January

As you contemplate what New Year's resolutions to make, please consider planting some extra edibles in your garden, and then participating in the monthly Capricorn Coast Produce Swaps.

Fresh vegetables at your fingertips and the opportunity to swap with others and increase your gardening skills at the same time!

The reality is it's probably very hot or very wet or very humid (or all three) to spend much time in the garden. So remember to hydrate, slip on some sunscreen and slap on a hat! And provide some shade to plants that might need it - especially newly planted ones.

To help minimise the stress many plants will be under, you can use a foliar spray of weed tea, worm tea, compost tea or seaweed. Apply early in the morning, wetting leaves thoroughly. The plants will absorb the spray through their leaves, even during a drought. Apply every couple of weeks. I've found it gives plants a real pickup, and can even help minimise the effect of insect attack like scale and meally bug. And through December, I found more and more plants affected. I'm waiting for the natural predators to move in, while slowing down the ants that move some of these pests about.

If the weather abates a little, some short DTM (days to maturity) crops can go in. Likely, it's still way too early for the winter vegetables. Crops like lettuce and radish can go in, but may benefit from some additional shade provided by shade cloth or planting in the shade of a perennial crop. Monitoring your plants needs can only happen if you watch your gardens reaction throughout the day. Shadecloth tents might be needed on other plants that are struggling. 

Careful watering will help plants manage these times. Deep watering less frequently will produce stronger, more resilient crops. Newly planted crops will benefit from a misting, but that needs to be done carefully to avoid applying too much water.

Sow crops of green manure to improve garden beds for autumn/winter planting. That's likely to be March which will give time for the crop to grow, be slashed and then for microorganisms to do their thing.