Veggie gardens

[Darklight]

Following on from at least one thread elsewhere, the Spring rains seem to be giving rise to a resurgence in veggie garden discussions. I'm interested in hearing other's experiences and hints, though I'd like a fair line drawn between those ideas you have put into practice and those you think might work, so people making plans can distinguish between theory and reality.

In the three years since we got our veggie garden built, the most apparrant benefit has been saving our own seeds. We're now almost totally self sufficient for leafy crops- say 80%- and we've achieved this by keeping seed from the best performing species and individual plants. 80% in one crop only might sound pissweak, but it both reflects the resources ( ie water and time ) we've been able to spare consistently, and it disregards the fact that other crops fluctuate seasonally ( tomatoes ) and sometimes it takes time to find a suitable variety for the garden

When we can't work from saved seed stock, we buy ( and this is a totally shameless plug for their business but I have no idea who they are ) Early Risers Organic Seedlings. Turns out they're local, so a few ppl on the FNC NSW should have access to them. Geez they're good quality seedlings, you just get them at the markets ( Channon, Lismore Organic and maybe Farmer's, a few others ) or Mullum florists.

All the seedlings we've bought from them have thrived and gone onto grow really well, especially considering the drought and the general lassaiz faire watering schedule here. Being NAASA accredited I'm hoping they source their seeds from non-hybrid sources cos we're saving seed from them as we go. My sole and only whiny complaint is that they need a bit more variety within each species, though that may be a bit much to ask of a fledgeling business.

Each punnet is enough to feed two people or more from the crop, the punnets are those nice recycled paper jobbies so you can pull them apart and chuck them in a hole in the ground and water. Whatever it is the seedlings are in is damn good soil too, apparrantly they work out of some organic waste recycling program. If you get a chance, try them out I can't recommend them too highly.

Our only other hints here are to start small and stay that way for a few crop cycles. Its easy to get enthusiastic and put the yards in when establishing beds, if you can keep that sort of energy up over several years and all those changes in life that just happen then that's fucken fantastic. Otherwise you just end up perpetually battling weeds.

[mescalito]

I'm getting off to a later start this year than I wanted to but that's life ;) ...but THE best vege gardens I've had in the past were def. of the no-dig variety simply using newspaper,wheat straw,lucern hay,chook poo and spent mushie compost.They even do well as mounds without edges straight over grass.

Sourced some seed from eden seeds which ya's all know about.

Save some of your favourite root veges from the shops for re-planting.

Plant chillis in pots and move them indoors over winter for a second season but they need to be trimmed up before it gets cold.

Chooks make good pest control but they LOVE to eat your seedlings and scratch up the beds so they can be a pain in the arse.

That's all I can think of atm.

[Rev]

youre all teasing me

it wont let me post:(

[Rev]

Ive been collecting seeds for years and im always trying new ones as well

for the mnost part i plant my own seeds when they are large - like beans peas curcurbits etc becsause they dont transplant well

but healthy commercial punnets ar ethe way i get my earliest stuff in the ground

Ive bought from NRRBS, and bunnings - mainly chillies and strawberry varieties

but i get my punnets from the market gardens via the local mission settlement which is a CDEP project thats quite productive

also these guys are handy

http://www.edenseeds.com.au/content/default.asp

www.diggers.com.au

Step 1

location

sunny at least 5 hours direct sun a day

be carfeul of shading effects from fences and changes in sun trajectory throughout the day

beds are sutuated N-S axis to alloow rows to get more sun

Step 2

eradicate invasive species

The garden was weed infested and dominated by an ancient gnarled and thoroughly rotten pepper tree (Schinus molle) so we had it cut, ground and chipped before it fell on anybody ( and it nearly fell on the treelopper)

The soil was dry , dusty and thoroughly dead looking

the area was sprayed with roundup ti kill the residual kikuyu and rhodes grass runners

i am fine with this style of chemical clearing cos ive built gardens the hard way before and ive done it this way and honestly i think after 6 months i cant tell the difference - excpet im eating veggies earlier from the sprayed one.

you can choose not to use chems but take the advice seriously that you should aim to completely eradicate these suckering, running weeds before going on or they will plague you for years and susbtantially increase a maintenace. This is also the only time youd want to use poisons in the space , well before you put food crops in there.

