Garden Update January 2015

What is happening in the garden…

We are greeted in a new year with a beautiful full moon to get us started. Around the vineyard the dry ground cover crunches under foot and grapes are ripening with the hot days and solar rays. The mulberry trees are in full production with weekly picks flowing into the kitchen, the joy and memories these trees give to visitors as they forage through the trees is a pleasure to see and makes the Cullen experience as unique as our wines.

Summer crops are in full swing with tomatoes, zucchini, aubergine and capsicum being harvested for use in our delicious dishes. The full moon planting of beetroot, beans, lettuce, zucchini, radish, kohlrabi and pumpkins pushed out of the earth within a few days and will be ready around Easter.
Red and white onions will be harvested towards the end of the month on a root day allowing for better storage, they will need to dry for a day in the sun and the hung in the shed to cure. The next planting will be on the new moon around the time when the moon is opposite Saturn on the 23rd. Lettuce, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower will be sown into the soil.

It is a good time to apply horn manure, make compost, transplant seedlings, pruning, wine racking and harvesting for storage from the 2nd-13th of January. This is a descending or waning period and is influenced by the earth and water signs. From the of 16th-28th January it will be a good time to apply horn silica, plant seeds, graft and harvest for early consumption. This is an ascending or waxing period and is influenced by air or fire signs.

WE ARE CURRENTLY HARVESTING…
Asparagus, carrots, capsicum, rocket, beetroot, garlic, onions, zucchini, swiss chard, salad greens, mulberry, radish, spring onions, tomatoes, herbs, edible flowers.

If anyone has any queries in regards to the garden, please feel welcome to ask… Cheers, Jaimie