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by Daniella Alexander |
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October is the month of greatest change in the kitchen garden with summer well on its way. Now is the time to plant with summer rewards in mind. Plant tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, sweet corn, marrows, melons, zucchini, and pumpkin. Plant salad mixes and continue to plant them every two weeks for successive crops. You can begin harvesting in just a few weeks. Start earthing up your potatoes, and get your sweet potatoes into the ground - remember they are part of the morning glory family and need lots of space to meander around. As crops emerge, use leaf mould and compost as a mulch to conserve moisture and keep down weeds. It is always a good idea to sow or plant small amounts successionally, and also far more interesting to try different varieties. Most importantly though is to grow lots of what you love to eat. After all, these are vegetables and this is food - it's for eating…
"One of the greatest joys of harvesting your own crops is to feel part of the real, natural world around you" …. And if you cannot grow your own, why not support your local farmers' markets - the food sold is fresh from the land, usually vine-ripened, organic or free-range and grown and prepared with love.
PLANTING FOR OCTOBER! |
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Direct sow: amaranth (marog), alfalfa, Asian greens (mizuna), basil, beans (bush and runner) beetroot, borage, bush beans, carrots, caraway, celery, celeriac, Ceylon spinach, chamomile, chicory, chillies, chives, coriander, cowpeas, cucumber, dill, echinacea, eggplant, endive, fennel, fenugreek, feverfew, garden cress, globe artichoke, Jerusalem artichoke, leaf mustard, leeks, lemon balm, lettuce, loofah, Malabar spinach, marigold, marrows (courgette/zucchini), melons, mielies, nasturtiums, New Zealand spinach, oregano, parsley, parsnips, pattypans, peppers, popcorn, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb, rocket, rosemary, runner beans, sage, salad burnet, salsify, sorrel, spring onions, squashes, sunflowers, sweetcorn, Swiss chard, thyme, tomatoes, turnips, viola, watercress, yarrow.
Direct sow/seedlings: asparagus, Asian greens (mizuna), basil, beetroot, borage, cabbage, Cape gooseberry, celery, Ceylon spinach, chillies, chives, comfrey, coriander, cucumber, eggplant, endive, feverfew, gardencress, globe artichoke, lavender, leeks, lemon balm, lemon grass, lemon verbena, lettuce, loofah, oreganum, , Malabar spinach, marigold, marjoram, marrows (courgette), melons, nasturtium, New Zealand spinach, parsley, pattypans, peppers, rocket, rosemary, sorrel, rhubarb, sage, savoury, sorrel, spring onion, Swiss chard, thyme, tomatoes, turnips, viola, watercress, yarrow.
Start in seedling trays for successional planting: basil, beetroot, cabbage, chillies, cucumbers, eggplant, leeks, lettuce, marrows, onion, peppers, spring onion, squashes, tomatoes.
Plant: comfrey, garlic, ginger, horseradish, Jerusalem artichoke, potato, shallots, sweet potato.
Other: comfrey root cuttings, divide lemon grass, horseradish root cuttings, lavender cuttings, rosemary cuttings. |
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Vegetables: asparagus, artichoke (globe), baby marrow, beetroot, beans, broad beans, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, courgettes, cucumber, eggplant (limited), endive (limited), garlic, green beans, kale, leeks, lettuce, mangtout, marog, mushrooms, mielies, new potato, okra, onion, parsley, parsnips (limited), peas, potato, pumpkin, radicchio, radishes, spinach, Swiss Chard, squash, spring onion, sweet potatoes (limited), turnips, waterblommetjies.
Fruit: avocados, bananas, Cape gooseberry, cherry, grapefruit, guava, kumquats, kiwi, lemons, limes, melons, mulberries, naartjies, oranges, papaya, paw paw, pineapple, rhubarb (limited), spanspek, strawberries, tomatoes, watermelons.
Herbs: basil (perennial), bay leaves, bloody sorrel, bulb fennel, cat mint, chives, dandelion, dill, fennel, French tarragon (limited), garden cress, garlic chives, ginger (limited), lavender, lemon grass stems, lime leaves, marjoram, mint, mustard – green & red, nasturtiums, nettle, oreganum, parsley, rocket, rosemary, sage, sorrel, thyme, winter savoury.
Edible Flowers: borage, calendula, chives, cornflowers, courgette flowers, dandelion, lavender, nasturtiums, pumpkin flowers, rocket, rose, rosemary, viola.
Fish: Cape salmon (geelbek), elf, galjoen, hake, haarders, hottentot, kabeljou, kingklip, musselcracker, red Roman, skate, snoek, sole, red stumpnose (Miss Lucy or ‘PW Botha’ – restricted), trout, tuna (tunny), yellowtail.
Poultry & Meat: beef, chicken, duck, guinea fowl, lamb, mutton, pheasant, partridge, venison.
* This is a guide and will vary according to climate and location, as well as from year to year. |
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