Brassicas (including broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, radishes and much more) are winter favourites in many gardens, especially as their major pests - white butterfly and diamondback moths - are absent during that time. However, to get good winter production from brassicas, the timing of planting is key, especially in colder areas. 

Where I live, in the lower North Island, I have found that the ideal time to plant out most brassicas (except brussel sprouts, which need longer) for winter production is March. If I leave it later, the temperatures become low, and the plants go into a state of semi-dormancy (this happens below 10C), with growth slowed right down, and the size of the productive heads being much smaller, if produced at all - sometimes the plants remain very small and unproductive, and then bolt straight to small flower heads in spring when it warms again. This will depend on timing of planting and just how cold the winter is. 

On the other hand, when planting in March, I still need to protect them from white butterflies. One year I did this using micromesh, which is used to against psyllids and other pests. It also had the effect of producing a micro-climate of warmer are in the completely covered bed, and those broccoli were HUGE and fully ready for picking by early June - sooner than I had counted on. I see a similar result if I plant them earlier than March too - still warm temps cause faster maturation.

This past year, as I have written elsewhere, has not gone as intended. But between family deaths and births, I planted some late brassicas - broccoli, kohl rabi, kale and cabbage - in three different places in my garden, at different times (figuring any production better than the none that comes from not planting at all!). The results illustrate my point above, and the ones in the (unheated, open windowed) greenhouse, though planted much later, were WAY more productive, due to the warmer temperatures. Check it out:

And here's what each group looked like on 4th August:

Group 1: Some moderate growth - some nice but small heads forming on the broccoli. I went ahead and picked them, as some were bolting straight to flowers, and it was obvious the others weren't going to get much bigger. Cabbage very small, kohl rabi look ok-ish, but no sign of any decent bulbing. 

Group 2: Growth in cabbages and kohl rabi very minimal. Broccoli have gained some size, and are forming very small heads.

Group 3: excellent growth in broccoli, kale and red cabbages in the greenhouse. No sign of heads forming yet, which is good. I have two varieties of broccoli in here - a larger variety on one side, and a smaller one on the other. Red cabbages are hidden behind the kale in the 2nd  pic. Brocc underplanted with cornsalad/mache.

And then on the 24th August:

Group 1: These are looking pretty pathetic. I'm picking small shoots and heads of broccoli as they turn up. The other brassicas are pretty much a waste of space.

Group 2: Picked main heads on most of the broccoli. Reasonable size, especially for size of plants, but not very large. Certainly edible. Not holding out much hope for the cabbages and kohl rabi. Some of the brocc plants are still very, very small.

Group 3: 
Just starting to see the formation of heads in the midst of the biggest broccoli variety. Have been picking kale every day for smoothies for a while now. Cabbages looking good too.

On 5th September:

Pretty much given up on Group 1 - taking a few brocc shoots. They're now mostly just sitting there until I get around to clearing the bed and planting something else. 

Group 2: picking fairly steady amounts of side shoots from these broccoli. The purpling of the leaves is a sign of how the cold has affected these plants, stunting their growth.

Group 3: Lovely heads forming on the larger plants!

I waited a few more days, and picked these first heads on the 8th, when they had reached their maximum size (and were beginning to show the barest signs of loosening up)

14th September: I picked the last small shoots on Group 2 broccoli, and ate them raw in the garden (yum!), then picked the leaves off the kohl rabi, nicer leaves of brocc and cabbage, and used them lightly steamed for dinner, before ripping out all these plants and replacing them with strawberries. 

Today (17th September), Group 3: There are nice heads on the second variety of broccoli, as well as small side shoots forming on both varieties. The kale and red cabbages both are looking gorgeous! Loving my daily kale addition to my breakfast smoothies (along with various other greens from the garden - NZ spinach, chickweed, puha, cornsalad, miner's lettuce etc). 

Conclusions: extra warmth makes a clear, huge difference in the growth and productivity of broccoli and other brassicas! 
My intentions for 2018: Get brassicas in the ground outside by March, and also plant some in succession, including covering later ones to provide a warmer microclimate. Use the greenhouse for extra plantings when the weather gets colder. 

To recap on the broccoli:
Group 1: planted 28th April, picked some tiny heads 4th August, few small shoots there after. No decent production. 
Group 2: higher raised beds. Planted 4th May. Picked main heads 24th August, lots of side shoots 5th Sept, pulled plants 14th Sept. 
Group 3: Planted in greenhouse 5th June. Picked first group of main heads (large) on 8th Sept. As of 14th Sept, another group of main heads just about ready to pick within the next few days, and side shoots forming everywhere.

​This past week, I was sorting out some seeds to share, when I decided, since I had them all out, it was a good time to make a list of what I want to sow and grow this year, along with the perenials already in my garden....turned out to be a long one! Well, it's motivation to get busy, both sowing, and preparing places to plant everything, or tidy up existing bushes etc. Want to see my list? Here it is - I keep adding things to it as I remember them....

