Autumn In My Central Otago Garden
It may be autumn now but here in Central Otago it’s still feeling like summer and with that comes the ongoing harvest of our summer vegetables I am still picking tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes, though they have slowed and the plants are looking a bit sad I’m still harvesting enough for dinner and the freezer each day.
I have slowed the feeding of plants but the watering is still happening on the regular as the temperatures are still high.
So, let's get into it... Autumn In My Central Otago.
The tasks for the upcoming month include clearing out spent plants, sowing green crops in beds where I don’t plan to plant winter crops, and generally tidying up after a productive summer.
Regarding winter planting, I typically don’t plant large quantities for winter here at the property because our environment is quite harsh, and not much survives. However, here are a few things I do plant.
🌱Cavolo Nero
This is a great hardy green similar to kale but cooks up tender, unlike kale, which can be stringy.
🌱Spring Onions
These need to be nearly fully grown by the first frost, but they hold in the ground nicely and can be used in a pinch.
🌱Coriander and Parsley
If, like me, you let these two go to seed, this is when they will start popping up. They prefer the cold, and if you have a sheltered spot, the frost won’t bother them too much.
I have begun harvesting all the beans that I left to dry on the plant—cannellini and borlotti.
Both are a great dwarf variety that I used as space fillers throughout the gardens, and now is the time to pick them to dry fully under cover. It has been a very successful season for them, and I’m looking forward to using them through the winter months. They are great in soups and stews, and because they aren’t commercially dried, there isn’t the long soaking time, so I can just toss them into something in the last hour or so of cooking.
I have yet to master the art of seed saving, but these could be the perfect place to start.
There is still plenty to love about an autumnal garden. Other than the clearing out, it’s not so hectic, so this is when I can stand back and enjoy what the gardens have given me for the past few months. It’s the perfect time to reflect on what’s gone right and what didn’t work out the way I’d planned.
🌱 I can see that some of my spacing between plants wasn’t quite enough,
🌱 that where I put flowers for distracting the pests worked, and I need to up the ante next time.
🌱 I have tasted all the tomatoes and have decided which ones to plant again.
🌱 I have to rethink my labeling because somehow I managed more yellow tomatoes than red, and my cherry tomatoes were pretty much all yellow (don’t ask me how).
🌱 I don’t need 8 cucumber plants in the glasshouse; 4 will actually do.
🌱 And that I struggle with carrots and radishes; they are a crop that I fail at every time, so I’m giving up.
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