for the pruning APRIL

bah! another month bites the dust and i am still behind on my cooking updates.

weiner!

ok folks, here is a quick update for your gardening list this coming month.

from the 3rd until the 12th is the time you want to get any fruit bearing or leafy crops sown. this month i will be adding to my already planted seed some silverbeet in both the regular white stalk and rainbow colored varieties - this is a go to on our table over winter and i have been remiss not to have planted some already. i thought the stash we had would replenish itself as it usually does but i seem to have managed to dig over it rather too vigorously and it has yet to show is face above soil. (as soon as i plant though, i bet all those dormant seeds will be springing up all over the show....oh well, more to share around the neighborhood i guess...
and, i have digressed, back on track.... so, silverbeet, more peas (i have been having the worst luck with remembering to water the seeds i sow lately and am putting the lack of germinated plants down to pregnant-slash-baby brain) mustard and/or cress can go in any as yet to be assigned bare patches of dirt to replenish nitrogen content in the soil for spring, spinach by the tonne and broad beans ( because they also bring up great things in the soil, but i just love to eat them on sushi nights, freshly podded, lightly steamed then saulted with a hint of butter, salt and rice vinegar. yummo.

liquid feed your plants from the 12th until the 15th and get your spade and fork out on the 15th and dig deep down in the dirt to  prepare any beds you have still remaining for planting ( great time to pay extra attention to where your soon to be sown rot crops will go, dig deep and rake well, the less clumps and stones in your soil the better your drops will be!)

root crops go in on the 18th and 19th and again on the 25th and 26th when water tables are at the best place for them to take off and if you have any bulbs waiting to go in, the 25th and 26t will do the job well for them too, though i will leave mine till next month and give them a good week in the refrigerator first to get them really gunning for success.

thats it for this month, the new moon strikes on the 29th, so get digging again over that time and if you intend to leave any beds bare fro the winter try covering them in pea straw or dead leaves, then a layer of manure, more pea straw and/or dead leaves and water in well. pop large sheets of plastic over this and weigh down wit rocks or stakes to gather heat and compost - i hear it will all be worth it in a couple of months when you find it wonderfully ready to dig through and plant in - i am gonna give this a try if i can manage to have spare un-planted areas in our patch.

take care all, and please feel free to comment.
xx