Spring vegie head start
2011-08-30T03:00:18+10:00
Gardeners in warm areas are busy planting out their organic spring crops. With a little protection, you can give seedlings a head start in cold areas too. PHIL DUDMAN, shares a few ideas for a simple homemade coldframe.
The soil is still too cold in some areas for planting things like zucchini, capsicum and eggplants.
If you’re in a cold district and you want to get a head start, you can plant some of your spring crops in pots as seeds or seedlings. That way you can keep them in a warm sunny spot during the day and bring them in out of the cold at night. When the soil has warmed up a month or so, your plants will already be well on their way, which means you’ll get an earlier harvest.
Be sure to use a good quality potting mix, and once you’ve got them up and running, give them a feed every week with half strength fish and kelp solution to really get them kicking along.
In some areas, it’s worth making some form of cold frame to increase the temperature around the seedlings and protect your babies from chilly winds. This photo shows a simple idea using an old polystyrene box, some fencing wire, and recycled bubble wrap. Try that out and you’ll be well ahead in the vegie patch this spring. You might have your own ideas – please share them.
