The oyster mushroom gets its name from its cap which, some say, resembles an oyster. The stem of the oyster mushrooms is perhaps more distinct; it unfurls something like one of those old-time paper lady's fans. The oyster mushroom has...

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December Garden in the Southern Hemisphere

If you are preparing for your summer Christmas holiday, make sure that the vegetable garden is well mulched before you go. Mulch will keep the weeds down and conserve the moisture in the soil while you are away.

December is not too early to consider breaking out the shade cloth to protect the tender plants from the summer heat that should be upon us next month.

And December is the month to plan ahead for winter in the southern hemisphere. Winter crops such as beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, leeks, and the cool-weather Chinese vegetables can be planted before this month is finished. By the time they are up to size, the summer weather will be on its way out.

Look for the first harvest of early tomatoes towards the end of this month. How about a garden fresh tomato sandwich on Christmas Day! Pinch out the growing tips on cucumbers, pumpkins, and squash now before they get a firm grip on the rest of the garden. Also begin to monitor fruit trees to make sure young limbs aren't carrying too much weight.

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November Garden in the Southern Hemisphere

November is one of the most beautiful months of the year in the southern hemisphere. The cold is gone but summer's intense heat has not yet arrived.

The trees and grass are green. The forsythia and dogwood are in bloom. The birds have built their summer nests, and the first crops in the vegetable garden have begun to sprout.

Here is a planting schedule by region for the southern hemisphere in November:

Temperate regions: Vegetables: beans, beets (beetroot), cabbage, cape gooseberry, capsicum (sweet pepper), carrots, celery, celeriac, chicory, cress, cucumber, eggplant, endive, leeks, lettuce, marrow (courgette), melons, mustard, spring onion, parsnip, peas, pumpkin, radish rhubarb crown, rosella, salsify, Swiss chard (silverbeet), squash, sweet corn, sweet potato, tomato, zucchini. Herbs: basil, borage, caraway, celeriac, chamomile, chervil, chicory, chilies, chives, coriander, dill, fennel, hyssop, lemon balm, oregano, parsley, salad burnet, thyme.

Tropical and subtropical northern regions: Vegetables: beans, cabbage, cape gooseberry, capsicum (sweet pepper), carrots, celery, celeriac, Chinese cabbage, cress, cucumber, eggplant, fennel, lettuce, marrow, melons, mustard, okra, parsnip, peas, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb crowns, rosella, silverbeet (Swiss chard), spring onion, squash, strawberry runners, sweet corn, sweet potato, tomato, zucchini. Herbs: borage, caraway.

Cooler southern regions: Vegetables: beans, beet (beetroot), broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cape gooseberry, capsicum (sweet pepper), carrots, celery, celeriac, cress, cucumber, eggplant, endive, leeks, lettuce, marrow, okra, spring onion, parsnip, potato tubers, radish, rhubarb crowns, rutabaga (Swedes), salsify, Swiss chard (silverbeet), spinach, squash, sweet corn, tomato, zucchini. Herbs: basil, borage, caraway, celeriac, chamomile, chervil, chives, coriander, hyssop, lemon balm, oregano, parsley, salad burnet, thyme.

November Harvest Schedule for the Southern Hemisphere

Here is a roundup of vegetables and fruits ready for harvest during October in the Southern Hemisphere:

Vegetables: Artichoke, asparagus, beet (beetroot), broccoli, carrot, celeriac, celery, cucumber, lettuce, snow peas, purslane, Swiss chard (silverbeet), spinach, zucchini.

Fruit: Early apricots, early cherries, grapefruit, lemons, limes, loquats, oranges, early nectarines, early peaches, raspberries, strawberries.

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October Garden in the Southern Hemisphere

October is the month of greatest change in the southern hemisphere kitchen garden, spring is here. Now is the time to plant with the summer reward in mind.

Plant tomato, eggplant, capsicum, cucumber, sweet corn, marrow, melons, zucchini, and pumpkin this month in all but the coldest regions of the southern hemisphere.

Plant beets and radishes. Water them well and feed them with compost tea every two weeks going forward. Plant salads mixes and continue to plant them every two weeks for successive crops that you can begin to harvest in just a few weeks.

Plant cucumbers next to low walls or fences. Place pumpkins among corn to provide living mulch which will keep the soil cool and moist. Plant beans where they can begin to twist their way to the top.

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September Garden in the Southern Hemisphere

September brings in spring and ends winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

The first day of spring in the southern part of the world this year is September 22. On this day, the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west. The time between sunrise and sunset is exactly 12 hours.

March can be both wintery and spring-like. Some days will be blustery and others will be mild and sunny.

