It’s time to plant garlic in Wellington. If you fancy a change, try planting some elephant garlic at the same time. It’s larger and milder than ordinary garlic. It’s said not to keep as well, but this is a recent photo of both types I dug earlier in the year and neither has deteriorated yet. Chinese garlic is fumigated with methyl bromide by law, so that may influence whether you buy it in future.

You can sow broad beans now too. It will pay to put out some mouse traps before you sow. I bait them with peanut butter. You’ll soon discover if you too are suffering from a plague of mice. They’ll eat every broad bean seed you sow before it emerges and you may need to resort to getting the seeds started in pots. Even dwarf broad beans get blown about in Wellington so they’ll need some support once they emerge.

It’s sweet chestnut time so this chestnut and chocolate cake is ideal. This recipe is from ‘The River Cottage Year’ cook book. There are wonderful fresh chestnuts for sale at the crossroads in Ohariu Valley.

I sow my garlic in Wellington mid to late May rather than the traditional ’shortest day’ (mid to late June). I’ve put together some tips for growing your own garlic. If you’d like more help you can register for a ‘fresh food garden’ course to learn more about organic vegetable gardening.

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