Annabel Langbein's February Garden

In the pickling garden I planted for my Through the Seasons TV series last year, the winter soup beans and cucumbers are now fully fruited. I like making crisp gherkins and bread and butter pickles with the cucumbers. As for the beans, I leave them on the vine for another month to fully mature and dry out so they can be stored in jars for winter soups and stews. It’s so satisfying having my own supply of dried beans – next year I think I’ll try growing lentils as well.

Depending on the climate in your area of the country, late February or March is the time to start planning your next round of planting to keep you going with harvests over autumn and winter. People often forget about planting a winter garden, but it’s so pleasing to go out in the cold and pick cauliflower, leeks or overwintered beets and carrots.

Your spring and summer crops will have used up all the nutrients from the soil so to ensure your winter crops prosper give the soil a good top up feed with compost and sheep pellets before planting. You will need to wait for the soil to cool down a little before planting seeds. If it’s fiercely hot and dry your seeds won’t germinate – they need heat and moisture. An optimum soil temperature of around 18 degrees Celsius serves well to germinate most seed types.
In my Wanaka garden I plant broccoli and cabbage seeds and seedlings at this time of year (planting seedlings seeds gives you a four or five week lead on planting seeds). While it’s still hot you'll need to shade them after planting, so I usually plant them under other plants or pop them in a shady place. Make sure you plant in the cool of the evening, and use Tui Organic Seaweed Plant Tonic to prevent that transplant shock. It really does amazing things for plant roots. Be sure to water in well and every day until your seedlings are established.
It’s still too hot to plant spinach, coriander, rocket, cauliflower and Asian winter greens, such as bok choy, tatsoi and mizuna. Wait until late March plant these varieties.

And don’t forget about the bees, which can often go hungry in autumn and winter. I like to plant phacelia or tansy seeds in autumn. They germinate three or four times throughout the year, bloom for 45-60 days and continuously produce nectar throughout the day.

Planting Guide for late February/early March

• Beetroot seedlings and seeds – harvest in April or will hold through winter
• Broad bean seeds – harvest in spring
• Carrot seeds – harvest throughout winter
• Brassica seedlings – harvest in autumn
• Fennel seed and seedlings – harvest in autumn and throughout winter
• Lettuce seed and seedlings – harvest in autumn
• Silverbeet seeds and seedlings – harvest in autumn and throughout winter
• Spring onions – harvest in autumn

Although best known as a cookbook author and publisher, Annabel Langbein is also a highly experienced and knowledgeable gardener. She studied horticulture at Lincoln University and for many years has grown her family’s fresh produce in her gardens and orchards in Wanaka and Auckland. Her seasonal harvests are the inspiration for many of the inventive but easy recipes in her latest book and TV series in association with Tui.

Buttercrunch Cucumber Pickles

This is a great way to store a surplus of summer cucumbers so you can enjoy them throughout the winter. A jar makes a great gift.

Prep time: 20 mins + 12 hours standing
Cook time: 15 mins
Makes: 4 large jars

Ingredients

• 3-4 telegraph cucumbers, very thinly sliced (about 12 cups)
• 4 large onions, peeled and very thinly sliced
• ½ cup salt
• 3½ cups sugar
• 4 cups white vinegar
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp celery seed
• 2 tbsp mustard seed
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Method

1. Place sliced cucumber and onions in a large, non-corrosive bowl, sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water.
2. Leave at least 12 hours then drain off all liquid.
3. Place the sugar, vinegar, turmeric, celery, mustard and garlic in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
4. Add the drained cucumbers and onions. As soon as the liquid boils remove from heat and transfer to sterilised jars, leaving 1cm gap at the top.
5. Screw down tightly with sterilised lids and store in a cool place.

Photo credit: Annabel Langbein Media