Welcome to new readers who may have got one
of my Crop Rotation Posters for Christmas. I hope you find it really useful and practical and if it
helps more of you get growing and providing your healthy food for yourself and
your family then I am happy! I have tried to simplify the process so you can
plan ahead and get some sort of system going in the backyard vegetable garden.
This type of gardening is really a form of traditional cottage gardening where
householders mixed flowers, fruit trees, herbs and vegetables along with hens
and often a pig around the house. You really are creating a miniature
environment that will have benefit not just to you but to all of the other
forms of life (birds, bees, bugs etc) who will take up residence and thank you
for making it all possible.
If this is new for you then be prepared to
become a tiny bit obsessed. It gives many of us enormous pleasure to cultivate
the land, sow seed, plant plants and eat what we grow. I used to wonder if it
was a female thing – to nurture and care for - but men seems to be equally smitten. It must really be
something deeply embedded in the human psyche and we experience a form of joy
as we get in tune with it. Mind
you I wouldn’t have said that last week as I was digging heavy damp soil in
what was bare paddock last week. Thank goodness I was out of earshot of any
passersby who might have been alarmed at my loud groans and moans. I am
creating a new garden in a paddock as well as working in a garden on another
property that has been worked for years. The difference between the two just
shows how you can build up and
improve soil by the regular application of compost, manure and mulch until it
is lovely, friable and fertile. The
paddock bed at this stage lacks all of that but it won’t be long and it will be
gorgeous!
So if you are just starting off, the first
thing to keep in mind is to not bite off more than you can chew. Gardening should be a joy not a
burden. Think about your resources
first. You can create a garden by
evolution or by revolution. That is – you can either start with what you have
now and work your way to your goal or you can clear a space and build a new
garden including raised beds, walls, drains and irrigation all in one go.
For the evolutioners, if there is already the remnants of a
previous patch out in the back yard, well sheltered and sited for sun then mark
out your beds according to the plan and make a start. Use what you have available – if there are some old bricks
around or railway sleepers (lucky) then use those to edge the bed. It is really
important whatever you do to be able to get access to mulch. This will make all
the difference to the amount of ongoing work needed. There is an old saying
that “Nature abhors a vacuum” which for the gardener means that nature will
always cover bare dirt with what is available – which, without intervention,
will probably be weeds. If you dig
over a new bed and sow seeds or plant seedlings, it won’t be long before the
weeds start to germinate and pop through. If you are onto it you can hand weed
and hoe them out. But if not the danger is within a few weeks your bed will be
overwhelmed by weeds and the fun will be over. Even grass clippings will suffice as mulch and do a good
job. Keep green mulch away from
touching any seedlings though as they can rot if too close. I use old straw and
love seeing my garden all tucked up against the elements. The good thing is
that it will break down and contribute to the soil so “all things work together
for good” in this instance.
Again if new to this, make sure you plant
things you like to eat. Get the kids out helping you and train them up as well.
Get a garden notebook and note
down when you plant and when you harvest so you build up a picture of your
particular patch. We all garden in
microclimates that can be peculiar to our locality and you will learn what
yours is soon enough. Garden calendars such as the Crop Rotation Poster offer guidelines for planting as will the
backs of seed packets, newspaper columns, magazines and books but it really
comes down to what your particular conditions are like. If you notice a well
tended garden in the neighbourhood,
see if you can befriend the owner – gardeners are usually wonderfully
generous people who enjoy sharing knowledge. That way you can learn about what grows and when in your
area.
If you are keen and have the resources
available then go for revolution!
If you have the right spot for a garden (see some of my earlier posts
about starting out in the vege garden) then why not go the whole hog and end up
with a beautiful raised bed system. If this entails hard landscaping, drainage
and irrigation then it might pay to get a bit of expert help in but if you know
what you are doing you can do it yourself. Do it right and you will not only
create a gorgeous space but it will add value to your property. There are plenty of plants you can still
plant at this time of the year or you can load up the beds with compost, manure
and mulch or green crop and leave for a bit longer. My feeling is once you have
beds ready it’s hard not to resist planting straight away.
Whatever your garden style is get out there
and do it – there are no end to the benefits to you, your family, your
community, the earth and so on.
And you will be joining a growing network of people in making the world
a better place.
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