A stumpery… over time the stumps will decompose to create a wonderful habitat for insects and wildlife. Photo: Jackie Warburton
Turn a difficult shady corner into a natural feature with a stumpery that provides habitat for wildlife while creating space for bulbs and shade-loving plants, suggests gardening columnist JACKIE WARBURTON.
If there is a shady part of the garden where very little grows, try adding a few old stumps to create a stumpery.
Jackie Warburton.
Over time, the stumps will rot and decompose, providing a wonderful habitat for insects and wildlife. Pockets of soil can be placed in the crevices of the stumps, allowing small bulbs and plants to brighten a shady area.
Once you have found the right stumps, the size of the area will determine the overall layout. They can be stacked together or placed individually throughout the garden.
If using a felled tree as part of a stumpery, the limbs, smaller logs and branches can also be used to create a hügelkultur garden for growing vegetables.
Hügelkultur involves placing the timber in a shallow trench, then covering it with soil. As it breaks down, the logs and branches absorb excess rainwater, then release moisture back into the soil during dry periods.
The preferred trees for hügelkultur are pines, maples and apple branches. Eucalyptus, walnuts and rot-resistant timbers should not be used.
IT’S time to finish the last of the winter jobs in the vegetable patch, including planting deciduous trees and roses, as well as making the final preparations to the soil before spring arrives.
When planting deciduous trees, dig a generous hole and backfill it with the same soil that came from the hole. If the soil is heavy clay, mix in gypsum, manure or compost. Plant the tree on a slight mound, water it well after planting, then water again when new growth appears in a few weeks.
Now’s also the time to sow seeds for summer fruit and vegetables such as tomatoes, capsicums and pumpkins, along with flowers including zinnias, cosmos and marigolds.
Seedling trays on a heat pad will produce faster growth, while a sunny windowsill is suitable if you are sowing only a few seeds.
Use seed-raising mix in small punnets or containers with drainage holes. Apart from potting media, you can also make your own seed-raising mix by combining equal parts coir peat, sand and perlite.
Water the mix before sowing, then water again after planting. Keep the mix moist with a spray bottle and out of direct sunlight until the seeds germinate.
Nasturtiums… with bright blooms that grow well in our region, flowering for many months of the year. Photo: Jackie Warburton
FOR a head start on spring flowers while the soil is still cold, plant nasturtiums.
They grow well in our region, produce bright blooms for many months of the year, and are available in yellow, red, orange and now tri-coloured varieties. They can be allowed to climb loosely or spread across the ground as a living mulch.
Nasturtiums also attract bees to the garden and are useful when planted among fruit and vegetables to cover bare soil. Every part of the plant is edible. The flowers have a peppery flavour, while the green seeds can be pickled to make Poor Man’s Capers.
Wash the green seedpods to remove spent petals and other debris. Place them in a clean jar with thyme, garlic, a bay leaf and peppercorns, then cover with apple cider vinegar. Leave the jar in the cupboard or refrigerator for a few weeks.
They’re ready to eat once they have changed colour slightly, and the longer they remain in the vinegar, the better the flavour will become.
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