It’s Autumn, and probably the last opportunity to soak up a lovely warm-ish day in South Africa before the winter chill sets in. Why not arrange some outdoor time on your patio with friends and family and surprise them by preparing some dishes, almost exclusively from your garden? Get your preserve recipes ready and let’s fill some bags with produce to share with those in need. 

Pick me

A tasty host of herbs to be picked now include thyme, parsley, marjoram, and mint. Veggies like squash, zucchini, eggplants, peppers, chillies and, beetroot are also ready for the lunch buffet. Juicy fruit such as melon and tomato will be coming to an end now as well. 

Harvesting tips

• Prolong your lettuce harvest by only picking the larger, outer leaves each time, allowing the inner leaves to keep growing.

• Tomatoes are ready to be picked when they’re uniformly red – just before they soften. Spray preventatively against various fungal diseases.

• Lemons, depending on variety and care should be available to harvest pretty much all year round. Keep your tree well-watered, prune when necessary and protect it from pests to keep your bounty flowing.

• Peppers are a Catch-22 harvest. If you want volume you should pick them frequently and before they mature since they’ll keep trying to produce viable seed but if it is flavour you’re after you need to let them reach maturity before harvesting knowing you’ll have less but tastier fruit.

Preserve your bounty

Fresh produce has a limited shelf life but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your harvest for longer. Fill jars with homemade pasta sauces, relishes, and pickles that can be enjoyed for months after you’ve harvested your vegetables. There are some stunning preserve recopies out there, not to mention fire ciders and other health conics you can create.

There is no need for winter blues with so much life in the garden this month. With the right plants and products, you can grow food and blooms to your heart’s (and dinner plate’s) content. Let’s dig in and make the cold a little more colourful and crunchy with pre-spring seed sowing, germination hacks, and superstar seedlings!

Know your lingo 

Before we get elbow deep in dirt, it is important to know the difference between sowing, germination, and seedlings. Sowing is planting a seed from a seed packet, while germination is the process of that seed developing. A seedling is a baby plant that has already been sown and successfully germinated.

Spring seed sowing 

What you choose to sow now will have germinated into young seedlings for springtime. We recommend that you begin the seed germination process indoors and then transplant the young seedlings into beds or larger containers later once the weather is warmer and frost has passed. Sowing according to your region is another important factor in ensuring the success of your seeds.

Gauteng: Edibles such as peas and potatoes, as well as pansy, viola, and primula flowers.

KwaZulu Natal: Edibles such as radish and turnips, as well as cineraria and Iceland poppy flowers. 

Western Cape: Edibles such as beetroot and tomatoes, as well as alyssum and cleome salvia flowers.

Top compost tip: Keep your tea bags, grounded coffee beans, and eggshells to use as DIY compost for all your winter plants. 

A germination station 

There’s nothing worse than sowing a seed that never makes it to meet the sun. Avoid the disappointment and begin an indoor germination station! This is a highly rewarding and educational activity for the whole family to become part of.  We recommended starting off near a sunny window or on the patio or balcony, just remember to bring your babies in at night and move them away from any glass that can get rather icy at sundown.