PHOTO: HEATHER CARSTON
THERE is no doubt the seasonal weather has changed in recent years; the King Country still gets its famed frosts, but not as many as it once did and not in as many places.
For this reason, last week we replanted in our raised gardens the next crop of fast-growing potatoes, looking to have them out by the end of April.
Where we planted them was in the garden area from which we had got some spectacular-sized cabbages and these heavy feeders of the brassica family would have considerably depleted the soil.
I can’t reiterate enough how important it is to understand that the best harvest will depend entirely on the biological health of your soil.
To this end, before we planted the potatoes, we put in a few tubs of fertiliser enriched potting mix from plants which had finished for the season, plenty of compost from down the back, and a few handfuls of blood and bone.
This was well combined and left for a few days before we planted the seed potato. It is important that crops are rotated; that is, never plant the same vegetables in the same place. It’s recommended that for at least two years, that patch of dirt should not see the same plant.
This primarily helps prevent the build-up of pests and diseases in the soil by disrupting their life cycle, and as some plants will need different types of nutrients, will ensure the soil isn’t completely depleted of those.
Making sure the soil is at its optimal best isn’t the only requirement. I love Tui Seasol and Power Feed products and will use these as foliar feed when plants are seedling size to give them an additional boost and do this once every three weeks or so.
The difference in the plants is quite marked and I firmly believe the size of the harvest has a lot to do with both the attention to the soil and the foliar feed.
Some fertilisers you need to be mindful of; for vegetables like carrots for example, too much animal manure will see forked and misshapen roots at harvest time.
In the meantime, the old adage that potatoes help provide good friable soil is always one I’ve found to work and, so most of my beds have had them at one time or another.
