they store for the winter much better if the plant is left to die down a little anyway. other than that harvest your summer crops daily if you can as it encourages more flowers and fruit. if a plant thinks it has gotten its seed out there it will give up and finish itself very soon after, so, once they are ripe and juicy, pick, pick, pick and encourage more to grow.

pop in more root crops on the 27th and 28th

full moon arrives again on the 31st so get those spades out and get your dig on again from the 29th.

thats all for now - get your hands dirty.... and happy new year

xx
jes

for the pruning december

balls.

another month and i am about 3 posts down....well, two posts if i stick to my absolute minimum rule of one a fortnight.
still, this is a fast (late) but easy one...
december in the garden can be super busy, or, if you are like me, rather a last minute run around.

if you have been keeping up with your vege planting in the southern hemisphere you should be fine to let things slip a little at this time, as long as you remember to water every evening. (if you are heading away get the lovely next door neighbours kid to water for you. i pay ours $5 a week and as many ripe strawberries as she can pick and we always return to an amazing oasis. our front lawn is a crispy, brownish-gold, but the back yard is a lush green jungle. it takes me a day or two to tie things up and down, and pull the odd weed but its always great to come home to fresh, healthy produce after a week or two away.

so this month (or whats left of it) has in store for you a few things;

thanks to my two week holiday at my good friend tom and janeys wedding in the beautiful rangitieki, fulfilling head bridesmaid duties, (though somewhat sparsely - a sick baby takes the brunt of the blame for that) i have missed the sowing and fertilizing session for this months second quarter of the waxing moon. tomorrow, is the last chance to do this, so make like me and dig in your seed box to get them ready for planting.
i will be planting yet more peas ( i love them all, but i have some pearl-er sugar snaps at the moment which the little is loving for her first course at dinner time) along with some more basil (my last 2 seeding packets have been very un-successful and i have about 5 seedlings surviving which totally blows as i adore this herb in just about everything, from a savory dish, to a sweet treat for dessert.) rocket and coriander (both of which bolted while i was gone. i must find a more shaded spot for them....perhaps next to the rhubarb...?) another round of zucchini, and any other seeds i can find in my stash that may seem appropriate.
pop in your root vegetables on the 20th and 21st and hoe up any stray weeds on these days too.
from the 22nd until the 30th just dig and add manure or compost to any empty patches for the next lot of planting.

feel free to do all this with a glass of bubbles in your hand (, or if pregnant like me, some delicious homemade elderflower cordial or ginger ale). twilight is my favorite time for just about everything, be it swimming, horse riding or gardening, and having a treat of something bubbly before, during or after makes this magical time even more indulgent and glorious!

happy holiday gardening guys.

xx
jes