February is not a good month for gardening in many parts of Australia. In some areas it is very hot and dry – in other areas, it is far too wet. If you are fortunate enough to have pleasant weather in your area, the following planting guide is an abbreviated list for vegetables, fruit trees and some culinary herbs that can be planted in February in Australia and New Zealand.
A comprehensive guide that includes planting times for the entire garden, as well as when to fertilise, prune, weed, take cuttings or divide plants, can be found in my book Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting. If you are not sure which climate zone you live in, please see Climate Zones for more information.

WARM CLIMATE – South of Rockhampton
Before the Full Moon, leek, sweet and purple basil can be sown or planted out, also celery, spring onions, in late February. Cabbage and silver beet (pre-soak seed), can be sown directly into beds (also lettuce in late February), as well as a green manure crop of millet, mung bean, pigeon pea, or Japanese millet.
During First Quarter phase, bush and climbing beans and sweet corn can be sown directly into beds. Capsicum, cucumber, tomato and zucchini can be sown or planted out, also broccoli, cauliflower and spring onions in late February.
During Full Moon phase, beetroot (pre-soak seed), carrot, parsnip, potato (Brisbane and areas south), radish, swede turnip and turnip can be sown directly into beds, and watercress, avocado, banana, mango, and pineapple can be planted out.

WARM CLIMATE – North of Rockhampton
Before the Full Moon, a green manure crop of lablab, mung bean, pigeon pea, or Japanese millet can be sown.
During First Quarter phase, capsicum and tomato can be sown or planted out in suitable areas. Sweet corn can be sown directly into beds.
During Full Moon phase, lemon grass can be sown or planted out.

TEMPERATE CLIMATE
Before the Full Moon, cabbage, lettuce, radicchio and silver beet (pre-soak seed) can be sown directly into beds, as well as a green manure crop of cowpea (early), mung bean, barley, Japanese millet, oats, or triticale (also cereal rye late in February). Brussels sprouts, leek and spring onions can be sown or planted out (also bulb fennel and celery in late February). Sweet basil can be also sown in warmer areas.
During First Quarter phase, bush beans can be sown directly into beds (also sweet corn in warmer areas), and broccoli, cauliflower and summer squash can be sown or planted out. Peas can be sown in colder areas in late February.
During Full Moon phase, beetroot (pre-soak seed), carrot, parsnip, radish, swede turnip, and turnip can be sown directly into beds. Dandelion, mint and watercress can be sown or planted out. Also avocado, potato, mango, and pineapple can be planted in warmer areas (- best time late February or early March this year).

COOL CLIMATE
Before the Full Moon, cabbage, lettuce and silver beet (pre-soak seed) can be sown directly into beds, as well as a green manure crop of mung bean or oats (plus barley late in February). Leek, lettuce, silver beet (pre-soak seed), spring onions and parsley can be sown in punnets or planted out. In warmer areas, also sow or plant out Brussels sprouts (early), and radicchio. In colder areas, also sow or plant out open Chinese cabbage, mizuna and tatsoi, plus English spinach in late February.
During First Quarter phase, broccoli can be sown. In warmer areas, cauliflower and peas can be sown directly into beds.
During Full Moon phase, beetroot (pre-soak seed), carrot, radish, swede turnip, and turnip can be sown directly into beds, and watercress can be sown or planted out. In warmer areas, also sow parsnip directly into beds. In colder areas, also sow garlic directly into beds.

 In hot, dry weather the 26 or 28-spotted ladybirds can do a lot of damage to the vegetable patch. Plants can only absorb nutrients from the soil as water-soluble ions. As soil dries out, vegetable plants are unable to absorb the nutrients they need to produce the compounds that deter pests, and these troublesome ladybirds can move in, feeding on leaves until only a network of veins remain. The larvae (pictured below) tend to feed on the underside of leaves while the adults feed on the upper sides of leaves. Badly damaged eaves can become papery, and brown. Their favourite foods are the cucurbit or squash family, which includes the melons. They can also attack, bean, potato and tomato plants.

