Stephen Albert
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.
Now is the time to sow outdoors cool season vegetables: cabbage, cauliflower, celery, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli. Other vegetables you can sow outdoors this month include: artichoke, beets, carrots, cress, endive, gooseberry, kohlrabi, lettuce, radishes, spring onions, parsnip, potato tubers, radish, rhubarb crowns, rutabaga, salsify, spinach, Swiss chard, turnips, and Witloof chicory.
Indoors, you can start warm season vegetables: tomatoes, eggplant, squash. Start seeds in flats, give them full sunlight, and then be sure to transplant them to pots as soon as they become crowded or get their second pair of leaves.
Bare-root and Fruit: Prune winter-damaged fruit trees. Limit pruning of spring-flowering fruit trees to the removal of suckers and winter-damaged or crossing branches to save blossom buds. Apply dormant oil spray to fruit trees before the buds break.
Plant deciduous fruit trees while dormant. When the ground is workable, plant bare-root berry bushes, grapevines, and asparagus. Also plant citrus this month. Fruit trees will begin to bloom this month. Feed established trees, apply iron chelates if necessary.
Set out new strawberry plants. In six weeks, feed them with fish emulsion or rich compost. Pick off all flowers until mid-June.
Raspberries require more water than other cane berries because they root more shallowly. When set out, cut canes off to 4 to 6 inches (10-15 cm). When new growth is 1 foot (30 cm) high, nip off 2 inches (5 cm) to cause branching. Tie up berry canes for easier harvesting.
Grapes: Tie up branches of vines planted last year. Provide support for those planted this year. Cut off all branches when planting, allowing only one cane to develop.
Here is a planting schedule by region for the Southern Hemisphere in September:
Temperate regions: Vegetables: artichoke suckers, beans, beet, cabbage, cape gooseberry, sweet pepper, carrot, celery, chicory, chayote, cress, cucumber, eggplant, endive, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, courgette, melons, mustard, spring onion, parsnip, peas, potato tubers, pumpkin, radish rhubarb crown, rosella, salsify, Swiss chard (silverbeet), squash, sweet corn, sweet potato, tomato, zucchini. Herbs: basil, borage, caraway, chamomile, chervil, chicory, chilies, chives, coriander, dill, fennel, garlic, hyssop, lemon balm, oregano, parsley, thyme.
Tropical and subtropical northern regions: Vegetables: beans, beets (beetroot), buckwheat, cabbage, cape gooseberry, capsicum (sweet pepper), carrot, celery, Chinese cabbage, choko (chayote), cress, cucumber, eggplant, fennel, lettuce, marrow, melons, mustard, okra, parsnip, peas, potatoes, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb crowns, rosella, salsify, silverbeet (Swiss chard), spring onion, squash, strawberry runners, sweet corn, sweet potato, tomato, zucchini. Herbs: basil, borage, caraway, chamomile, celeriac, chervil, coriander, dill, garlic, hyssop, lemon balm, marjoram, oregano, parsley, salad burnet, thyme.
Cooler southern regions: Vegetables: artichokes, beet, cabbage, cape gooseberry, sweet pepper, carrot, celery, cress, endive, kohlrabi, lettuce, spring onion, parsnip, peas, potato tubers, radish, rhubarb crowns, salsify, Swiss chard (silverbeet), rutabaga (Swedes), tomato, turnips. Herbs: basil, borage, caraway, celeriac, chamomile, chervil, chives, coriander, garlic, hyssop, lemon balm, oregano, parsley, salad burnet, thyme.
Here is a roundup of vegetables and fruits ready for harvest during September in the Southern Hemisphere:
Vegetables: artichoke, asparagus, beet, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, celeriac, celery, Chinese cabbage, kale, lettuce, parsnip, peas, purslane, radish, rhubarb, Swiss chard (silverbeet), spinach.
Fruit: avocado, banana, cape gooseberries, grapefruit, lemons, limes, mandarins, navel oranges, passionfruit, tamarilloes, tangelos.
