Grow your own vegies?

[AstralTraveller]

I notice from another thread that there are some amateur horticulturalists at IIS. I've just returned to vegie gardening so I thought I'd conduct a quick survey of who is growing what and with what success.

I moved into my new place on 1 June and put in the first vegies on 1 Aug. I'm trying to follow the advice of my wife's cousin who plants a little bit on the first of each month to ensure a steady supply and avoid gluts. That first planting had mixed results. The cos lettuce has been and gone but the tomatoes are still green and beans are just flowering, very lightly.The Sept planting has given us zucchini, some cucumber and the corn should be ready soon, though I suspect it will be pretty poor. We are getting lettuce from the Oct planting but some of that planting was lost when first high wind then the birds killed some tomato, basil and capsicum seedlings. I had to replant. The silver beet, cabbage and climbing beans are starting well. Finally in November I put in some more zucchini and butternut pumpkin.

I've planted perennial herbs amongst the ornamentals. The parsley, spring onions and sorrel are doing well. The coriander and dill went well but bolted to seed and I'm yet to see whether they recover - I've been told that the coriander won't. The tarragon is just starting to grow. Out the front I've got a raised bed that is quite dry. I've tidied it up and planted rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano. They have all taken but are still very small. Finally, I rescued some half-dead strawberries and, after putting up some bird protection, we have been getting about half a dozen beautiful plump ripe strawberries every day for a few weeks.

That tale took longer than I expected. What's your story?? :thumbsup:

[Wavytone]

I'm another... We have a community veggie patch which in reality is used by just 3-4 keen residents, and the best part is we can enlist our gardener for the heavy lifting.

Ours is about 5 metres x 15 metres and we keep it chock full so weeds don't get much of a chance.

We have a Nagami cumquat, lemon, australian lime, kafir lime all espaliered against a wall at the back, then the tall things like corn and tomatoes, progressively lower things at the front.

Only problem we had is the flying foxes which will take any fruit the size of a Roma tomato or cucumber, so things have to be small.

As per your wife's cousin, yes we plant a few things each month so the output is progressive, rather than having stuff going to waste one week and nothing the next. Lettuces, various spicy salad greens, baby beets and tomatos especially.
Rhubarb does well, four plants are enough for a steady supply. Also some things can be picked and will re grow quickly that might surprise you - spring onions, fennel, English spinach - usually no need to replant these.

We tried pumpkins, cucumbers, eggplants and zucchinis last year - pretty disappointing results - so won't bother with these again.

[Ric]

Hi David

Another gardener here, I have just over a quarter acre vege patch with Tomatoes, Corn, Peas, Beans, Lettuce, Spinach, Garlic, Onions, Chillies, Rockmelon, Watermelon and Pumpkins.

The Garlic and Onions will be ready in a few weeks so those beds will be rejuvenated and one will be made into a permanent bed for the Asparagus.

I follow the principles of Permaculture so my gardens are almost fully organic. I also use only Heirloom seeds which are genetically natural and without interference from big business.

Cheers

[Starless]

We are also doing some home agriculture.

3 varieties of apples, passionfruit, blackberry, rasberry, strawberry, tomatoes, capsicum, celery, carrots, radishes, butter beans, peas, spring onions, garlic, chilli, cucumbers, baby spinach, parsley, chives, mint, and basil.
The apple trees are in half wine barrels, the rest are in raised beds or pots with the exception of the passionfruit, in the ground against the back fence.

We also grow alfalpha sprouts in doors.

[el_draco]

My family will be self sufficient in about a year. Just about to set up the mother of all vege patches, 100 sqm. That will mirror the orchard/berry patch thats about to go in.

Hate supermarkets and despise the genetically murdered junk they sell. We also get to make booze out of the surplus :thumbsup:

[michaellxv]

At the beginning of the year I converted our disused aviary into a vegie patch which has the advantage of protection from birds and the dog.

I had a good crop of lettuce through winter and some of the beetroot worked. Carrots were tiny but tasted good. Cauli and broc failed.

Now I have tomatoes, corn, peas, cucnumber, zucchini and pumpkin in and I also added bed outside the aviary. First season so we will see how it goes.

I was worried about water usage but I just got my bill and usage is about the same as last year.

Some herbs in large pots are doing well. Had them for a couple of years now. Corriander does self seed and come back if you leave it alone.