Sap flows in the trees in March and green buds begin to appear. Early songbirds will arrive this month.

Vegetables: The work of the spring and summer vegetable garden can begin during March. Prepare vegetable garden beds. Winter mulches can be removed. Peas and spinach can be sown outdoors where they are to grow as soon as the ground can be worked. Onions sets can be planted this month also.

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August Garden in the Southern Hemisphere

The days begin to warm in August in the southern hemisphere. This is the time to begin planting crops for summer harvest. But keep in mind there may still be some chilly days in the colder regions.

Root crops can go into the ground immediately this month. But tender seedlings, tomatoes, capsicums and some lettuce may need protection until the weather turns warmer for good.

Get manure, compost, blood and bone meal into the garden now. That will give these soil amendments a chance to begin to break down before the entire garden is planted.

This month is the last chance to spray stone fruit with lime sulphur or Bordeaux mix before the spring bud burst. Once buds break, it will be almost impossible to control fungal problems.

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July Garden in the Southern Hemisphere

July means winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

Winter wherever you are is one the prime seasons for citrus. At the farm markets in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile this month look for kumquats, grapefruit, limes, early mandarins, oranges, and tangelos.

Other winter fruits ready for harvest include late apples, avocadoes, and olives. In more tropical regions, the July fruit harvest includes bananas, guavas, feijoa, kiwifruit, and late passionfruit.

Vegetables ready for harvest in July in the southern hemispere are beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, celeriac, Chinese cabbage, corn salad, kale, lettuce, parsnip, peas, purslane, radish, rutabaga (Swede), spinach, turnips, and witlof chicory.

July may be the middle of winter in the cool, temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere but that doesn't mean there is nothing to do in the garden.

Root crops can be planted in the garden now: kohlrabi, carrots, parsnip, potatoes, and garlic. If you get your garlic in the ground now, you will be enjoying it come mid-summer, just a short six months from now.

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June Garden in the Sourthern Hemisphere

The first day of winter will arrive later this month in the southern hemisphere, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and South Africa. Many birds have headed north and nature has finished its preparation for the cooler and cold days ahead.

June is a good month to mulch strawberries and protect them from winter cold. Fall-bearing raspberries and other brambles should be pruned to the ground during June in the southern hemisphere.

If you are growing herbs in containers, you can pinch off sprigs this time of year to remind you of the summer garden. 'Pixie' is a small tomato that you can grow with parsley in an indoor container. Keep that in mind for next winter.

Autumn planted carrots won't be big right now, but they will be sweet. Other winter crops to enjoy are crisphead lettuce, chard, scallions, leeks, Brussels sprouts, and turnips. Winter fruits ready this month include pears, seen above, apples, and citrus fruits.

June is a good time to sit with your seed catalogs and think about next spring.

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May Garden in the Southern Hemisphere

May arrives between autumn and winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

Grays and browns replace the brilliant fall colors of April this month. Nature is beginning its rest time now as the harvest comes to a close.

There still may be a few days of hazy sunshine this month but the first chill and frost are not far away.

As the poet Rober Browning wrote: "Autumn wins you best by this, its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay."

Cool-weather crops can go into the garden this month, if hard frost seldom visits your region. In areas where frost threatens, watch the cool-weather crops planted in late summer and take them from the garden at the peak of their ripeness and before they are stung by a cold snap.

Enjoy the apple harvest as it comes to a close and celebrate the beginning of the cool-weather citrus harvest soon to be under way.

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April Garden in the Southern Hemisphere

Days of warm, hazy sunshine with a fresh autumn tang. Leaves turning colors. The first frost on its way. Birds taking leave for the North. This is April in the southern hemisphere.

Apples and grapes may still be on the tree and vine at the start of April, but by month's end, much of the harvest will be complete. April is the month to bring in the last of the summer crops from the vegetable garden, and now is the time to plant cool-weather vegetables fo late winter harvest.

April was the second month of the year in early Roman times. Julius Caesar changed all that in 46 B.C. when he made April the fourth month. Pope Gregory XIII changed the Julian calendar in 1582. It turns out that Julius Caesar's calendar was 11 minutes and 14 seconds longer than the solar calendar. Pope Gregory's new calendar rectified Julius' mistake which had added 10 days to the year by the start of the 1600s.

Before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, the New Year celebration began March 21 and ended April 1. Pope Gregory's new calendar moved New Year's Day to January 1. Those who persisted in celebrating the new year in April came to be known as April fools. In short order, playing absurd and harmless jokes became a practice on April 1, April Fools' Day.

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March Garden in the Southern Hemisphere

Autumn will arrive in the Southern Hemisphere--Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile--on March 20.

