While the veggies are racing off to give us results, the ground is drying out. More than one of this month’s tasks is about responding to that.

Top jobs for the month:

• Planting – there are a few crops which need to go in ASAP to give them enough time to produce before summer ends. There are also crops where planting more will extend your season.
• Harvesting – things planted earlier like garlic, peas, strawberries, and early potatoes are ready to harvest. Summer favourites will begin producing soon.
• Installing irrigation.
• Mulching to retain moisture and keep the weeds down.
• Fertilising.

Irrigation

If you’re getting cracks in your soil and wilting plants, you might want to consider irrigation. While I tend to stick to a watering can (because we have a limited water supply here), for those with more certainty about their supply, irrigation allows you to ‘set and forget’ the watering of your garden.

Drip irrigation is usually the option that uses the least water. Measure your garden and design your system on paper first – it’ll save both time figuring it out, and money on parts. Both Bunnings and Mitre 10 have some decent instructions.

It’s a job you’ll probably be good at if you’re into Lego. If you add an automatic timer to your system, you won’t have to actively worry about watering your plants all summer.

At this time of year, it’s best to water in the early morning or late evening. And if you can, avoid getting the leaves wet. When it is hot, the water heats rapidly before evaporating – enough to burn the leaves of your plants.

If you notice your plants looking parched and wilting, you can either slowly soak the ground around them, or wait until the late afternoon/early evening to water.

If you need to run a sprinkler, first thing in the morning before the dew evaporates is the best time. This means the plants begin using the water right away, and it dries with the dew in the morning light.

Harvests

Early potatoes are probably beginning to die back and need harvesting. Remember that early potatoes don’t store too well, so if you’ve got room to spare in the garden, just give them an extra layer of mulch (I dump the lawn clippings on top of them).

This will keep the spuds dark, and prevent them going green. You can then harvest as required.

Garlic is also ready and should be harvested after the first 3 or 4 leaves have started to die back. Lift the whole plant with a garden fork and allow to dry in a warm breezy place with the roots and stems still attached. The bulb will absorb the remaining energy from the stems as it dries.

And be ready. Peas, beans, tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, and other tasty things will be producing, or starting to produce month too, depending on where you are, when you’ve planted, and what you’re growing.

Last chance to plant

The carrots you plant now will be the ones that will see you through winter. I gave some ideas for getting them germinated last month.

It’s also last-call on getting your leek seedlings going for 2025. Leeks are a plant that demands you be organised, and I think half the reason people fail at them is because of timing. Trust me. Sow your leek seed indoors.

If you’re in Zone A, and planning to grow kūmara, eggplants, peppers, pumpkin, melons, gourds, luffa, or peanuts, time is really running out to give them a nice long season.

It’s probably already a bit late for other zones – but there’s nothing preventing you from giving it a crack.

Continuous harvest plantings

Keep planting dwarf and climbing beans. A few seeds planted each month will help keep your harvests going right through.

Soak seeds and direct-sow your beans into the garden and make sure you provide supports for climbing varieties.

Sowings can still be made of beetroot, silverbeet, and sweetcorn. It’s easiest to sow them directly into the garden.

Cucumber, Zucchini, Tomatoes

Grab another seedling or two from the garden centre and bung them in before Christmas. It’ll reward you by extending your season into February, March, and maybe even April!

Tomatoes are pretty easy to grow from cuttings. So if you like the ones you’re growing, grow more!

Potatoes

Early plantings are ready for harvest. Keep mounding and mulching your existing plants.

There’s still time to get your main crops in if you want to grow to store potatoes over winter.

Zone A can usually get away with a final planting up until late January, though be aware of your own frost and expected harvest dates.

But for Zones B and C, this is most likely your last month to plant a successful main crop harvest.

Fertilising

Most of your plants – whether they are vegetables, fruit, or berries will benefit from some fertiliser about now.

All fertilisers should provide an NPK ratio – that is the ratio of Nitrogen (N) to Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K).

While garden suppliers are happy to sell them to you, you don’t need a specific fertiliser for each type of plant (e.g. you can buy potato, citrus, tomato, and berry fertilisers, but you don’t have to). If you know about NPK ratios, you can figure out how to use a couple of fertilisers for everything.

High nitrogen (N) fertilisers – are best for promoting leafy growth. Great for lettuce, spinach, or silverbeet; but not as helpful for tomatoes or cucumbers!

Fruit and flower fertilisers are higher in phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) – this is much better for plants that fruit like berries, tomatoes, or citrus; or plants that need to flower like pumpkin, melons, and zucchini.

Blood and bone, manure pellets, or combined pellets (e.g. Yates Dynamic Lifter or Dalton’s Garden Pellets) are all good general fertilisers that increase the organic matter in your soil. Sprinkle around the base of your plants, and/or inside planting holes.

Liquid fertilisers – including seaweed, Nitrosol, and fish fertilisers – should be applied every one or two weeks as these are generally fast-release fertilisers. Liquid fertilisers are always the best option for plants growing in containers.

Non-organic solid fertilisers come as granules. Trust me – do not put these in your potted plants! You can cause some pretty substantial damage. Best sprinkled around the base of plants growing in the ground or raised beds.

Stone and pip fruit

The earliest stone fruit will be ripening soon. Once you have harvested your trees, it’s the best time to prune them.

Summer pruning of stone fruit helps ensure they recover quickly, and avoid disease. Ensure your tools are cleaned between trees to prevent pathogens spreading between them.

Apples and pears will need thinning out now that flowering is complete. Some great instructions on how to do that are over at Edible Backyard.

Citrus fruit

Trees are flowering, so it’s a great time to hit them with fertiliser. Remember – liquid for those in pots, liquid or solid for those in the ground.

Once they’re fertilised, it’s a good time to add some mulch to help retain moisture.

Keep an eye out for scale, aphids, or mealy bugs. They can all be sorted out organically with a dose of a horticultural spraying oil, such as Yates Conqueror.

Over the holiday period

If you’re going away, focus on mulching your garden before you go. That’ll give it the best chances of survival while you’re away. Secondarily, look at a drip irrigation system on a timer, especially if you’re going away for a while.

If you have some time to get into the garden, plant some more of what you’ve already planted – it’ll help keep your harvest go right through until winter.

Otherwise I hope you enjoy the warmer temperatures, summer days, and have an opportunity to catch up with those you love this month.

Happy gardening!