The same text also suggests that to keep hungry caterpillars from your newly planted brassicas (caulis, cabbages, etc), surround the seedlings with freshly mown lawn clippings. While this is not good practice due to nitrogen draw down on many plants, young brassicas are not that readily affected. I use small diameter wire cages over mine, since I find it’s the only way to keep the white cabbage moth from laying its eggs on the leaves. That works for sure.

If you use 3-4 month slow release fertilizers on your vegetables in summer, you may not be aware that at soil temperatures above 25° C they release at a faster rate and at about 32° C you’d be lucky if the nutrient lasted 4 weeks! That temperature may sound high but if you grow your vegies in pots or in exposed positions, you could expect temperatures of that and higher. So the message is if using slow release fertilizers, use it more often in hot weather.

Some vegetables that establish quickly at this time of year from seed are beetroot or red beet and silverbeet, but soak the corky seeds in warm water overnight and then sow onto a thin strip of sandy soil. I just use a trickle in the depression of the planting row made with a rake handle, then cover with no more than 5mm of the same sand. They germinate very easily that way as do carrots, since all those crops originated from sandy coastal regions.

This is also last call for sowing parsnips. Parsnip seed needs to be sown all at once, since once the hermetically sealed seed packet is opened the seed looses its viability in less than 3 months and so you won’t have viable seed to sow next year. Parsnips also need to be harvested when they are mature, unlike carrots that can be left to over winter and are still edible. Parsnips also taste sweeter when placed into the freezer for a while as the chill raises their sugar levels.

If you raise your own Iceland Poppies from seed, it’s that time of year already. They germinate at temperatures of less than 22°C, so if we get a warm spell, delay your seeding or select the coolest aspect you can find to locate you seeding flats. They are slow to germinate and will stay very small for several months before you either prick them out or transplant them. Fortunately the best cultivar in my opinion, ‘Matilda’ is available in the Yates packet seed range, even though it’s an F1 hybrid.