September 2019
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S
ing
Da
y!
FOOD GARDENING
Getting started
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pl
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Time your
sowing
The soil temperature required by
vegetables to germinate differs.
Start with root and other cool-
season vegetables and end with
summer-fruiting vegetables.By mid-
September the
soil should be
warm enough
to sow bush and
runner beans,
bush squashes
and Swiss chard.8 9 10 11
15 16
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2
Schedule
succession planting
The intention behind succession planting is to
spread the supply of a vegetable over as long
a period as possible. For instance, it is
possible to harvest bush beans
throughout summer by planting a
new batch every 3 – 4 weeks.
The interval between succession
plantings varies, with a smaller
interval between leafy vegetables
and a longer gap between
fruiting vegetables.- Leafy vegetables (spinach, lettuce, rocket)
can be sown at two-weekly intervals, but this
interval can be increased if there is too much
of an overlap in the harvest. - Root vegetables (carrots and beetroots) are
generally harvested over a longer period so
they can be sown about four weeks apart. - Legumes (garden peas and bush
beans) can be sown about 3 – 4 weeks
apart. - Fruiting vegetables (tomatoes,
peppers, brinjals and runner
beans) can be sown 6 – 12
weeks apart.
It’s not necessary to sow or plant the
same number of veggies each time.
Follow up crops should be smaller, about
half of the original crop. Towards the end of a
vegetable’s season, the last planting can be bigger
to produce a surplus for preserving.3
w bea,
squh and
Swi
ch d
Get the watering right
Did you know?
A 30cm-tall plant will have roots that
extend to a depth of at least 60cm.
Keep this in mind when judging how
much water to give.
Water as early as possible while nights
are still cool so that the leaves are
dry by nightfall. This prevents
outbreaks of fungal
diseases.As well as ample sunshine, providing enough water at the
right time ensures a good yield and good-quality
crops. Daily attention should be paid to watering
because growth is so rapid in spring.
Small seedlings need only a little water,
but they need it more frequently
because their roots are shallow (in the
top 5cm of soil) and so the soil dries
out more quickly.
Larger plants need more water but
at longer intervals. The roots of a
plant are almost double the volume,
lengthwise, of the leafy section above
the ground.TE
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