Cool season crops need to be planted as soon as possible: beetroot Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, endive, leek, parsley, parsnip, potatoes, silverbeet (chard), and Swede (rutabaga). Cool weather crops require warm weather to germinate and begin growth. They will mature in the cool weather of autumn and be ready for harvest in late winter and early spring.

Onions should go into the garden now. Onions are day sensitive plants. They will begin their green growth in early autumn and as the days shorten into winter their shoot growth will slow and the plant will redirect its efforts to bulb formation. If you wait too long to plant onions, they will not be far enough along to establish bulb set when the the shortest days of the year come.

Sugar snap and snow peas can be planted now as well as lettuce and spinach. Get these crops in the ground early this month and you will be able to enjoy some tasty green salads in before winter.

The tomato and corn harvest should reach its peak this month. Pumpkins harvested now should be allowed to "cure" in the sun--allowing their skins to harden. Be sure to harvest pumpkins with some of the stalk still attached so that they do not rot.

Apples and pears are also ready for harvest. Harvest these fruits with a bit of leaf and stem still attached. Remember pears do not ripen on the tree. You need to pick them still firm and allow them to ripen on the kitchen counter. Pears that stay on the tree until they are soft will be mealy or woody inside.

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February Garden in the Southern Hemisphere

February is late summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Autumn will come officially to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile on March 21.

Planting slows down in the late summer garden. Spring cabbage can be sown this month and so can parsley for winter harvest. Now is the time for the last sowing of lettuce. Spring cabbage that was sown last month can be transplanted into the garden now.

Harvesting is in full swing in the February summer garden. Lift onions and dry them in the sun before storing. Continue to pick beans, courgettes, squash, and tomatoes as they ripen. Harvest these as they ripen and less mature crops still on the vine will ripen more quickly.

Here is a planting schedule for the southern hemisphere in February:

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January Garden In The Southern Hemisphere

January brings summer holidays in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s midsummer in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.

Australia Day is coming January 26. Australia Day is the official national holiday of Australia. On that day in 1788 the British Admiral Arthur Philip and his fleet of 11 ships arrived in Sydney Cove and set up the Colony of New South Wales. Civic celebrations, music festivals, cricket matches, and fireworks will be the order of the day.

This is the hottest month of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. (This year has been particularly rough in much of Australia where a prolonged drought has emptied many reservoirs and generated more bush fires than usual.) In the more tropical areas of the northern Southern Hemisphere, the rainy season should begin soon.

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June Planting in the Southern Hemisphere

June is the slowest time of the year in the gardens of the cool, temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere—Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. Winter starts on June 21.

The spring planting season is not that far away, so now is the time to clean up around the garden and get ready for the busy season. If you live in the tropics, now is the beginning of the cool, dry season so now is the time to plant and begin to enjoy cool-season crops.

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April Harvest in the Southern Hemisphere

April is time to bring in the fall crops in the Southern Hemisphere. A few fruits such as apples, pears, and grapes are still on the trees and vines in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, and Uruguay. Many apples are harvested in April.

The last of the warm season fruits and vegetables should be coming to the farm market this month. Look for fat tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cucumber, and corn. Pumpkins that were cut and “cured” in the sun in the past few weeks will start coming to market this month and so will potatoes.

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March Harvest in the Southern Hemisphere

March is harvest time in the Southern Hemisphere. Autumn will come officially in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile on March 21.

Beans are harvesting now. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and corn can be picked now. Your potato harvest can begin as soon as the foliage dies back. Pumpkins can be cut with the stalk attached and “cured” in the sun for several days before taking them into storage.

Apples and pears will be coming to harvest soon. Be sure to pick them with a bit of leaf and stem attached so that they will continue to ripen indoors.

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March Planting In The Southern Hemisphere

Fall is just a week away in the Southern Hemisphere, so now is the last chance to get fall and winter crops into the garden before the cool weather arrives. Autumn weather in the Southern Hemisphere—Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile—lasts from March until early June.

Planting while the weather is still warm will give cool-weather vegetables a chance to get established before the days grow shorter. If you plant now, you will have an abundant harvest from late winter to spring.

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February Planting In The Southern Hemisphere

There is still plenty of warm weather left in the Southern Hemisphere this month before summer comes to a close in March. That means it is important to water consistently to enhance the final development of fruits and vegetables and to make sure they don’t split in hot weather. Now is the time to place a layer of mulch around the base of citrus and berries. And you can still get in one more planting of capsicum seedlings and beans in the cooler regions.

But the days are starting to grow shorter in the temperate and cooler regions and the time is now to begin planting cool weather and winter crops like cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and peas.

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