Episode: #14 23/12/06
Presenter: Phil Dudman

Many gardeners shy away from the vegetable patch in summer because the intense Queensland heat makes it just too difficult. There are some crops that thrive in the heat however and one of them is sweet corn.

Sweet corn needs to be planted in blocks to get good pollination of the cobs so prepare an area that is at least 2 by 2 metres and dig in lots of compost and well-rotted manure. These plants love it. If you get some seed in the ground right now you will enjoy a bumper harvest in about 8-12 weeks.

Before planting, enrich the soil with fertiliser too. Lay down some blood and bone and dynamic lifter. They will like some potash too. Once that is done, rake it all in, level it out and you are ready for planting.

Use the handle of your rake to make drills about 60cm apart. Then simply go along and drop your seed into the drills. It doesn?t matter if they are a bit close as you can thin them out later. Cover the seeds with soil and then give them one good watering and no more until they pop out of the ground because if it stays wet the seeds can rot.

When they get to around ?, thin them out to about 25cm apart and lay a good cover of mulch between the rows to help hold the moisture in. Once a week or so kick them along with a good soaking of liquid fertiliser as that will guaranteed you the sweetest and juiciest corn you have ever tasted.

What about leafy greens?

You know the scorching summer sun can turn their sensitive leaves into a crisp but if you love to have plenty of greens on hand for summer salads then building a simple shade structure will help to guarantee that.

All you need is a few tomato stakes, a good hammer, some low-density shade cloth and a roll of twine. There is really nothing to it, just bang your stakes firmly into the ground across the centre of your bed then grab another stake and tie it between posts. There is your frame.

The shade cloth gives about 50% shade, which is all you need. Drape it over your frame and then grab a few old bricks and roll it up in the shade cloth to help hold it down.

You can pull this apart in seconds if you need to get in and do some serious work but the best thing is, it reduces the intensity of the sun so that the plants think it is spring.

So really, there is no reason to shy away from the vegetable patch this summer.

So make sure you get out there and work off some of that Christmas cheer.

Featured Products

Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food:

• This is a versatile feed for all garden, potted and Australian native plants.
• Slow release nutrients improving structure and retention of the soil.
• It also encourages earthworms and is beneficial to soil micro-organisms

Blood and Bone

• An organic fertiliser suitable for all gardens including Australian natives.
• Provides nitrogen for healthy leaf growth and phosphorus for stron root development.
• Organic nutrients are released slowly to the plant, improves soil structure, promotes beneficial soil micro-organisms and encourages earthworms.

Yates Sulphate of Potash

• Rich source of potassium for encouraging flowering and fruiting in all plants, as well as promoting disease resistance.
• Completely soluble.
• Potassium sulphate is one of the safest and most concentrated forms of potassium.
• Ideal for mixing with Blood and Bone for an organically based complete fertiliser