April in Annabel's Garden

The first question we ask ourselves each morning is: “Is there a frost?” But until that happens there are still pickings aplenty.

There’s still a lot of heat in the ground, and crops like coriander, rocket, miners lettuce and mache, which I couldn’t get going in the heat of summer, are finally starting to germinate. I always like to leave a plant or two in each row to go to seed – it makes for economical seedlings when the fallen seeds germinate and come up, and I also save the seeds of plants that are especially vigorous.

Nature’s grand slam of leafy fireworks brings with it a sense of urgency – soon all will be bare and barren and freezing cold. Like a squirrel I am busy harvesting pumpkins and digging my main crop potatoes. I leave the potatoes to dry for a day or two before I bag them for the shed, making sure that any I have stabbed or damaged while digging don’t get stored – the “one bad apple ruins the barrel” principle applies also to potatoes!

The black boy peaches and omega plums are the last of the stonefruit crops to be harvested and now it’s time for the apples, pears and quinces to come in.

In warmer climes, this is the time to pick feijoas and passionfruit. There’s so much pleasure in picking fruit fresh from a tree in your own garden, and right now is the perfect the time to plant fruit trees. I love poring over catalogues and websites to look for varieties that will suit my climate. It’s important to select trees for your site conditions. For me, here by the lake, I always avoid early season apricots, as I know from bitter experience they will frost and even die (I’m already three trees down – boo-hoo).

There’s a real sense of ritual in planting a tree, and you need to put the work in to get the ground ready before you start. The rule of thumb is that the hole needs to be twice the size of the tree’s root ball. I always break up the bottom of the hole with a spade so it is easier for the roots to penetrate. I use a blend of compost and soil for planting my trees, and always press really firmly around the roots once the tree is planted to get rid of any air before giving it a good water. It’s important to stake your trees once they are planted, or the wind will move them around and their roots will get damaged.

Now is also the time to take the runners off strawberries and plant them into a good Strawberry Mix. They will become next season’s plants and be fruiting for you in early spring.

Each day until the frosts hit, I can be found up on the hill harvesting. The kitchen looks a bit like a factory – everything I can preserve goes into a jar or the freezer, be it in the form of sauces or pickles, jams or relishes.

The blackberries are in full swing of harvest, as is the rhubarb, so I freeze them together, cutting the rhubarb into small chunks, putting it into containers with a good sprinkle of sugar and piling the blackberries on top – just like that, ready for a winter crumble.

By preserving my autumn harvests, I’ll be set up with lots of good food and the tastes of summer right through the winter. And planting new fruit trees now will bring me new crops for the summer ahead. I think this year’s apple tree to plant is going to be a golden delicious – they taste so good fresh off the tree!

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 books and TV series.

For more great Annabel Langbein recipes see annabel-langbein.com