Essential early spring tasks to distract you from the hunger gap.
Spring has announced its arrival with the buzzing of bees, budding pear trees, and the heady scent of blossoms hanging in the air. We’re slowly inching our way toward longer days, shedding jumpers in favour of loose shirts, and putting into action all our winter plans.
The problem is, there’s not much happening in the veggie patch. This time of year is called the hunger gap, the period between the quiet days of winter and the sudden awakening of spring, when most things are growing but not quite ready yet.
Dividing plants
Spring is a great time to divide and conquer plants such as globe artichoke, rhubarb, and chives. As the weather continues to warm and rain becomes more frequent, it’s important to keep an eye out for pests and diseases, such as snails, aphids, and rust. Our mild Tasmanian winter has some benefits, however, with early sightings of honeybees and ladybirds already in abundance.
Small harvests
If you’ve been proactive and overwintered perennial spinach, broad beans, and spring onions, you may have some harvests to bring into the kitchen. The rest of us will have to make do with eating stinging nettle pesto. That said, lemons are coming into abundance and we can’t help but think of Sally Wise’s Lemongtons.
Roots, corms, crowns and tubers
Now is also the time to put in your potatoes. If you live in an area with sneaky late frosts, place cardboard over young potato shoots the night before a predicted frost so long as you remember to remove it the following day. Asparagus crowns, rhubarb crowns, and Jerusalem artichoke tubers can also go in, as can leafy veg such as rocket, mizuna, silverbeet and spinach.
Sowing seeds for late spring
If you’re sowing seeds near a sunny window, remember to keep them moist. You can achieve this by placing your trays inside larger trays and watering from the bottom. Particularly finicky seeds, such as fine thyme and basil, should be kept moist with a fine mist spray.
While you’re sowing vegetables for a late spring harvest, remember to add annual flowers such as everlasting daisies, sweet peas, and borage to attract friendly bugs like hoverflies to the garden. It’s also a great time to fill any gaps in the lawn with fresh lawn seed. Just be sure to supplement with water if rain isn’t forecast. If you like the idea of lawn alternatives, try sowing Roman chamomile or strawberry clover.
As we’ve had a drier-than-usual winter, think proactively about retaining moisture in your soil by watering deeply and less often, and by adding layers of organic matter such as compost and mulch.
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What to plant now |
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Sow direct |
Beetroot, broad bean, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, mustard greens, pea, radish, spinach, spring onion, and turnip |
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Sow in trays |
Beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, mustard greens, radish, spinach, spring onion, and turnip |
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Sow in trays on heat mat |
Capsicum, chilli, eggplant, and tomato |
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Plant |
Asparagus corm, globe artichoke division, potato, and rhubarb corm |