The problem with using sprays to get rid of these pests is that whatever will kill them will also kill the beneficial ladybirds that help keep many garden pests under control, including the bright black and yellow ladybird that eats powdery mildew and other fungi. Fungus-eating ladybirds are often seen wandering over leaves of the squash family.
The Brisbane Insects website now has a field guide to ladybirds to make it very easy for you to identify whether the tiny creatures crawling on your plants are pests or ladybird larvae, which come in a range of colours and shapes.
Click here: Ladybird Field Guide

The best way to solve the problem of 26 (or 28)-spotted ladybirds is to knock the adults and their larvae into a soup tin with some methylated spirits in the bottom of it. Also scrape off the eggs, which can be found in a cluster on the underside of leaves (see photo below).
Then give the foliage and soil around the plants a generous drink of seaweed extract tea, to supply potassium and trace elements plants need to build resistance to pests. Water the plants thoroughly, under mulch, when the top cm. of soil is dry, rather than giving them a lighter, daily watering. If drought conditions are making it difficult to spare enough water, you can help deter them by spraying both sides of the leaves with chilli spray, but you will need a lot of chillis. The solution is – 2 cups chillis to 2 cups of water. Chop chillis finely while wearing gloves. Steep them in water for an hour, strain mixture, and spray liquid over leaves. (Garlic spray can be used as a deterrent but breaks down quickly in hot weather.) Finally, get rid of any blackberry nightshade plants. These act as a host for this little pest. See:Blackberry Nightshade

Eggs and larvae of the 26 (or 28)-spotted ladybird.

With much of southern Australia experiencing extreme weather conditions, providing some shade for the vege patch and sensitive parts of the garden can help save water while reducing plant stress. See: Sun and heat protection
Mary recently posted a comment on that post giving details of a fully enclosed shade house that encompasses the entire vegetable patch. These structures can be effective where there is enough heat to dry leaves quickly, but there are a couple of points to be considered before making the decision to construct that type of shade protection for your garden.

Because these structures are fully enclosed by shadecloth, which prevents insect access, you will need to hand pollinate plants that require insect activity to produce crops. These include: the squash family (cucumber, pumpkin, rock melon, summer and winter squash, watermelon and zucchini), okra, coffee, passionfruit, strawberry and other berries, and cowpea. You may also have to hand pollinate broad beans if cropping is low. Sweet corn, popcorn and some varieties of tomatoes rely on wind movement for pollination. A fully enclosed structure will reduce air flow and these plants will also require hand pollination. Fungal diseases can be more common where there is not enough heat or air flow for leaves to dry quickly.
If you want to save seed from plants grown in a fully enclosed shade house, you will also have to hand pollinate: onion, celery, beetroot, silver beet, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, radish, swede, turnip, carrot, coriander, dill, fennel, and sunflower.
For those interested in constructing a fully enclosed shade house, I’ve included a link to Mary’s site in the ‘Blogs and other Sites’ panel on the right side of this page.

Despite the media making much of celebrating a ‘blue moon’ on New Year’s Eve, the Full Moon did not occur in Australia until 5:14 am AEST today (6:14 am ADST) – January 1st, so Australia and New Zealand didn’t have a Full Moon on New Year’s Eve and, consequently, no ‘blue moon’ either.
When, infrequently, two Full Moon’s occur within the same month, the second Full Moon is called a ‘blue moon’ because it does not happen very often (as in, “once in a blue moon”). Australia’s ‘blue moon’ will not occur until 4:19 pm AEST on 30th January. The Full Moon earlier today did include, however, a partial lunar eclipse.
The media made this mistake by using 7:14 pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) as a reference for this Full Moon, completely overlooking the fact that Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) is 10 hours ahead of GMT, and New Zealand Standard Time is 12 hours ahead. This type of error is a sound reason for moon planters to only use moon planting guides especially written for Australia and New Zealand. These include Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting (for 2010-2013) and Thomas Zimmer’s Astrological Calendar and Moon Planting Guide for 2010.
Incidentally, we also have a ‘blue moon’ in March this year. March’s first Full Moon occurs at 2:39 am AEST on the 1st March, and the ‘blue moon’ occurs at 12:27 pm AEST on the 30th. The following ‘blue moon’ is in August 2012 with the first Full Moon at 1:29 pm AEST on the 2nd, and the ‘blue moon’ just squeaking in at one minute to midnight AEST on the 31st. (Because of the time difference, New Zealanders miss out on this one.) After that we have to wait until July 2015 for another ‘blue moon’.