A common question is "How do you store your seeds?"
My flatter packets of seeds are upright, sorted alphabetically, in two hard plastic cases designed for CDs (found at the op shop). Bulkier saved seeds are kept in bags or jars, in a drawer and/or stacking plastic containers. I also freeze some. In theory, I'd freeze a supply of most seed that is important to me, as this keeps it viable for much longer, but I'm not that organised yet. 

The weather has definitely warmed up! The grass is growing madly, there is already one set of wild ducklings in the back paddock, and the pests are (unfortunately) increasing in numbers. This time of year is usually a bit of a pendulum, weather-wise - wind, thunderstorms and generally unsettled weather is normal as we head into the equinox on Sept 22nd, and for several weeks afterwards. Spring usually brings a warm period, followed by a late cold snap. It's not time to get too excited and plant out tender summer crops just yet! 

I've realised that one of the reasons that I have not been very consistent with updating this blog is that I tend to write long posts with lots of pics (which take time to upload), and so procrastinate because time is short. So, my plan for this season is to write more regular but shorter posts. Hopefully you will find them interesting and inspiring. :-)

This week I've made a start in the garden. I had lots of plans for how I was going to overhaul it over winter...didn't happen! This past year has included a lot of life events which have conspired to keep me out of the garden - within my family: two deaths, being executor of a complex estate, a marraige, and two births, and then my own health issues, and overall busyness in my other life roles. However, every day is a new beginning! So rather than worry about what I haven't done, I'm just jumping in where I am! Yes, the garden is a mess - there is grass and weeds everywhere. Yes, there is a lot of work to do. No, it doesn't look like I intended it to going in to spring. C'est la Vie! 

One day at a time - one step at a time. The good thing is, even when the gardener is unavailable, the garden still produces - the jungle out there contains plenty of silverbeet, miner's lettuce, NZ spinach, lemons, leeks, spring onions, carrots, puha, kale, broccoli, various edible greens, chickweed, calendula, mint, oregano, rosemary, chives, parsley, thyme, potatoes, and so on. 

So, over this week I have:

Weeded the bed bordering my garden area, mulched with woodchip, and planted violas on one side, and calendulas and parsley on the other. Should look good with the bright flowers behind a cascading border of parsley. The parsley should also help the rose in the middle, protecting it from black spot and aphids. 

Overhauled my blueberry bed, removing all the strawberries (it's more convenient to harvest strawberries from a low, netted bed than the big netted blueberry bed, and besides, it was easier to get all the weeds out if I removed the strawberries), and planting a gooseberry and some raspberries in the open space - they are tall plants who will do well in the netted cage. Nets are currently rolled up but will be let down once fruits are starting to ripen. I spread some sulphate of potash and sulphur-containing plant food, compost, peat moss (blueberries in particular like more acidic soil, and the peat moss and sulphur help lower the pH), watered well, then topped with aged sawdust removed from last year's raised potato beds. 

Harvested the side shoots from broccoli in two raised beds, which did not get very big over winter (more on this in another post), along with kohl rabi starting to go to seed, and cabbages which were still tiny. We ate the leaves from broccoli, kohl rabi and cabbage, lightly steamed, for dinner last night, and the broccoli shoots over a couple of nights. I then planted those beds with the strawberries I had dug up, along with some extras potted from runners in my strawberry bath. Left over strawberry plants were given away. I also added sulphate of potash to these beds, and watered in. First bed shown below - second one was planted tonight. It also has shallots growing in it, which I left in between the strawberry plants.

I dug over the third bed behind these two, pulling out spuds from last season I never harvested. Was going to plant strawberries there too, but am now thinking I might overhaul it, and plant a bed of mixed spuds, under mesh against psyllid.

I cleared the remnants of sweet peas from this trellis, added a jasmine plant to cover the trellis (and hide the bins etc behind it), at least until the Leptospermum gets big enough to act as a screen on it's own. A few violas for colour at the base. 

After weeding in front of the caravan (adjacent to the fence border above), I planted a yellow Argyranthemum daisy, sprinkled some buckwheat and white alyssum seeds around it, and lightly raked them in. On the other side of the carpet rose, in the corner, I sprinkled mixed poppy seeds. Extra colour and food for the bees and other beneficials. 

The one job I got done last week was to dig over this bed, add some compost and a trench of well rotted horse manure (left over from brewing a drum of manure tea), and mulching with pea straw, before planting a punnet each of Rainbow Chard (silverbeet) and perpetual spinach (another kind of silverbeet). 

Adjacent to it, the wee lemon tree is loaded, the garlic is doing well, though getting a bit shaded by the globe artichoke I planted last season (my first one) which is getting huge! I keep pulling leaves off and mulching with them, if they start to lay over the top of the garlic. I had literally no where else I could plant garlic at the time!

It's a start!