[ZeroID]

On the side of a volcano so our soil is very fertile but doesn't hold water at all.
So we have tended to go with lots of herbs, being expensive to buy but easy to manage. Veges are reasonably cheap and fresh in the supermarkets over here. Citrus do well so Lime, Orange and Lemon trees, a Bay tree for bay leaves of course. Rosemary, sage, garlic, mint, oregano, parsleys, thyme, dill, chives. I've just put in a watering system for capsicums and chillis in an area that is normally bone dry.
I had to do a lot of mulching and composting to get some of the soil to hold water finally. Plus we have an avocado tree and an olive tree, neither of which have produced much but are very shady and decorative.
A poor soil area is also now covered with wild strawberries which was a throwout from a couple of hanging baskets, accidental bonus planting.
About the only vege I can grow is self seeded spinach up in the watered area.
We use a lot of herbs, limes and lemons so we do quite well cost wise for the investment we've put in.

Also collect rainwater for the deck plants, probably full of bits of meteor dust off the roof.

[rally]

We have a patch its probably about 60-70m2 all told - its terraced into the hill.

Seasonally we have
Carrots, 5m2 strawberries, asparagas, tomatoes (2-4 types), corn pumpkin, watermelon, capsicum, potatoes, zucchini, peas, beans, broccoli mostly fails, lettuces 2 types, chillis x 2, cucumbers that usually fail, beetroot, spring onion, silverbeet and some others I cant remember
We have a variety of fruit trees
Orange 2 types, lemon 2 types, mandarin, lime, avocado 2 types (yet to fruit), apricot, nectarine, plum, cherry plums, quince, peach, apple x 3, passionfruit, blackberry (wild), raspberry.
Millipedes, Lorikeets and Rosellas are our worst enemies
The Millis can be controlled with snail bait and the birds - well you just have to be quick !
We have most of the usual herbs growing in the veggie patch or in pots and other garden patches with other ornamentals and a hedge of rosemary.

We dry, freeze and preserve some of the surplus, and give it away when it floods in but really we are a long way from self sufficiency - the timing and seasonal availability is what is difficult to become truly self sufficient.

But its a worthwhile pursuit and helps teach the kids that food doesnt come from cans or get made in supermarkets !

[Starless]

Astronomy and agriculture, not much has changed for a few
thousand years.:)

[Allan_L]

Small backyard so small vegie Patch, but we have at the moment
Spinach (Silver beet, and Rainbow Chard))
Shallots (spring onions)
Cucumber (2 varieties)
Zucchini
Green Beans (Lazy housewife and snake beans)
Onions (Potato Onions, Walking Onions, Brown Onoins)
Garlic
And just recently Tomatoes. (5 varieties - incl cherry tomatoes yum!)
Lettuce (Baby COS)
Plus Parsley and Chives

Earlier we had Cauliflower and Broccoli, they were slow but good eating.

Also a Lemon Tree and Orange Tree but they don't do much.

[traveller]

I built a couple of wicker beds for our vege patch
http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s4010599.htm
It absolutely works. The water can last a week in summer when we go away.
Lots of manure (we also have chooks) and compost and don't forget the rest and rotation policy (seeds-leaves-fruits).
Basically sow seeds/legumes first (beans, snow peas etc), they lock in nitrogen into the soil.
Then sow leafy greens, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, which will thrive in the nitrogen (chook poo has lots of nitrogen also, but needs to be rotted down).
Then rest the bed, and add manure and compost and sow fruit type of plants (tomatoes, eggplant, zucchinis etc).
Have a worm farm handy and use the worm juice into the wicker bed, you will never look back.
Bo

[gaa_ian]

Small scale for me.
A good patch of lemongrass at the front door, Thai Coriander, some struggling Paw-Paw & passionfruit. We did grow a good crop of Non GM Roma Tomatoes though recently though :-)

[AstralTraveller]

Be careful with that stuff. I knew a bloke who was arrested for possession of a pound of lemongrass tea. He spent a night in the clink waiting for the forensic results to come back. :lol:

[gaa_ian]

I had better be careful, I do live in Cairns FNQ !
:question:

[Ric]

Strange you should mention that.

I was given a "gardening by the Moon" chart where you plant crops according to different phases of the Moon. I thought it was a bit of hocus-pocus but gave it a go.