The rain in late December has been a blessing for many gardeners in Eastern Australia but bushfires in Western Australian gardeners have been devastating. January can be a difficult month for gardening in some warm and temperate parts of Australia. Prolonged periods of heavy rain can cause seeds to rot before germination (or encourage fungal problems), and it is usually too hot for lettuce seeds to germinate in many parts of Australia. Keeping lettuce seed in a zip-lock bag in the fridge can “trick” seed into thinking conditions are cooler but only grow lettuce at this time of year if you can keep it well-watered or it will quickly bolt to seed.
During January and February, gardeners will have to adjust their planting to suit local climate conditions. If it is too hot to grow things in your area, use the time to do a good job of preparing beds for strawberries, leeks and winter vegetables.
The following planting guide is an abbreviated list for vegetables, fruit trees and some culinary herbs that can be planted in January in Australia and New Zealand. A comprehensive guide that includes planting times for the entire garden, as well as when to fertilise, prune, take cuttings or divide plants, can be found in my book Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting. If you are not sure which climate zone you live in, please see Climate Zones for more information.

WARM CLIMATE – South of Rockhampton
Before the Full Moon, silver beet (pre-soak seed), and sunflower can be sown directly into beds, as well as a green manure crop of adzuki bean, cow pea, lablab, millet, mung bean, pigeon pea, Japanese millet, or sorghum. Leek can be sown in late January.
During First Quarter phase, eggplant, rockmelon, summer squash, tomato, and watermelon can be sown, also cucumber in late January. Bush and climbing beans, and sweet corn can be sown directly into beds.
During Full Moon phase, lemon grass, mango, pineapple and watercress can be sown or planted out. Beetroot (pre-soak seed), carrot, parsnip, potato and radish can be sown directly into beds, also seed potatoes in Brisbane and areas south.

WARM CLIMATE – North of Rockhampton
Before the Full Moon, a green manure crop of adzuki bean, cowpea, lablab, mung bean, pigeon pea, Japanese millet, or sorghum can be sown in suitable areas.
During First Quarter phase, sweet corn can be sown directly into beds where heavy rains will not damage pollination.
During Full Moon phase, lemon grass and mango can be sown or planted out.

TEMPERATE CLIMATE
Before the Full Moon, Brussels sprouts, leek and spring onions can be sown or planted out. Cabbage, suitable lettuce, and silver beet (pre-soak seed) can be sown directly into beds, (also nasturtium and sunflower in warmer areas), as well as a green manure crop of cow pea, millet, mung bean, pigeon pea, Japanese millet, or sorghum.
During First Quarter phase, bush and climbing beans and sweet corn can be sown directly into beds. Cauliflower, cucumber and leek can be sown or planted out, also rockmelon, summer squash, tomato, watermelon, and zucchini in warmer areas.
During Full Moon phase, beetroot (pre-soak seed), carrot, parsnip and radish can be sown directly into beds, and lemon grass and watercress can be sown or planted out. Pineapple, potato and mango can also be sown or planted out in warmer areas.

COOL CLIMATE
Before the Full Moon, Brussels sprouts, leek, lettuce, spring onions, sweet basil and parsley can be sown or planted out. Cabbage, grain crops, lettuce, silver beet (pre-soak seed) and dwarf sunflower can be sown direct, as well as a green manure crop of mung bean or millet. In colder areas, bulb fennel, open Chinese cabbage, dill, mizuna, and tatsoi can also be sown directly into beds.
During First Quarter phase, broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini can be sown or planted out, and bush and climbing beans can be sown directly into beds (also peas in colder areas).
During Full Moon phase, beetroot (pre-soak seed), carrot, parsnip, and radish can be sown directly into beds, and dandelion, mint, sage, and watercress sown or planted out (also pyrethrum in colder areas).

