Stumping

I like to do as little as possible to achieve a given result. If I miss the target, the next time I will add one new action to the sequence. I’ve been ‘advised’ to do all manner of things to achieve a goal. Valiant efforts with all the bibs and bobs, but it becomes difficult to see what elements worked and what did not. When something goes wrong, how do you deduce what area to explore, and how to replicate it somewhere else.

Life is relentless, I can’t afford to repeat things that don’t work, I’m unsure about, or wastes my precious time. So, I approach my garden a little differently than most. I’ve found many benefits to my lazy approach; I’ve saved time and learnt a lot about my veggies.

Cleanup

I don’t clean up my garden at the end of the season. My beds are rarely empty, with vegetables at different stages of growth based on my crop rotation. When it comes time to refresh the beds after 2 years of work, there is always plenty still growing.

Disrupting the delicate structure of the soil is like a Microbe Tsunami. Microbes die, fungal webs are broken, and the soil suffers. The Microbes I have been breeding in my garden beds have done a great job of creating a healthy soil structure and creating nutrient dense tucker for my plants. It seems counter intuitive to rip out plants and disrupt their work. The soil nutrient cycle works best when it is left undisturbed.

Stumping

When it comes to removing old plants from the garden, my preferred method is Stumping. Grab your secateurs and cut the plant off at the base of the stem, maybe 50mm above the mulch. I have used this technique for years and I have learnt something, Brassicas are perennials, not annuals.

If you’ve been playing along at home and eating from your garden this winter, you have been harvesting your Brassicas, Kale, Cabbage, Broccoli and Cauliflower. The healthy plant looks good enough to eat whole after the first harvest. It seems a shame to remove them. I usually don’t and the plants deliver a second smaller harvest. At the end of this season, I stump them, and next season they provide again.

Stumping the plant leaves the soil intact, the roots become part of the garden, and new pathways are created for water and air to move through. Boosting the soil naturally and reducing compaction without mechanical assistance.

Brassicas

As Spring arrives, Brassicas go to seed. I have many varieties growing in my garden, I don’t want them all to go to seed at once, so I cut them down to slow their seed making. I can usually get 3 varieties to set seed in an average Spring. 

My Cabbages are starting to flower now, so is my Kale, so I cut the flowers off one of them to allow the other to produce seed. Sometimes it’s a previously stumped Brassica and is very leggy, so I Stump it and let it come back again to produce seed. This usually buys me enough time between varieties.

Once the variety has produced seed, I Stump it and wait until next season to harvest tucker again. I usually leave a Brassica for 2 years with good success, and a I have a few that are 3 years old. Cabbage, Broccoli and Kale are good for stumping, Cauliflower less so.

As the Stumped plants are in the ground, they will be ready and waiting for the conditions to be correct and then they start to grow. I find that the stumped varieties provide tucker quicker next season than freshly planted seedlings, so I eat winter vegetables sooner.

Celery

Celery is one of our vegetables that takes longer than 90 days to harvest, but it may provide stalks to eat within that time. I never harvest the whole plant as I’m not a market gardener. Instead, I pick one stalk off each plant for the stock pot and one a day for me to munch in the garden. 

I don’t need any more Celery in my garden so when it starts to set seed, it gets a stumping. I need to stump it 2-4 times through spring to avoid seed. It’s the same for Brassicas, when Summer hits and the threat of seed has passed, it will start to grow tucker again. I’ve had some of my Celery for many years and I’ve been eating it all winter.

Peas and Beans

It is important to Stump all vegetables because some roots are more beneficial to the soil. That’s why I grow Broad Beans over winter. I rarely eat them. I love the biomass for compost and they provide nitrifying nodules on their roots just like Peas. Removing the roots will be removing nutrients, and the makers of the nutrients who attach themselves to the nodules. Don’t pull them out, Stump them and leave the roots in the soil. 

This week

Manchurian Pears are in full bloom and starting to produce leaf. The Chinese Elms in the ground have started to produce leaf. Mulberries are producing leaf. The Caladenias are in flower, the first of the orchids on our hill. King Parrots have returned.

Broccoli planted in succession, at the end of May are starting to produce heads, the Broccoli I stumped last spring is still producing. Cabbages stumped last spring are going to seed after producing smaller heads. Lettuce and Spinach providing plenty of leafy greens even though it was planted late in June.

Snow Peas have had a mixed winter. Some planted with friends provided Peas to eat, but most didn’t do well. The possum has munched on the good ones growing up trees. With the subtle arrival of spring, all the Snow Peas have started to grow again with vigour.

The late planting didn’t let them create their own microclimate and thrive through winter. The haggard ones in the garden are now looking great and will out preform a freshly planted seedling, so it is still a win.

Soil temp in my garden has climbed to 12C, a significant jump from 8C only 2 weeks ago. My soil temp may be ready to plant Tomatoes in August for the very first time. Happy Spring!

Stay Awesome

The Gordon Gnohm