Carrots - what you need to know

The best time of year to grow carrots in southern Australia is between August and October. If you plant then later then the seed will grow in the hot summer and need to much water. 

Prepare the soil being careful not to add to much nitrogen as this can cause the carrot to fork. Carrots need a deep well drained & structured soil with some organic matter. 

Over fertilised or rocky soil can cause carrot roots to fork. This veggie isn't a heavy feeder. Grow them in loose soil.

Sow seed into furrows about 6mm deep, they need light to germinate so don't plant to deep or in a dark place. 

Water deeply but infrequently to encourage long straight tap roots. 

You can mulch between rows with straw to inhibit weeds. Remove weeds along rows by hand as carrots don't like competition. 

Once the carrots are big enough to eat, thin them out. Harvest alternative carrots first leaving space for remaining roots to grow bigger. 

As soon as you pull the carrot out of the ground, keep them out of the sun and pull off their leafy tops. If you leave them in the sun with the leaves attached they go rubbery and tasteless within minutes. 

 

Making a seed bed

Seed beds are garden beds you intend to grow seeds from. They can be either in the open ground or in raised gardens. Raised gardens are usually more free draining, and sometimes a bit more protected from some pests such as rabbits, rats, and snails. However this depends on their location, how they are built and what they are made from. 

Start by clearing any old plants or previous crops. Look out of any pests and remove them as best you can. Be careful when removing weeds, as some multiply when they are removed. 

You may need to treat your soil if it isn't ready for planting. For example, if it is sandy soil, you may need to add some compost, if it is clay soil you could add some gypsum. 

Add some home compost or well rotted manure to give the soil some new nutrients. I usually dig it in and over at least once, and if I have time, I will do it a few more times allowing the bed to rest between digs. This also makes the soil light and fluffy so new plants can easily penetrate with their new roots. If the soil is to hard, then the plant will not be able to have deep roots which could make the plant week. Alow the bed to rest a week or so if you can before planting. 

Sow your seeds in good weather and not when it is raining heavily. While this might be a good water saving idea, if it rains too much, your seeds or young seedlings could rot, or worse still float away. It looks a bit funny having all your plants grow in one corner. If you water your new bed yourself at time of planing, you can control how much water the bed will get. A sunny day will also help germinate your seeds and keep the bed warm. 

Pruning Roses

Roses usually get pruned twice a year. In summer we prune the roses lightly by pruning the spent flowers off. This is called dead heading. In winter, roses need a big prune to encourage strong and new growth. 

It's time to prune roses if you haven't already done so. Some like to do it in June or July however I like to do it in August so any new growth that may start after pruning isn't burnt off by frost. It is a very rewarding job. Pruning roses is important as it encourages air circulation, lets more light in and helps to reduce disease. So rather than fighting disease, it can focus its attention and energy on producing beautiful flowers. 

Start by cleaning your tools to stop any disease from other plants transfer onto your roses. You should also clean your tools between plants, though I must admit I need to do better here myself.   You can wear gloves to protect your hands, or use long handled pruners to reach into difficult branches. 

Before you start attacking the bush, stop and have a look at it. Look for dead or diseased wood. Is it too tall or wide. Maybe it has grown to much in one direction or there is one branch trying to make a statement of its own. 

First prune any diseased wood, or wood that may be crossed with other branches making the bush look bad or reducing air flow. Prune from the base to start with. 

Prune of any water shoots. These are an olive green colour. Take care of the water shoots as these are young growth and it's where the rose will have its flowers. Prune lightly, so it will shoot out and produce more flowers. 

Then prune to create shape. Always prune just above a bud (about 1cm) on an angle so water and dew will run off, rather than sit on the cut and seep into the branch. This can cause rose canker. You should always prune just above an outward facing bud to keep the centre of there plant open. This will allow light and air into the plant. 

A good rule of thumb is to prune back to where the branches are about pencil width. Or prune about 1/3 back. This obviously depends on the size and age of the bush. Make sure you prune above a bud to help the branch grow in the direction you want it to. 

Most roses have been grafted just above ground level, so now is a good time to check that the graft is still above ground level so it doesn't rot. Below the graft is a type of rose that is very hardy and doesn't produce good or any flowers. Above the graft is the nice part of the rose, that produces good flowers and growth. Any branches, or suckers, that have grown below the graft need to be pruned off. These will rob the bush of energy and result in less flowers and growth from the main part of the bush. 

Some gardeners spray with a fungicide to help control black spot and other fungal diseases. They say you should burn all rose prunings to kill disease spores and pests, however when living in a city, this can be hard. 

Make sure you leave no pruned branches or leaves on the ground as this can encourage disease. Put the disease free prunings in your green bin, not you compost. Putting them in the compost will not only spread disease, but you will end up with thorns in your compost. 

Stake young standard roses and test that climbing roses' supports are adequate. Work in topdressing of well-composted manure around all roses. Wait about three weeks or for the warmer weather before fertilising. 

Spray the plant with lime sulphur while the plants have no leaves and are dormant. That gets rid of scale and other fungal type diseases.

Rose Canker

Rose canker is the most common of rose fungi that can affect the canes of roses. When left, rose cankers can eat away at the branch taking the beauty of your rose bush. It can eventually kill your rose plant. The canker changes the branches from green to a very dirty brown and will work its way to the heart of the plant. 

To stop the canker, you need to prune with clean pruners below the canker in wood that has not been affected by it. Inspect the cut to make sure there is no sign of the canker and if there is, prune  the branch again. 

Working in the garden on a cold day

It might be winter still, however it is a good time of year to get the garden ready for spring. In between showers you can do a lot of the heavy work now just to keep warm.

As we approach spring, make sure your compost is well on the way to being distributed. Dig it over several times to speed up the process.

There will be more to see here soon. 

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