I wish all “Aussie Organic Gardening” readers and their families a very happy, healthy and safe Christmas and holiday season. In order to spend some time with family, I will be taking a short break from answering garden questions over Christmas, but I will be back in time to let you know what you can grow in January 2010.
Yesterday marked our summer solstice – the longest day of the year in the southern hemisphere. The day when the Sun moved into the astrological sign of Capricorn. From now on days will become gradually shorter until our winter solstice on 21st June 2010.
Lyn

Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for someone who enjoys gardening?

The new edition of my book, ‘Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting‘ would be an excellent choice. This book is not just about growing food – all your garden will benefit from organic cultivation. It has 500 pages packed with easy-to-follow guides and secrets on how to maintain good health in your whole garden so that all your plants become naturally pest and disease resistant, and more tolerant of climate change while saving water.
The monthly gardening diary of what to do when for all climate zones can be used with or without moon planting, and there are spaces in the diary for you to add personal notes and reminders. For more information about this book, see: Recommended reading.

Cara at WAHMania has a small quantity of stock and, for Australian orders placed before this Friday, books will be sent by Express Post to ensure that they arrive in time for Christmas. To order merely click on the ‘Buy the book’ panel on the right hand side of this page.

We all know that an adequate supply of phosphorus is essential for healthy root growth but, during hot, dry months, we can further assist some of our vegetables to produce extra roots.
Pumpkins produce a huge amount of foliage – too much for the original root system to supply adequate water to the entire vine. Consequently, these plants and some other members of the squash family have evolved to produce roots at nodes (stem joints) along their runners. (See photo below.)
We can assist this auxiliary root formation by carefully lifting the runner and scratching the surface of the soil beneath where roots buds appear. Then cover this with a shovelful of compost and settle the runner back onto the compost. Encouraging extra roots to form will increase your crop.
These sections may be hidden by foliage but it will help to identify them if you place a soft drink bottle or large juice bottle (with the base removed) neck down beside this area. When watering, water not only around the base of the plant, but also into the bottles to supply water directly to the extra roots without wetting the foliage.

Tomatoes in their natural state, grow along the ground and will also form auxiliary roots along their stems, but our method of growing tomatoes tied to stakes prevents this. However, you can give them a helping hand to produce extra roots before planting out by lying potted seedlings on their side when they are 10-12 cm tall. Leave them like this for a week or so, depending on the growth rate, and remember to stand them upright for watering. As you can see in the photo, the main stem with make a 90-degree turn, and root buds will form on the horizontal part of the stem. Plant them out with the growth tip vertical and the horizontal stem just below the soil surface.
You can also hill up soil around tomato plants (a little at a time), and sweet corn plants to encourage extra roots to grow on the lower parts of the main stem.

It can be too hot for lettuce in warmer areas of Australia during summer, although some of the loose-leaf varieties are more heat tolerant. Some light shade and a cool spot will allow lettuces to be grown in containers. Keeping lettuce seeds in an airtight container in the fridge can assist germination in warm weather.
If your area has a wet season in the next few months, it might be wiser to skip sowing sweet corn this month, as heavy rain will prevent good pollination. In cool climates, there is still time to plant fast-maturing varieties of pumpkin, rockmelon and watermelon. Seed for these can be ordered from Phoenix Seeds in Tasmania (PO Box 207 Snug, Tasmania 7054).
The following planting guide is an abbreviated list for vegetables, fruit trees and some culinary herbs that can be planted in August in Australia and New Zealand. A comprehensive monthly guide that includes planting times for the entire garden, as well as when to fertilise, prune, weed, take cuttings or divide plants, can be found in my book Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting.

Warm climate – South of Rockhampton
Before the Full Moon, silver beet, nasturtium and sunflower can be sown directly into beds, as well as a green manure crop of adzuki bean, cow pea, lablab, mung bean, pigeon pea, soybean, Japanese millet, millet, or sorghum.
During First Quarter phase, bush and climbing beans, eggplant and pumpkin can be sown directly into beds, and capsicum, rock melon, summer squash, tomato, watermelon and zucchini can be sown or planted out.
During Full Moon phase, beetroot, carrot, parsnip, radish, and watercress can be sown directly into beds. Banana passionfruit, lemongrass, passionfruit and dandelion can be sown or planted out, and banana, mango, pineapple and mint can be planted. Cuttings of mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, and watercress can be taken.

