Leafy Planting Days in Late Autumn

The next leafy planting break according to the lunar calendar is Monday-Tuesday, and the weather report says we can expect rain.  Amazing how often than happens – surely it can’t be co-incidence?

Anyway, it’s a good reminder that  it’s time for a new round of leafy greens in any case.  I have a few advanced seedlings of leafy greens ready to be planted out, and I have a whole lot of little seedlings ready to be potted on – parsley, celery, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, chinese cabbages, spinach, silver beet, amaranth, radicchio, lettuce, spring onions   – all at this perfect two-leaf stage when transplanting them into their own private pot in a rich seedling raising mix will not set them back at all.  They’ll stay there now till the next leafy planting day when I’ll plant them out into the garden as advanced seedlings, individually placed.

I’ll also be planting a new round of seed of all of them plus some broccoli as well. My challenge is not to plant too many of them because there will be another three rounds of all of these before their season is over!

This time of year is perfect for leafy greens in my frost free garden.  The various kinds of cabbage moths and web moths have all disappeared and my predator population can keep up with everything else. The days are still shortening as we head towards the winter solstice so they are not in too much of a rush to bolt to seed.  The cooler weather makes it much easier to keep the soil moisture levels up. And the space hogging zucchini and squash have finished.

All these dark green leafies like a diet rich in nitrogen, and happily I have enough compost made over the summer to give everything a good couple of handfuls in their potting mix, and again when I plant them out.  Oh it’s nice when it just comes together – the lunar calendar, the weather, the season, the compost supply, seedlings at the right age to be potted on, the garden space to plant out.