Spring growth is starting now, and I consider mid August in the subtropics to be spring time. Possibly not in Melbourne yet, but up here you need to think of planting the vegies, herbs, fruits and flowers that thrive in the lengthening and warming days
If you haven’t as yet pruned your deciduous fruit trees while they are bare, don’t leave it any longer. They really do need to be pruned before they burst into bud and flower, so get out there quick smart!
Winter pruning of espalier fruit trees should have been already completed in July and the training of branches to wires is now doing its job over the active growth phase.
Vegies to sow now include snow peas, beans, sweet corn (the bandicoot has eaten all my last sowing in one night so I need to sow more and cover them up with netting for a couple of weeks); spring onions, kale, lettuce, strawberries, asparagus seedlings and seed, Asian cabbages eg Tatsoi and Pak choy, purple sprouting broccoli and Gai Lan, carrots (grow the type suited to your soil depth and only grow them in situ from seed. ) beetroot and kolhl rabi.
Herbs to sow and grow now include : coriander, mint including native river mint , chervil, basil from seed, oregano, thyme, parsley, chamomile, Queen Anne’s Lace, Tansy from cuttings, Ginger from pieces, Wasabi Leaf, chives, Society Garlic (it’s just about to come into flower in our garden) , Borage, Mizuna and , Sorrels.
Fruits to grow now: Get in quick because this year has been a doozy with orders of all fruit trees. Don’t hesitate to get your pome fruit and stone fruits in. Choose the low chill varieties in QLD; and spring will see rapid growth of Panama Berries, mangoes, star fruit, dragon fruit, avocadoes, Jaboticaba and most other fruits. Ensure you’ve left a good space for them to grow. Crowded fruit trees are stressed trees and will succumb to disease and pests.
Edible Flowers now: You may still have time in cool areas to put in Stocks, and in the warmer places, try snap dragons,. Violas and pansies should all be flowering now., but dianthus are a good seedling investment as they continue to grow over summer. Add chamomile, Sesbiana trees, dahlias, fragrant salvias and roses to your garden. They’ll look and taste beautiful!