Warm climate – North of Rockhampton
Before the Full Moon, sow a green manure crop of adzuki bean, cowpea, lablab, mung bean, pigeon pea, soybean, Japanese millet, or sorghum.
During First Quarter phase, capsicum, tomato and watermelon can be sown or planted out.
During Full Moon phase, lemon grass can be sown or planted out, and mango planted.

Temperate climate
Before the Full Moon, cabbage, lettuce, silver beet, dill, nasturtium and sunflower can be sown directly into beds. Leek and spring onions can be sown as well as a green manure crop of adzuki bean, cowpea, mung bean, pigeon pea, soybean, millet, Japanese millet, or sorghum.
During First Quarter phase, bush and climbing beans and sweet corn can be sown directly into beds. Capsicum, cauliflower, cucumber, eggplant, rock melon, summer squash, tomato, watermelon and zucchini can be sown or planted out.
During Full Moon phase, beetroot, carrot, parsnip, and radish can be sown directly into beds. Banana passionfruit, passionfruit, dandelion, lemon grass and watercress can be sown or planted. Banana, mango, pineapple and mint can be planted. Cuttings of marjoram, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, and watercress can be taken.

Cool climate
Before the Full Moon, cabbage, grain crops, lettuce, silver beet, tatsoi, dill, and sunflower can be sown directly into beds, as well as a green manure crop of adzuki bean, mung bean, soybean, cereal rye, millet, Japanese millet, or sorghum. Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, leek, lettuce, spring onions, sweet basil and parsley, can be sown or planted our. In warmer areas, NZ spinach and nasturtium can be sown directly into beds, and in colder areas bulb fennel, open-headed Chinese cabbage, and mizuna can be sown directly into beds.
During First Quarter phase, bush and climbing beans and sweet corn can be sown directly into beds, as well as suitable varieties of pumpkin, rockmelon and watermelon (see notes at beginning of post). Cauliflower, cucumber and zucchini can be sown or planted out, as well as summer squash in warmer areas only.
During Full Moon phase, beetroot, carrot, parsnip, and radish can be sown directly into beds. Dandelion, pyrethrum, sage, and watercress can be sown or planted out, and mint planted. Cuttings of rosemary, thyme, and watercress can be taken.

The squash or Cucurbit family that includes chokoes, cucumbers, grammas, gourds, pumpkins, rockmelons, squash, watermelons, and zucchinis, produce both male and female flowers on the same plant, and rely on insects, such as bees, to pollinate the female flowers and produce fruit. (Although we eat many of this family as vegetables, in gardening terms, their produce is fruit.)
If bee activity is low, flowers of this family remain unpollinated, and fruit is unable to form. When this happens you may have to hand pollinate your plants to reap the benefits of your hard work. This is quite a simple procedure.
First identify the the female flowers on your vine or bush. At the base of each female flower you will find a miniature version of the mature fruit of that particular species. For example, cucumber vines produce what looks like a tiny gherkin at the base of each female flower while watermelon produce a watermelon miniature, often complete with stripes. The bases of male flowers, on the other hand, join directly onto a vine stem. See examples below.

Cucumber flowers – Male on the Left, female on the right.

Zucchini flowers – Male on the Left, female on the right.

To hand pollinate, take a clean, dry, soft bristled paint brush and ‘tickle’ the centre of a male flower to collect pollen on the tips of the bristles, then gently transfer the pollen to the stigma at the top of the style in the centre of female flowers. (Image shows hand pollination of female cucumber flower.)
Or, you can remove a male flower from the vine, and carefully peel back the petals so that the pollen bearing part in completely exposed. Then dab the centre of the male flower into the centre of a female flower. Repeat this process, replacing the male flower as pollen is removed. Then stand back, and allow nature to take its course.
If you can only find male flowers on your cucurbit vine, the problem takes a little longer to overcome. Pinch off the end of each long runner. This will stimulate the plant to produce side shoots called laterals. Some members of this family tend to produce female flowers on laterals. Once female flowers form, proceed with hand pollination if there are not many bees around.