Step 3

Break the soil

remove tre roots, break up hardpan and dig over thoroughly to at least a spades depth

remove rocks broken glass etc - i found all sorts of shit there

Step 4

Feed the soil

The soil is dead or dormant. I need to wake it up

Its been leached by a very large and old tree for many years and teh soil microflora reflects this

to wake it i need to later the chemical and biological properties of the soil structure

at the moment i have turned over the soil added soybean pod waste, urea, seaweed emulsion, gypsum, Potasium sulphate, lime, superphosphate (100g/m square in good soil, 150g metre square in shit soil) and compost.

basically wahtever you can get ur hands on to increase the food in the soil

These supply the necessary elements to the soil food web as well as sufficioent carbon to start the cycle running - the magic ingredient in this is Molasses with a little urea

molasses in water watered into the soil really gets the microbial pouilations cranking along

try it and youll see the change in the soil. Blackstrap molasses is teh poor mans seaweed.

Coir and composted sawdust have been added to the strawberry patch as extra carbon and to increase acidity for these woodland plants

now water it well and keep moist to let the magic work. It only takes a few weeks and teh soil is already changing due to the microbes eating what you dug in and the community structure will likewise change to a more desirable vegetable one. soils stay moister, have better crumbs and more worms.

step 5

choose what to plant

this is a very individual thing

and the hardest part

the season will dictate what you grow to an extent as will your climate

for example in some most of australia you cant grow lettuce all round without too much effort and resources

so you grow when u can and find suitable alternatives for the other times

Round here lettuce is ideal from late autumn till now. I might pull another crop befeore christmas but its take a polytunnel shadehuse to do it and thick mulch

what id rather do is plant my basella, ipomoea, mollokhea,Parsley, purslane,tat soi, amaranth and other green leaf crops for summer

of these Parsley (eg tabouleh), tat soi, purslane, basella and ipomoea can be eaten raw as they have lower levels of oxalates

the others should be cooked due to oxalates or due to texture

your local economy and water restrictions will also limit you

There is no point growing staples if you live in an area where they are produced cheaply

likewise its better to import the occassional high water use veg if you have no water and concentrate on thing sthat are high quality/value and where you can use most of the plant.

we have a good source of water and we consider a potato patch to be a good use of it. we do gro wthe sebago and desiree because bunningshad $2 boxes of seed potatoes on special but we concentrated on the gourmet one like royal blue, toolanghi delight, kipfler and a purple species. Ones you just can buy and are excellent in salads - and salads are god

u also need to break down to what u like to eat. Personally i like a Lebanese, vietnamese,french,chinese fusion. all these cultures are BIG on veggies and fresh ingredients so it suits...

But if you break it down looking at your shopping bill and recipes first of all. High end but high nutritional crops arent always the hardest to grow and often yield very well, whereas some of the worst ones are tricky!

examples of high value foods that are easy to grow are asparagus, green beans, Cherry tomatoes, Green veg and salad plants.

examples of low nutritional value plants that are tricky are are celery and cucumber.

over the years ive tried all sorts of different plants and specific varieties and tried to incoroprate them into food. I have an extensive library on ethnobotany ad on veggie growing and fruit growing books.

Ill list some of my favourite plants

[Rev]

whats with this slut of a program

fkn 404 not found crap...

wont let me post

deep breaths.. ;)

[Rev]

now im getting 403 forbidden crap...

ive posted a few times here but this has never happenned so i presume its the new program?

[occidentalis]

Awesome info, gets me even more inspired

Personally I'm a big beetroot fan. I just planted a bed of seedlings to start the next crop. ATM I also have warrigal greens, parsleys, a huge cherry tomato patch, various asian brassicas, and several mints.

Thanks Rev and others

[Rev]

Perrennial veggies

Asparagus - easy to grow esp from seed and once established you have it for good. feed it well and learn how its life cycle goes and itll give you plenty of spears in 2 flushes - spring and mid summer. Asparagus is a super health food.Winter dormant

[Rev]

getting this?

anyone know why?

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