STEPH HALL
IT’S easy to get excited about the start of spring; but I always remind myself to step into it tentatively.
The frosts and the cold nights will stick with us for some time yet so we mustn’t be complacent about our spring plantings.
There are jobs, however, we must do in September to prepare for the season ahead. Before we dig into that, though, let’s catch up on what happened in the garden in August.
The first big job was planting out potatoes. As well as planting the purple fleshed potato, mentioned last month, I planted another seven varieties with various colours and cooking attributes.
They haven’t sprouted yet but I’m keeping a close eye on them. The tubers are safe underground, but the green leaves of potato plants are not frost hardy. So, after they’ve sprouted it’s important to cover them, with frost cloth, on the nights frosts are expected.
At the end of August, I planted seeds for tomatoes, eggplants, chilli, and capsicum, as planned, and placed them on my heat mat, under grow lights.
When most of the seeds have germinated, the heat mat will be removed but the grow lights will stay on for six hours a day. At the end of September, the seedlings will be separated into individual pots, but they will still need to stay indoors and under lights.
In September, I’ll be using my heat mat again to sprout sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes have become a crop of intrigue to me in recent years due to their amazing storage ability.
In my first few years of gardening, I couldn’t find sweet potato seedlings for sale when I needed them. This was likely because local nurseries often don’t stock sweet potato seedlings until the weather is consistently hot; by then it is too late for us to plant them if we hope to get a harvest before our frosts start in autumn.
In 2024 I was given a home-grown sweet potato from a friend and, instead of eating it as was probably intended, I saved it until early spring and sprouted it on the heat mat.
The process is rather easy. Simply fill a tray with a good seed raising mix and lay the sweet potato on its side half submerged.
A heat mat and grow lights are necessary to ensure it sprouts quickly, otherwise it would simply rot in the cold damp mix. Once it’s sprouting strongly the heat mat can be turned off, but the plant will need to stay indoors and under lights for the remainder of September. Just like the other seedlings.
The biggest event of September, though, is the spring equinox which will occur on the 23rd. Equinoxes occur when the sun is located directly above the equator resulting in an almost equal amount of daylight and darkness over a 24-hour period.
After the spring equinox the southern hemisphere will tilt closer to the sun which will result in more hours of daylight, with earlier sunrises and later sunsets.
The effects of the equinox are always evident in the garden. You may notice the return or flowering of many biannual and perennial plants like French tarragon will burst from the soil. There’ll also be fresh growth on thyme and raspberries, and blueberries will flower and the chives will blossom.
The energy of the equinox might also see some undesirable outcomes in the vegetable patch. Carrots, that have overwintered, may bolt to seed which can result in a wooden inedible core.
Broccoli and cauliflower will also be triggered to flower so, if you’ve got them in the garden, don’t leave harvesting too late.
The increased warmth and daylight will also signal time for renewed growth in weeds and grasses, but I’m choosing not to linger on that thought for too long!
After the spring equinox it will be time to sow things like cucumber, pumpkin and zucchini in pots outdoors, but they will need to be moved into a warm, frost-free area at night until temperatures stop dipping below 10°c.
If you prefer, you can simply wait until November to plant these seeds directly in the ground, just make sure you choose fast maturing varieties.
If you want to be a brilliant gardener, take note of the equinox’s effect on your garden. Let it dictate your behaviour and grow while the growing is good. There’s plenty of time for you, and nature to rest later.
