Spring has sprung and we are starting to get some warmer days mixed with the rain and wind. Farmers are mostly happy so that means a reasonably decent harvest could be on the way.
With a few more decent timely rains you could see a herd of new landcruisers driving around the district early next year. Time will tell. If not, it might be a Mahindra Pik-Up.
To the garden: Spring is the best time of year for getting into the garden dirt. It is not too cold or too hot and plants do not need a lot of watering or care to make them grow.
Vegetables: Plants will grow a lot faster now than they have in the last few months, so it is time to plant lettuce, beetroot, carrot, cabbage, chilli, chives, coriander, silver beet, and a few other things. Get your seeds into seedling trays for pumpkin, butternut, zucchini, watermelon, rockmelon and cucumber. Use a good quality seedling potting mix and lightly water every couple of days, and after 2-3 weeks things will be popping. Leave plants in the trays for a few weeks until soil temperatures have warmed up so. By mid-end October transplant into the veggie patch and protect from snails and slugs. If you do not, you can and will lose the whole lot overnight.
Tomatoes: It is too early yet to be planting these as they like the soil to be at least 16 degrees, so wait till end the of October before planting them out. Buy a soil thermometer and keep an eye on it. This week’s soil temperature at Roseworthy was only 12.5 degrees.
Fruit trees: Hopefully your trees were pruned in winter and you would have sprayed them with copper before bud burst. If not, it is too late now and you will be eating spotty fruit come summer. Fertilise and heavy mulch now so when you start watering it will not all evaporate. Remember, a large fruit-laden tree will need 300-400 litres of water per week, per tree during summer.
Lawns: The lawn will really start kicking along now so regular fertilising before a rain will keep it green and growing fast. If you have not done a de-thatch for a while, the next month or so is the time to get it done. Not only will it look better than the neighbours, but it will not need as much water in summer and will get less disease.
Springtime in the garden consists of weed, feed, water and mulch. Simple as that.
Composta out!
Balaklava Show
The Balaklava Show is on Saturday, 27 September and, like all country shows, they need more entries. How about entering eggs or flowers or homemade jam or baking or vegetables or chooks.
Entries may be closed for some sections but if you ask nicely, I am sure they will accept them. Enter for the sake of your kids or grandkids because without ongoing support of the community, the show will not last.
The grain and fodder exhibits have some new sponsors and excellent prizes on offer. Buckets were handed out last harvest so dig out your grain samples and cut your hay entries on the morning of the Show.
Most entries close this Friday. Books are out and about. Contact Danille Mudge on 0429 387 714 if you cannot find a book.
The Show office will be open on 17 and 18 September from 10am-5pm and on 19 September from 1pm-7pm, your last chance for entries.
Keep out of flowering canola crops
Tourists and sightseers are being urged to respect private property and avoid entering canola crops to capture photos. Drought has reduced the plantings of canola across South Australia, but those crops that were sown are now that in striking yellow bloom.
Whilst they are a popular backdrop for social media photographs, Grain Producers SA would like to remind the public these are working farms, not tourist attractions.
Biosecurity risks are real and can haver widespread impacts on grain producers. If you want to take a photo, do it from outside the fence, not in the crop.
Brad Perry, GPSA chief executive officer, said enjoy the views from the roadside and do not trespass on private property. It is about respecting the people who grow our food and fibre.
