Abundant start to summer season | In Your Patch

It’s been an incredibly abundant start to summer, with bumper crops of raspberries, stone fruit, and a promising start to the tomato season.

Every year I mention my cherries, that do very well here in Margaret River, and every year, people are surprised that we’re able to grow them so well in this region.

It’s all about choosing a variety that is suited to our climate, in this instance, it’s the minimum setting temperature that matters the most, along with decent warmer temperatures in spring.

Most cherry varieties require a low minimum, with quite a few hours of chill time to set fruit, hence why you’ll find them on roadside stalls as you make your way further south.

The Stella does not. It’s minimum temperature for fruit set is higher, and it also needs some warmth during spring for flowers and fruit to develop properly.

Because of these requirements, it performs very well in the Margaret River region.

It’s best to research specific varieties before purchase because in the cherry world – not all cultivars are created equal.

Spend time researching what will grow in the specific location and micro-climate you have in mind to improve your chances of a positive outcome.

After all, you’re investing money, time, and other resources like effort, fertiliser, water, and pest control measures, so you really want to give yourself the best chance of a desirable outcome.

Every year around this time I pick cherries from our backyard tree (netted of course!), and every year I’m reminded of just how fortunate we are to live in this beautiful growing region. So many varieties of fruit and veg grow well here. Other summer favourites include raspberries, all the stone fruit, and of course zucchinis, tomatoes, and fresh basil.

My Hass avocado is covered in small fruit, but many of those will drop. And my KP Mango is showing promise with many small mangoes currently well on their way.

These, if not thinned naturally, I will thin myself.

This will result in fewer fruit or a much higher quality. Well worth the effort.

What to plant now?

It’s all about summer favourites – basil of course, capsicum, chilli, beans, corn if you’re quick, mouse melons, there’s still time for sunflowers and tomatoes, eggplant, late variety pumpkins like butternut, zucchini, and all squash.

As strange as it sounds you can start broccoli in seed trays. Carrots, radish, turnips, and parsnips can all be seeded directly into garden beds.

Never grow root crops in seed trays and transplant, as the root will suffer. They don’t like being moved and will likely give you lesser a quality final product if you move them at any stage during their growing cycle.

However, there’s little point planting all this fruit and veg if you don’t have access to a decent watering system and have loamy, friable soil (that’s been covered with a good layer of mulch to protect your super important soil microbes from the heat) in which to plant your seedlings.

Always plant after maximum temperatures, so late afternoon to evening, water in well and daily for the first week or so if it’s hot, mulch, wetta soil if you notice run-off, and consider adding compost, worm castings, or worm juice as soil conditioners and for general plant health.

A big no is adding large amounts of fertiliser when your plants are low on moisture – this ends up stressing the plant and can result in leaf burn. In severe cases plants may succumb to pests and diseases while under stress and may die.

‘Tis the season to protect your soil microbes from the heat. Water regularly. Mulch.

Constantly check your produce as growth can be phenomenal – zucchinis are a classic case in point. They can literally double in size over just a day or two.

And remember to drop your excess produce to the Margaret River Community Pantry at 41 Clarke Road Thursday mornings between 9 and 11am.

Not all members of our community have access to the fresh produce that many backyard patches in this region are producing right now – in abundance!

Terri Sharpe is Coordinator and Garden Specialist of the Margaret River PS Kitchen Garden Program and a Horticultural lecturer at South Regional TAFE.