It's August, the last month of winter. Hooray, some will be saying!
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We will most likely still get frosts in the New England at least to the end of October, but it's time to start thinking about your spring and summer vegies.
Browse through the seed catalogues to decide what you will grow this year, and if you will start from seed or purchase seedlings.
There is far more choice if growing from seed, although it can be much easier and less time-consuming, especially if you work full time, to start with seedlings.
In the meantime, you still need to keep an eye on your winter vegies, particularly the Brassicas, such as cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and broccoli.
Cauliflower has a prominent central edible head or "curd" that is normally white but can be green, orange or purple.
Cauliflowers generally take three to five months from sowing to maturity.
So if you planted your caulis in March or April, you may have some ready to harvest by now.
The best time to pick a cauliflower is when the florets are fully formed and tightly packed.
Don't leave it too long or the florets will spread apart and open.
Use a sharp knife to cut the stalk below and trim excess leaves.
If your cauliflowers are not ready to harvest yet and are still growing, fortnightly applications of diluted fish emulsion and/or liquid seaweed will help them along, and remember to check the leaves regularly for caterpillars and eggs.
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Remove by hand or spray with Dipel or natural pyrethrum.
The curds can discolour when exposed to sun so cover them by pulling in some of the outermost leaves and tying them across the head.
You can secure them with string or bunch the leaves together with a rubber band, however, those methods can make it hard to check how the curds are maturing.
Other options are by breaking the leaves over the curd, or by using clothes pegs to hold the leaves together so the head is protected from the sun.
Brussels sprouts tend to fall over quite easily when they get taller and top heavy. Either stake them or push the soil up around the stems to help support them.
If you have already picked the main head on your broccoli, let the side shoots develop and keep picking them to keep the plants producing.