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IMAGE MachineHeadz/Getty Images Opposite Worledit/Getty Images If there’s one thing we’ve all learnt over the past months, it’s that panic buying doesn’t do anyone any good. And it’s the same when it comes to gardening. Panic buying doesn’t work. That’s because, when you’re panicking, you’re not planning. Planning is what enables every gardener, and especially one who is growing on a shoestring, to come up with a useful and satisfying, dollar-saving harvest. So let’s talk about how not to panic-garden, from seed buying to sowing and sowing to growing. Check your stocks As the excitement of spring sowing begins to mount, resist the urge to immediately head for the garden centre. Take stock of the seeds you already have on hand. Check the dates on the seed packets and if it seems the seed is still viable, sow a tiny pinch in a pot now to see if you do actually need to buy fresh stock. Be realistic Just because you know how to grow a particular vegetable or that it is easy to grow and produces a bumper crop is no reason to go overboard planting it. After all, do you actually want two square metres of silver beet or rhubarb? Will the kids really chew their way through four rows of radishes and a bed of broccoli? Or would they (and you) be happier with a dozen delicious corn cobs and a patch of crispy lettuce? Space & time How much time and space do you actually have for storing excess harvest? If your idea of fun is cooking up a cauldron of tomato puree late on Sunday night and making space for it in the freezer, by all means sow your packet of ‘Moneymaker’ tomatoes. But if you’d rather enjoy the fun of growing a handful of different tomato varieties, head to the nursery for a punnet of mixed heritage seedlings. Even better, if you’d like to completely skip the hassle of preserving, eat seasonally. However you do it, being realistic will result in less money wasted, more garden space to grow what you want and plenty of free time to enjoy your garden rather than resent it. Do the sums As with most things, planning makes perfect and can save you money. So get out your calculator and really nut out how much of each vegetable you actually need to cater for you and your family. Here’s an example of how to do it. Let’s say you use potatoes in four meals a week and each time you use them, you require a kilo. That comes to 4 (meals) x 52 (weeks in the year) x 1 (kilo of potatoes) = 208 kilos. In other words, you’ll need to grow 208 kilos of potatoes if you want to supply your family’s year-long requirements. At an approximate guess, we can expect around 1.5kg of potatoes per plant, you’ll need to sow 138 potatoes to produce the required harvest. It takes a lot of garden space to sow 138 potatoes, but if you’re daunted by the thought (and few wouldn’t be) there’s an easy way to reach a budget compromise. Instead of growing all the potatoes your family eats in a year, grow only those you need to supply you when spuds are most expensive in the supermarket, like Above Grow what you know will be most costly at the supermarket. Opposite Sow a pinch of seeds to see if they will still germinate. gardener.kiwi kiwigardener 75
76 kiwigardener gardener.kiwi IMAGE Clockwise from top urbancow/Getty Images, PeopleImages/Getty Images, Animaflora/Getty Images, dejankrsmanovic/Getty Images
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growing with you Three Time Winner
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Alocasia Amazonica Life is easy whe
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LOVE YOUR Winter garden WHANGAREI:
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Elite Series Greenhouses Traditiona
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Something for everyone JUNE 2020 RE
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Adding a bit of life to the garden
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Page 34 and 35: LEAFY COLOUR Heucheras, heucharella
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Page 38 and 39: the Millichamps have found that per
Page 40 and 41: Caring For Your House Plants The pe
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Page 44 and 45: Plants to consider Use a selection
Page 46 and 47: shrub of the month Smokin’ hot A
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Page 50 and 51: HARDWOOD CUTTINGS Hardwood cuttings
Page 52 and 53: ROOT CUTTINGS Taking root cuttings
Page 54 and 55: Winter is the perfect time to break
Page 56 and 57: In-ground or potted? If you don’t
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Page 60 and 61: SOWING TO REAP & SHARE Are you a me
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Page 68 and 69: peppery taste somewhat. Two other t
Page 70 and 71: Carrot loaf This loaf can be served
Page 72 and 73: Baked grated carrots Ingredients
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Page 86 and 87: DIY Plant shelves This simple outdo
Page 88 and 89: 6. To get the look Mark painted the
Page 90 and 91: Bleach it? Question I’ve heard yo
Page 92 and 93: Edible flowers The sweet violet, Vi
Page 94 and 95: giveaways Treat your pet [Code: Dog
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Page 98 and 99: Plan Ahead for 2021 Join us to Visi
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