January: Keeping cool and carrying… baskets full of produce

Happy New Year gardening friends, it’s going to be a hot one! Probably. January often has some scorchers, so let’s talk about managing heat stress in our food gardens. Growth slows (or stops completely) for our fast-growing summer crops on hot days, because plants have to close their stomata (tiny pores on the leaves) to prevent excessive water loss in the heat. It’s through those stomata though, that they would usually uptake the CO2 that they use to photosynthesise. Put simply: heat stress stops photosynthesis. So, to keep our plant friends happy and productive, we bust out our trusty prevention methods: mulch and a good watering regime. Keeping the soil consistently cool (ish) and moist is our main goal.

Mulching the soil during summer is both insulative and moisture retentive, and will keep your plants and the soil-dwelling life forms happy on even the hottest days. A layer of compost followed by a blanket of straw or sugarcane mulch is my favourite. Different types of mulch each have their own fun little personality quirks, but all of them are better than baking the bare earth in the sun during a hot Tassie January.

Watering methods will also have a big impact – not just on your garden-related workload, but also on your pumpkin/tomato/zucchini load. Nom nom. Deep watering on a consistent timeline (even if that’s every other day) beats frequent light sprinkles every time. If you have the wherewithal to run some dripline through your veggie patch, it will mean that you can slouch on the couch in the AC while the garden gets watered, instead of holding a hose. Double couch points awarded to gardeners who put a timer on the tap. Watering at the root zone rather than from overhead can also help avoid things like fungal diseases of the foliage (think powdery mildew or tomato spot), and the splashing of soil-borne pathogens up onto plants. If the hose or sprinkler is your needs-must, then try to avoid wetting the leaves, or water only in the morning so that soggy leaves can dry off quickly.

Finally, a quick mention of the most FAQ I receive from fellow gardeners in the summer: what to do about those cheeky cabbage moths? They plague brassicas all summer long, and deliver unwelcome squelches of protein in otherwise delicious heads of broccoli. My hot take is to ditch most brassicas in summer, and use that precious garden space for summer-only crops instead. For gardeners who absolutely must have their summer cruciferous, there are two main organic options to effectively control cabbage moths and their munching green babies. Insect netting is effective if it’s completely sealed all around, and if it’s held up high enough to keep it from resting directly on the plant. Biological controls work well too, like Bacillus thuringiensis – a bacteria that has no effect on mammals, but gives caterpillars a fatal tummy ache. This product can be bought from garden centers and used as both preventative and cure if applied as directed.

You’ve done the hard work of the season; midsummer is for slowing down and watching it thrive. Attitudes of smug satisfaction with yourself are also encouraged. Relax and enjoy your garden, friends!