Citrus season has begun | In Your Patch

Welcome, winter. With our warmer than average Autumn there’s still got plenty of time to plant out kale, caulis, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, artichokes, all the asian greens, and even garlic.

Broad beans can go in now, as can seeds of carrots, and other root veg like radishes, and beet mangle wurzel.

Dill, leeks, potatoes, standard beetroot and the peas also like the cooler, wetter weather.

Now is the time to regularly check brassicas for the dreaded cabbage moth caterpillar. The bright green caterpillars can be hard to spot. Remove by hand and apply an organic spray containing dipel, available at your local hardware or gardening centre. It’s an absolute life-saver. It kills only the caterpillar so is safe for other beneficial insects and is relatively inexpensive and easy to apply.

Citrus season has started. We’re still getting a lot of limes from the school tree while the lemons have started in earnest, as have our naval Washington oranges, from a tree planted only a few years ago.

Citrus are particularly appealing to grow as in my experience at least, they require no netting. Pest animals like birds, possums and even rats don’t seem interested in the fruit, unlike many others.

Given we’re expecting the rain to start in earnest this month, watch for fruit drop caused by splitting – a disorder caused by irregular watering.

Remove any dropped fruit as the split exposes internal flesh, encouraging fruit fly and bacterial infestation that can spread to the tree and surrounding soil.

We’ve also got the last of the basil, the first of the coriander, and finally some dragon fruit.

These plants do take time to fruit so if you planted a piece do not despair – it’s taken a solid five years for our school dragons to fruit, with it gaining in size and number with each passing year.

Lawns will start their slower growth period as temperatures drop. In addition to less mowing, it’s a good time to raise your blades as mowing too short in wet weather can cause your lawn to patch, hold too much water, and in severe cases, die.

This of course also lets weeds and other pests, like lawn beetles, take hold.

You may have been one of the lucky people to visit some of the gardens during the Edible Garden Festival.

What a credit to organiser Trevor Paddenburg, property owners, workshop trainers, community groups, volunteers, and ticket holders. It was wonderful to be part of such an informative, community-oriented weekend. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Finally, I’d like to mention the Margaret River Community Pantry. Hundreds of people took home both knowledge and seedlings from the Festival.

Thanks to a large donation of organic seedlings from Declan McGill and the Landsmith Collection, the Margaret River Community Garden, and the MRPS Kitchen Garden Honesty Stall, those seedlings are now growing in backyards across the region.

If you end up with surplus produce on your hands over the coming months, or indeed at any time of the year, please consider donating it to the Pantry.

Winter is upon us, with cold and wet conditions putting an added burden on our most vulnerable community members.

If you’re short on time or inclination, the Pantry even offers a free picking service, where volunteers will come to your home, pick any produce you desire, with the rest distributed to those in need.

Don’t let it rot on the ground! All donations, big or small, are gratefully received and appreciated. Call 0448 717 098 if you’d like to be involved. Every stick of celery, piece of citrus, and leaf of silver beet will make a difference to those in need.

Terri Sharpe is Coordinator and Garden Specialist of the Margaret River Primary School Kitchen Garden Program and a Horticultural lecturer at South Regional Tafe, Margaret River.