Autumn jobs to keep you inspired

The cooler weather is upon us but do not despair there are plenty of vegetables that can still be grown through the colder months. This is the time to pull out all the spent Summer crops such as beans, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and zucchini and replace them with cold tolerant vegetables that are good to eat.

Such as:

Brassica seedlings such as kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts and cabbage

Alliums such as spring onions, larger long keeping brown and red onions, and leeks

Greens such as silverbeet, chard, spinach, rocket and winter lettuce

Asian quick cook greens such as Pak Choy, Chow Sum and Bok Choy

Winter snow peas and garden peas

Annual herbs that prefer colder weather such as coriander and parsley can still be planted as well as continue to pick many of the woody herbs that will grow through the Winter. Wasabi leaves and stems can be harvested as well as horseradish roots.

Tomatoes will be finished soon but will the gnarly ones still on the vines will make delicious sauces, pickles and soups.

Capsicums and chillies will continue to flower and produce until the middle of Winter

Carrots, beetroot and parsnip planted in January will be ready to harvest soon.

Winter greens and veg planted in Summer should be pumping and delicious to eat now. These include silverbeet, kale, celery, spring onions, spinach, broccoli, rocket, bok choy, pak choy, chow sum and snow peas.

Start eating the Summer vegetables that have been harvested earlier in the warmer months and stored for Winter consumption such as potatoes, garlic, pumpkins and preserved fruit and veg like tomatoes and apricots.

If you have a plot in the vegetable patch that will not be needed until next Spring, rake over the weeds and sow a crop of green manure to protect and enrich the soil. This can be knocked down in early September, before it goes to seed, and covered with compost and straw to be ready for the October planting of rich soil lovers like tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini and sweet corn.

As for fruit, there is an abundance of Autumn fruit to choose from in the garden that is ripe at the moment. Apples, pears, quince, citrus, pomegranate, feijoa, passionfruit, raspberries and persimmon. If you do not have a producing tree, ask a neighbour or friend if they want to get rid of some excess produce. No one should go hungry.

Strawberry runners, asparagus and rhubarb crowns can be planted now and the older ones weeded, manured and mulched with their Winter blanket of leaves or straw.

Sort all the seeds saved over Summer and make sure you have everything needed for Spring planting to start off the next year’s crops in plenty of time.

If you have time left over after planting all your fruit and veg, rake and use your deciduous tree leaves for mulch and turn the contents of the compost bin into another bin to keep it warm and working over Winter.

Not quite time to relax yet, do not forget to plant a few gorgeous bulbs and corms like tulips, daffodils, freesia and ranunculus to brighten up your Winter garden.