If you haven't been under any storms lately, it's important to keep the water up to your vegie garden so things keep growing. Many summer vegies are prone to powdery mildew, so water in the morning so the leaves can dry before night time.
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For the best flavour, pick dwarf beans (also known as bush and French beans) and runner beans when they're young and tender. Once your beans are ready, it's essential to remember to keep on picking them, to encourage plants to flower and produce a greater crop.
When they're in full growth beans are unstoppable, as long as they are picked while they're still relatively young and slender. At this point they'll be nice and tender, but leave them too long and they'll turn stringy and tough. Stop picking, and the plants will stop producing.
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Pinch out the tops of climbing beans once they've reached the top of their supports to stop them becoming a tangled mess, and to encourage production of more flowers and beans.
After you have finished harvesting all your beans, cut off the tops of plants at soil level, leaving roots in the soil to release nitrogen as they die down.
Keep harvesting other crops like peas, cucumbers, marrows and zucchini while the vegies are still young. They have a much better flavour and regular picking encourages the plants to produce more flowers and fruits to continue the crop into autumn.
Sun-ripened tomatoes have the best taste but sometimes you need to beat the birds by picking a few tomatoes a little earlier, just as they start to ripen. They'll soon ripen inside if left in a bowl (never leave them in the fridge, which causes tomatoes to lose their taste). Picking some fruit earlier will also reduce the weight load on the branches and ensure the plants can produce sufficient nutrients for the remainder of the crop. Regularly pinch out laterals (diagonal shoots that grow in the angle between branches) so the plant's energy goes into growing fruit, not leaves.
With regular attention and picking, February is the most productive month for basil. Remove flowers regularly to extend the picking season or leave to save seed from your best plants.
Sow broad beans, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, onions, garlic, English spinach, radish, rocket, swedes and turnips.
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