Some parts of our vegie gardens are likely looking a little tired at the moment as the growth of summer produce - notably tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and squashes - slows down in response to the cooler nights.
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If your tomato plants have died back but still have a few green tomatoes on them, pull out the whole plant and hang it upside-down out of the weather and those fruits will continue to ripen.
The chillies are turning red, as are the capsicums. You can harvest these at any stage from green to fully coloured. Capsicums are sweeter if left to ripen on the vine, whereas chillies are hotter.
These plants have fragile stems so take care when harvesting fruit as the branches can be easily broken. Use snips or secateurs and leave a small piece of stem attached when cutting them off which will help them store for longer.
Capsicums will keep for a week in the refrigerator, chillies for two, or you can dry them. You can try keeping your potted chillies alive for another season by moving them in from frosts, pruning them back and reducing watering without letting the soil go bone dry.
Frosts can help sweeten apples, so, if possible, delay picking the bulk of your crop until after a frost or two.
Apples can be stored for months in a cool, dark place.
While some of our plants might be a bit tired, it's still a busy time in the vegie garden as we continue preparing for winter crops.
Read more about gardening:
Onions can go be planted now, as well as garlic, broad beans, Asian greens, rhubarb crowns and strawberry runners or new plants. Also plant out late brassicas.
English spinach will grow better in the cooler weather than silverbeet, and so is better to plant now. Baby spinach leaves are great for their nutty flavour and are great added to mixed salads, pasta and stir fries.
Sow directly in the vegie patch or into pots, in a sunny or partly shaded spot. It's a quick vegie to grow and you can start picking individual leaves as you need them from just six weeks after sowing.
The best tasting leaves will be from plants that are grown quickly, so ensure to keep the soil or potting mix consistently moist and feed each week with a fast-acting liquid fertiliser.
