Winter shade, winter sun and soggy ground have huge impact on the wellbeing of our food gardens – it pays to know them well. Right about now is your opportunity, and as winter only rolls around once a year – I say take it!
When you understand the seasonal variances you can make good choices as to what to plant and where. The lemon, in the photo above, is capturing the late June winter sun from 9.30am. Only just though – see the shade line! But just is all it takes. 2m closer to the house, and it’d be in full shade most of the day – what a difference!
Learn your landscape by simply paying attention to it as you go about your daily life – hanging the washing, walking the dog, doing the dishes – observe the shadows, the sun and the puddles. If you are new to a place and still at the Basemap phase (good on you for taking the time!), note all your discoveries on your map.
- Winter shade is perfect for tool sheds, garages, rengarengas, hellebores and plants that are winter dormant. Deciduous fruit trees and shrubs like currants and berries, are fine with it too, as long as the sun is back on them late winter/ early spring when they gear up to bud.
- Winter sun is super valuable – Avocados, Citrus, Tamarillo’s, wormfarms, compost bins, vegies and the greenhouse all need it. As a minimum, aim for sun from 10am – 2pm. Animal and chicken housing + runs need it too. Don’t leave them languishing in cold winter shade (it’s summer shade, they need.) These are all easy choices when you understand your landscape well.
- Soggy ground and standing water are a key mystery to unravel. Apart from wetland plants, nothing does well on poorly drained ground – not humans, food plants or animals. If you have puddling, flooding or water tracking where it shouldn’t, use this winter to sleuth it out – where does it come from? There may be a simple solution like fixing your gutter, sorting the overflow or planting more trees. Once you know the source, you can start to figure out how to sort it.
