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Tomatoes

January Growers' Guide

The citrus are beginning to flower and fruit.

Their smell punching the air as you brush past them. 

The excess tomatoes are making their way into kitchen pots and preserves.

The days are beginning to become noticeably shorter again, prompting one to think about plans for the colder season ahead.

Image by Parker Sturdivant

Flowers (seeds)

Alysum

Aster 
Baby's Breath

Bergamot
Billy Buttons

Borage

Calendula

California Poppy

Carnation

Chrysanthemum

Comfrey

Cornflowers
Cosmos

Dahlia

Delphinium

Dianthus

Echinacea

Everlasting Daisy

Feverfew

Forget me not

Gladioli bulbs

German Chamomile

Hyssop

Impatiens

Larkspur

Lavender

Marigolds

Nasturtium
Petunia

Phlox
Pincushion

Poppy

Salvias

Snapdragon

Sunflower

Sweet William

Verbana

Yarrow

Zinnia

Tips to dead head flowers (roses)

Image by Petr Magera

Vegetables (seeds)

Artichoke
Basil
Beans

Beetroot

Broccoli

Brussel Sprouts

Burdock
Capsicum

Carob

Carrot

Celery

Chervil

Chickory

Chives

Chinese broccoli

Corn

Cucumber

Dill

Eggplant

Endive

Fennel

Garlic chives

Kale

Leek

Lemon balm

Lettuce

Malabar Spinach

Mizuna

Mustards

Oregano

Parsley

Peppermint

Purslane

Rocket

Rhubarb

Rosemary

Sage

Salsify
Silverbeet

Sorrel

Spearmint

Spinach

Spring Onion

Squash

Sweet potato

Tamarillo

Tarragon

Thyme

Tomato

Tulsi - Holy Basil

Turnip

Watercress
Zucchini
 

Tips for growing tomatoes

Add some calcium to your soil if you experienced blossom end rot last year

Fresh Plums

Fruits

  • Check citrus trees for gall wasp and aphids

  • Check root stock growth and remove it from grafted trees

  • Check on your fruit fly traps and refresh as necessary

  • Regularly check whether your fruit has ripened and pick before it falls

  • Water regularly and deeply

  • Plant passionfruit, collect fallen fruit which have ripened and fallen to the ground

  • Prune watershoots - which are branches growing vertically from a horizontal lateral branch

  • Thin your fruit so there is air circulation between the fruit

  • Plant citrus trees

  • Plant avocado trees

  • Decide which deciduous trees you want to plant this winter and order them from your nursery of preference

Domestic Waste Bin

Soil, Compost & General

  • Time to do lots of weeding, if that is your thing

  • Actively check for pests, especially the brassica white moth

  • Actively check for bronze orange bugs in citrus trees and remove using gloves and eye protection

  • Mulch, mulch, mulch

  • Cover your worm farm with a wet hessian blanket to keep them happy in the heat OR

  • Start your own worm farm

  • Transplant evergreen shrubs

  • Water early in the morning and/or late at night

  • Use your seaweed fertilizer or other fertilizer of choice to keep plants healthy

  • Check on your pot plants so their roots do not bake in the warmth of the sunshine

  • Compost, compost, compost

gardening tools

Tools & Equipment

  • Check and maintain your fruit fly traps

  • Clean and sharpen secateurs and saws for fruit tree pruning

  • Ensure your irrigation systems are set for the holiday season

  • Setup and maintain nets for trees and vegetables

  • Check your compost thermometer is in good working order

  • Check and maintain your sprayers

Cabbage Moth decoysPrint out these images and trace onto white plastic, place on sticks in the garden.

Garlic and Chilli spray
8-10 chillies finely sliced
4 cloves garlic crushed and cut roughly
1 Tablespoon soap flakes
1 Litre boiling water
Combine in a glass jar and set aside for 24 hours. Strain and pour into a spray bottle.
Use within 2 weeks

Homemade Pesto

Seed Saving & Harvesting

Harvesting

cucumbers, zucchini, beetroot, carrots, pumpkins, watermelons, beans, berries, lettuce, silverbeet, apples, stone fruit and citrus fruit as they ripen, spring onions, rhubarb, mustards, spinach, asparagus, squashes, tomatoes, herbs

Seed saving

Peas and snow peas, rocket, radishes, broccoli, silverbeet, coriander, chilli, tomato, dill, fennel

Seed from apples, pears, quinces, stonefruit

UPDATE: We have started work on updating our seed saving page.

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