Garden Gossip

Winter 2019

by John Collins, Kitchen Garden Coordinator, and the KG crew

The garden might seem like an uninviting place to spend your time in winter, but it’s time well spent. It’s now that you get yourself organised for the early spring plantings; if you’re super keen, you could even start to think about getting some seedlings going in a greenhouse or on a sunny bench inside. 

The Preshil Kitchen Garden is always on the go and ever changing. Our cabbage crop is just about ready to harvest, and we might take the first of the offerings next week. I’d say we’ll make sauerkraut for some hamburgers/hot dogs down the track and then maybe fry some up with bacon or something. It also makes a great slaw with coriander, radish, carrot, chilli and lime juice for adding to tacos. Obviously there are heaps of things you can do with cabbage, but those are some thoughts that might get kids excited. At the end of summer we cut back the artichokes - unsure as to whether or not they’d come back – but, sure enough, they are big healthy-looking plants and I’m hoping for a few ‘chokes’ from them. 

Under the apple tree there is some competition between the green manure crop we sowed and the annual stinging nettle glut. I’ll let them fight it out, harvest a few nettles to make some yummy things for Spring Dinner and then dig it all back into the ground to enrich the soil. 

Lots of flowers are in bloom, attracting beneficial insects to the garden, and our garlic crop is in its early stages but looking good. We also just cut back a lot of thyme and oregano and hung it up to dry; we’ll then blend it and put it in airtight containers for adding to various dishes. The last of the current lettuce crop is on its way to going to seed. I usually like to let a few of them go all the way and then just broadcast the seed back into the bed for another crop a few months down the track. Also, an almond tree that I planted in a far off corner many years ago is flowering in the most beautiful way, which was a nice little surprise to find when I was looking for a garden fork behind the shed.

As usual, a good weed and mulch never goes astray and we’ve got some of that happening this week too. Mulching helps to keep the soil temperature from dropping too low on these cold winter nights, retains moisture and breaks down to add organic matter to the garden, which will pay dividends later.

Do you have a green thumb? Want to contribute? We’re always happy to accept excess seedlings, mulch, manure and compost. Nowhere to put your kitchen scraps? Bring them here and compost them. If you’re itching to get in and get your hands dirty, there are always little jobs that can be done. Contact me for further info:

john.collins@preshil.vic.edu.au