Pretoria - June 2021

Veggie of the month
Kale Storm is a Winter superfood that is rich in vitamin C and iron. A colourful
mix of three different kale varieties with purple, green and blue leaves, each
with different textures, it really is almost too pretty to eat. The ready-to-eat
mix comes in a 17cm pot and doesn’t need to be planted out. Simply keep
the kale in its pot, place it in a position that receives at least four hours of sun
a day, water daily and feed with a nitrogen-rich liquid fertiliser at half strength
every two weeks. Plants grow up to 60cm and can be treated like spinach by
harvesting the outer leaves. Kale ‘Storm’ lasts longer in your patio planter than
lettuce and it won’t bolt, and can also be planted in the ground for all-season
harvesting. To prepare kale for cooking, cut out the midrib, shred the leaves and
cook like spinach. Details: ballstraathof.co.za
Garden tasks for June
• Feed Winter flowering annuals with liquid fertiliser. • Remove dead
blooms of calendulas, sweet peas, pansies, and Iceland poppies to
encourage new flowers. • Tidy up perennials, shrubs, and trees by
removing dead leaves and old flowers. • Do not let daffodils and other
Spring-flowering bulbs or shrubs, like azaleas, camellias or magnolias dry
out otherwise they will not flower. • Water Winter pot plants like cyclamen,
pot primulas, cineraria, and spring bulbs
every two to three days and feed with a
liquid fertiliser. • This is the best month
for transplanting roses, other perennials,
shrubs and even trees that are in the
wrong position. • Use all your
garden waste to make compost
20 Get It Magazine June 21
Indoor plant
of the month
Monstera adansonii – also
known as monkey mask – is
a smaller, and slower-growing
version of the traditional
delicious monster
(Monstera deliciosa). The
unusually lobed leaves gave
rise to its common name
and, although smaller in size,
it certainly makes a big impact. It trails
or climbs, being suitable for hanging
baskets, to fill a corner or cascade down
from a shelf. Being a tropical plant, it
needs a warm, humid room, and bright
indirect light but not sun on its leaves.
Place it a metre or so from a north or
east-facing window. Water once a week,
don’t let the soil dry out but keep it
slightly moist. A drench and drain once a
week will flush out any salts that build up.
Feed with a liquid fertiliser at half strength
once a month in Spring and Summer to
maintain the bright green, healthy leaves.
Yellowing leaves is a sign that the plant lacks
nutrients. Details: lvgplants.co.za