LILA'S  O R G A N I C   K I T C H E N    G A R D E N                                     SUSTAINABLE    EARTH    LIVING.   New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand.© 2007 
                         
                         

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 MY GARDEN CALENDAR   Parsley  Biennial   Autumn seeding.
December 2008 photos   Parsley is actually a biennial if you get the planting and timing right, sow seeds in Autumn 6mm deep and make sure the plants are in the ground established for winter, now if  you want to keep the plant for 2 years then you simply must cut the growth, if a parsley is left looking all lush and green and beautiful, then it will shoot to seed in the heat of the summer even if it is in its first summer of growth, so keep picking your parsley all the time, you can sow directly into the ground, however due to parsley taking such a long time to germinate, up to 3 weeks it is advisable to germinate the seeds in punnets or a small pot, so that the soil can be kept at a good moist level, do not have the soil too wet or the seeds will rot before germinating, if you want to assist the seeds to germinate quicker, place the seeds in warm, not hot water for a few hours. Parsley enjoys full sun and a good rich composted soil, you may plant parsley all year round and you can germinate the seeds in spring if you like, however remember the rule of autumn seeding for best results, good luck with your parsley, easy to grow, great to eat, fantastic in all manner of foods, I could not do without mine I eat it daily. Curly parsley is by far the favorite, but large leaf parsley is very popular for adding to salads and rice dishes etc. Grow in full sun and rich composted soil, if soil is lacking nutrients the parsley will bolt to seed more easily.  
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    Parsnips Annual sow seed into ground in Spring  
    Parsnip is a winter crop, prepare your  soil well, ensure that it is deep and friable and lots of compost dug in, against a wall or fence out of the way, or behind your vegetables is perfect due to the long time that they need to be in the soil,  make rows and plant your seeds 3cm deep, and be very patient because parsnips take even longer than carrots to germinate, so the soil must be kept damp, not wet! For over 3 weeks and also ensure your parsnip seeds are fresh, if they are more than even 2 years old they may not germinate, so it’s a good I idea to buy a fresh packet of seeds every year, or share with a friend. Make sure that as your seeds come through and the parsnips are growing that they are kept weed free, they will grow right through the summer and are large topped plants, bigger than carrots.  Dig the parsnips up out of the ground as they are required over winter, or earlier if you like baby parsnips, if you have any parsnips in the ground come spring, then lift them and store them in a box in the shed covered with soil or sand. Parsnips are fantastic baked or in a casserole      
         
         
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
         
         
         
         
                             
    Peas   Annual   Plant in spring and summer
    Peas are a summer crop, so plant your first lot of peas in August/September, then keep extra crops in right through to January or so.  Plant the seeds with two in each hole and at least 5 cm deep, peas need staking so you can put in double rows, with about 25cm apart and use bamboo stakes criss crossed or you can put them up against a wire trellis like I do, make sure the soil is well composted and fed prior to putting seeds in and keep the moisture up to them, the richer the soil the better the crop. For freezing peas, blanch them for about 2 minutes or until they become bright green then freeze  [HOW TO BLANCH] have a pot of rolling boiling water, and another pot with iced cold water in, put the peas in the boiling hot water for 2 minutes until bright green then take out and put straight into iced cold water, then put the peas straight into the freezer on a tray covered with baking paper, once frozen put them into your frozen pea container, it is such a worthwhile way to get your frozen peas, that is if  you don’t eat them all before hand like I do.      
         
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
         
         
         
                             
    Potatoes annual Plant in spring  
   

 People tend to think that you need a large garden for growing potatoes, I disagree, I have a potato plot that I dug up out of the lawn next to my garden, the potato needs to be in a well drained soil with lots of compost dug in, good feeding while the potato is growing its leaves will ensure a good crop, don’t overfed though, make sure the ground is ready by digging down and making the soil easy to dig, I don’t use furrows where you build up rows, I dig a hole about 2 ft deep, take out all the soil, then mix that soil with compost and sheep manure and blood and bone, then put about 10 cm back in the hole, sit my potatoes on top [do not plant potato out until shoots [sprouts] have appeared on the potatoes, this can be achieved by sitting the potato in the sun for a few days until growth appears, you can then plant the potato whole or cut up into sections each with a shoot], then cover with about another 10cm of soil mix, put the rest of the soil aside and a couple of weeks later start to fill the hole in, keep doing this as the potato shoots get higher and higher until all the soil is used up, you will end up with the soil mounded on top and that is all you have to do until the potato flowers then starts to go yellow and die off, you can of course tickle your potatoes and take out baby spuds and put the soil back.   Tickling at xmas time will give you baby spuds for the table. (:  OR you can grow your potatoes the normal way, make a furrow 4” deep in your rich soil, plant the spuds and as the plants grow mound up from each side, this is the normal method, however I like the hole method, if you want small potatoes plant crop close together if you want large spuds, place plants at least a foot apart, I plant a lot of spuds in my hole and dig up little potatoes…I will show you the results at a later date in my garden calendar.

      
         
         
         
         
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
                             
    Pumpkin Annual   Plant in Spring  
    The more nutrients in the soil the better for a good crop,  a rich soil is a must for pumpkins or squash,  Sow your seed in 4cm deep holes in October or early November,  sow at least 3 seeds close together in case some don’t come up, as the plants germinate remove the others until you have a single plant. Keep plants weed free around the base and the more water and food you give your pumpkins or squash the more you will get, when the vines start to die off and go yellow cut the pumpkin/squash off the plant about 6cm from the plant.  
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
                             
    Radishes annual Sow spring/ summer/ autumn  
    You can grow radishes nearly all year round, except in the very cold couple of months in middle of winter, don’t sow too many at a time because they are ready to use between 4-6 weeks from putting seed in, if you eat them after 6 weeks old they are bitter and burpy!, sow seeds every month in a little patch in the garden, get into the habit of putting them in frequently, eat while small, the smaller the better, they love organic soil, only sow them sparsely and thin out, sow seeds about 5mm deep, Put wire netting over the area to keep birds and cats  out while they germinate, or the trusty bamboo bits (:      
         
     
     
     
     
     
     
         
                             
         

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website created by  Lila Smith ©  DECEMBER 2007   New Plymouth,  Taranaki New Zealand