I was very surprised that not only did the veges grow better but they have been more resistant to diseases and bugs.

There is truth in some of these old tales.

[rustigsmed]

that's very interesting Ric, i'll have a search for that.
I have a unit, and in a wine barrel and a couple of pots, cherry & grape tomatoes, rosemary, basil, thyme, eggplant, capsicum, chilli, strawberries and garlic. I only really have the garden going over summer however.

The dream is to go off the grid one day (energy, water, waste water, vegies, herbs, eggs and fruit). That won't kick off for probably about 10 years however.

cheers

rusty

[Robert9]

Hi all fellow Green Thumbs.
Good to hear that veggie patches are still alive and well. I have a small patch of about 30sq.m. in which I tend to grow a few of a lot. This way I avoid a glut (except of zucchini which always go berserk with produce though there is nothing like a zucchini cake to use it up! :D) Also plant sweet-corn, tomatoes (of course) - I like the grafted varieties partic. Truss, which give a lot of fruit from a few plants. :)
Also have success with peas, beans and silver-beet. Plenty of lettuce and spring-onions in summer; also burp-less cucumber. Cauliflower and cabbage both give good results through winter although with these there can be a glut problem. My wife makes coleslaw with the cabbages which unlike cooking, doesn't use shrink it down.
Main problem are the black-birds which insist on pecking at the tomatoes; have to keep them under a net.
I have a rain-water tank but at the rate our rainfall isn't coming this year, I fear that town-water will be needed - and very soon too!:(
Robert

[gaa_ian]

Yep .... these plant by the moon guides are the most esoteric product I sell ... and people swear by them !

[rogerg]

Interesting I saw that episode but passed it off. We have a corrugated tin raised garden bed that struggles to sustain any vege's most of the year because it dries out and heats up too quickly. You've got me wondering about converting it in to a wicker bed. :question:

[rustigsmed]

It sounds like a good gift ;)

[ZeroID]

Forgot to mention my main 'vege', the grape vine over our deck. Albany Surprise, a rather sweet dark skin eating grape. Deck coverage is about 3m x 8m and the vine not only provides us with summer shade and a natural air con cooling effect into the house but about 100 kgs of delicious grapes each year.
I normally make about 20 -25 jars of grape jelly cos no way could we eat that amount. It goes on my morning porridge all year and I take in about 10 -15 kilos to work and give it away.
Winter it loses the leaves and gets pruned and we get the sun back into the lounge.

[gaa_ian]

WOW ...sounds awesome. Are the grapes no good for homemade Wine ? :cheers:

[ZeroID]

Unfortunately no, tried it once but the results were less than ideal. Wrong sort of grapes in the sugar\acid balance.

[AstralTraveller]

Interesting replies. I imagined there would be even more gardeners out there. Having a quarter acre of garden sounds great, that's my whole house block!

This gardening by the moon is intriguing. If it isn't bunkum I can only imaging it has something to do with stimulating (or suppressing) plant hormones. I wonder if it works under near-continuous cloud cover? (BTW Back in the day I knew people who did all of their gardening by moonlight. ;))
No one has mentioned companion planting. At least it has a clear and believable basis. I'm trying it as much as I can in a small garden. I know the tomato & basil combination is believed to work but does anyone have experience with other combinations, either plant together or combinations to avoid?

[Ric]

Hi David, here's a link that explains it a bit more.

http://www.moongardeningcalendar.com/PDF/Moon%20Traditions.pdf

I'm still learning a bit more about companion planting. I'm told that peas and corn work well. you plant the peas a little later then the corn and use the corn as the climbing platform for the peas, still yet to try it though.

[ZeroID]

Marigolds (I think) keep bugs away from other plants. Pyrethrum Daisies are supposed to be good to for obvious reasons.

[Ric]

Yep, Marigolds work very well.

Beware though they can take over very quickly in only a season or two, wonderful self seeders.

[ZeroID]

Hah ! Yeah, I know, my wife loves them. We end up with about 3rd generation plants each year. Them and some yellow head daisies ( name unknown) which return year after year and ditto some purple flowered thingie.
If I have a bare patch I don't know what to do with I just leave it a week and something will appear, guaranteed !! :lol:
Volcanic soil is so rich just about anything takes off as long as I can keep enough water going to it. Trouble is it is so porous that water it one hour then water it again an hour later ! :rolleyes: