We like to snuggle under a duvet as the nights draw in. So does the soil. Covering it up stops it being washed away by the rain and blown away by the wind.
Covering the soil helps keep it aerated and gives a better environment for the microorganisms and worms to live in.
It’s a good time to add a sprinkling of dolomite lime if you’ve got very acid soil, check the pH of your soil using a kit from the garden centre first. Aim for a pH of about 5.5 – 6.5 (slightly acid) for most vegetables.
Here are four options you may want to experiment with…
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Advantages |
Disadvantages |
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Grow a winter crop |
You get something to eat. Although crops grow very slowly in winter there aren’t as many pests to bother them and you don’t need to water. |
You need to get them started while there’s enough warmth in the soil to get the seeds to germinate (or buy seedlings). You need to choose crops that grow in cooler conditions. You have to keep it weeded. You deplete the nutrients in the soil so you’ll need to compost in spring. |
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Let the weeds grow then dig them in before they seed |
No additional work, adds organic matter, helps get rid of some weed seeds by allowing them to germinate. If you’e got chooks you can use them as extra feed. |
Some will seed before you dig them in and you’ll get more weeds next year, weeds may not grow very vigorously (never a problem I’ve had). |
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Sow a ‘green manure’ crop to dig in come spring |
Adds organic matter, smothers some of the weeds, fixes nitrogen in the soil if you sow a legume like clover or lupins. |
Cost of seed, competition from weeds, need to get it germinated while it’s warm enough. Pests may eat the crop – rabbits love lupins! |
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Spread organic mulches such as straw, seaweed, lawn clippings, bark chips, horse manure, untreated sawdust, shredded hedge clippings. |
Adds organic matter and other nutrients. Suppresses weeds. Saves making compost with the waste and moving it twice. May get rid of waste products you’d otherwise have to dump. |
Can be expensive if you may have to buy them in. Can be hard work spreading them if you’ve got a big area to do or poor access. If they aren’t fine enough they may not be fully rotted down by spring time. Can introduce weeds if their seeds are in the mulch e.g. lawn clippings and horse manure. |
Where do I source free range “straight from the farm” meat from in Wellington region?
Where do I get Lupin seeds and what kind are they exactly – presumably not the flowering kind??? I don’t ever recall seeing them in the shops. Can I sow them straight into the soil now?
Thanks!
Most garden centres will have bags of lupin and mustard seeds. Ecoseeds has a mixed green manure for $5 per kilo and Kings Seeds has a wide variety of green manure seeds. The lupins are the common blue flowering type and can go in now in Wellington although they’ll be a bit slow to germinate if it stays cold.
Sorry for the slow reply Bridget. I’m not sure if you count Dannevirke as Wellington region but Warren and Trish Gilbert produce beef, hogget (my favourite) and lamb organically – contact them on (06) 374 8281.
When I dig the mustard in, what should I dig in with it? Maybe General fertiliser?
I tend to add compost whenever I cultivate the soil. That, together with the mustard, will add plenty of organic matter. I find it provides most of the nutrients my plants need providing the pH of the soil is about right (slightly acid for most crops).
Hi from Wellington city the garden store at the top of Cuba owned and run by an experienced – but ever learning organic gardener
Nice to meet you Kaye, my bay tree is looking very happy in its new home. Rachel