1. Amaranth
amaranth by jill goodell
Where: sow directly into the soil
Harvest: from June
I barely have to water the garden this summer, since it’s been raining so much. These are unusual weather conditions, so the best we can do is keep planting and seeing what does well. This season my approach to planting had not been a very planned one. I just basically went nature-style on it and planted a whole heap of different things. After three weeks the plants suited to this summer were thriving, and the others…well, that is life. I suppose it would be safe to say that they contributed to the organic matter in the soil.
The outcome: beans and tomatoes rule the patch, followed by potatoes, cucumbers and radishes. Here are some things you can try for yourself!
Where: sow directly into the soil
Harvest: from May
I know it’s been raining, cold and unusual for Sydney, but garden beds do not wait! It’s time to bravely plunge into the summer planting season and experiment. Who knows, some of the plants might even like this weather :).
Where: grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks
Harvest: from April
Feels like summer arrived to Sydney literally overnight. Yesterday it was raining and 15 degrees outside. Today is sunny beach weather with whopping 27 degrees. Almost anything can be planted now, so below are some ideas for common and not-so-common plants to be planted now in Sydney area.
Harvesting Asparagus by Chiot’s Run
Where: sow in garden, or plant as crowns
Harvest: from 24 months
Plants behave in some oddly intelligent ways: fighting predators, maximizing food opportunities … But can we think of them as actually having a form of intelligence of their own? Italian botanist Stefano Mancuso presents intriguing evidence.
Source: http://www.ted.com/talks/stefano_mancuso_the_roots_of_plant_intelligence.html