Keith's Handy Hint

5 Vegetables to plant this autumn

Autumn is the perfect time to plant leafy greens, onions and beetroot - whether you have an expansive garden or a few pots on a balcony. Organic garden shop owner, Jamie Garner of Jamie’s Garden Shop, shares his tips for getting the most out of the garden this autumn.

1.) LETTUCE, 2.) BABY SPINACH 3.) PAK CHOI

While the heat of summer often makes lettuce taste bitter and sends other leafy greens to flower, autumn is the perfect time to plant lettuce, baby spinach and pak choi.

Instructions for growing leafy greens

* Plant seedlings and at the same time plant some seeds around the base of the seedlings for succession harvesting. You can then plant seeds every two weeks to once a month to be able to eat your greens in succession.

* Use a premium vegetable soil mix such as Orgasoilux and a medium dosage of an organic slow release fertilizer such as Talborne Organics Vita-Veg 6:3:4 with higher levels of nitrogen for leaf growth.

* In warmer parts of the country plant seeds and seedlings under partial shade with a few hours of direct sunlight. Cooler parts of the country can plant in full sun. If lettuce goes bitter, harvest immediately. Continue harvesting from your next set of seedlings from the seeds you planted next to the first seedlings which should be getting bigger.

* Water well daily in the mornings.

4.) ONIONS AND 5.) BEETROOT

Onions are great vegetables as they store well for long periods, they’re very healthy, and I found them relatively easy to grow. It’s easiest to plant from seedlings as seeds take quite long to grow. Beetroot is another great vegetable as you can use the baby leaves for salads and larger leaves for stir fries. Be sure to leave enough leaves on to maintain healthy root growth.

Instructions for growing beetroot and onions

* Separate seedlings from seed trays and plant 15cm apart (if your tray of onion seedlings has more than one onion per seedling cup separate and plant 15cm apart).

* Use a premium vegetable soil mix such as Orgasoilux and a medium dosage of an organic slow release fertilizer such as Talborne Organics Vita-Grow 2:3:2 with higher levels of phosphorous for root and bulb growth.

* Plant in full sun and water daily in the mornings.

* Apply mulch to all vegetables but leave some space around the base of the veggies for air to get to the beneficial mycorrhizal root fungi.

* Root drench or spray the foliage with liquid kelp every two weeks, and compost tea once a month.

* It comes highly recommended to apply beneficial mycorrhizal fungi to all vegetables when transplanting except the brassica family (pak choi being the only one from this list).

All products, vertical Minigardens, Orgasoilux, Talborne Organics, Mycorrhizal fungi and liquid kelp are available at our online garden shop, Jamie’s Garden Shop at www.jamiesgardenshop.co.za.

(Taken from Jamie Garner, organic garden shop owner)

Buy the new revised edition of Keith Kirsten's Garden Plants & Flowers

A very handy hint, is obtaining a copy of the revised edition of "Keith Kirsten's Garden Plants & Flowers"

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