THERE is still plenty of time to plant potatoes, particularly if you live in a frost prone area.
Dig in plenty of well-rotted compost, well-rotted animal manure and blood and bone.
Turn the soil over to at least 20cm deep, then rake it level and knock out any soil clods.
Make some rows about 20cm deep and about half a metre apart.
Put the certified seed potatoes in this, about 40cm apart and backfill with soil.
Water in well.
The shoots will come through in about three to four weeks and you then need to build up the soil around the shoots to cover all but the tip of the shoot.
This soil around the stems leads to potato tuber formation along these underground stems.
Once you have heaped the soil around a couple of times, cover the soil surface with a straw mulch, to prevent the soil from drying out and prevent the light from reaching the developing tubers and making them go green.
Never eat green potatoes as they are poisonous.
Eventually stems will flower and once the shoots start to wither and die down you can carefully lift up the potatoes from under the ground and they'll be ready to cook with.
Plant strawberries now
STRAWBERRIES are available in punnets and small pots in garden centres.
Add lots of rotted compost, as this will help keep the soil moist.
They require a slightly acidic soil, around pH 6-6.5, and a sunny, open location with good drainage.
There are several varieties to choose from, including older varieties such as red gauntlet, torrey and Cambridge rival, but newer varieties such as kunowase, alinta, and hokawase are incredibly sweet.
Plant strawberries 30-40cm apart and mulch with pine needles (great for acidifying the soil) or straw.
These help keep the fruit clean.
Feed regularly with blood and bone and potash during the growing season.
Strawberries hate competition with weeds, so be vigilant in hand weeding from the start. Snails and slugs can be a nuisance, and this is where chooks are great if you have them.
During the non-fruiting season, let the chooks in the strawberry patch to clean up the snails and slugs, and you'll minimise problems late on.
You may need to run a wire frame covered with bird netting over the rows in the fruiting season to prevent the birds from helping themselves.
