A great article about growing in pots. Aimed at gardening in the northern hemisphere but still full of great information.
Container Vegetable Gardening - Healthy Harvests from Small Spaces
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Week 2-3 Veggie Garden Update
I spent a great day in the garden today, preparing our backyard for bulbs that I bought during the week along with general work in the veggie garden. All of the plants are doing well, with the exception of a couple of broccoli plants that have been nibbled by what appears to be nocturnal snails! The snow peas are doing incredibly well and I have already begun harvesting lettuce leaves for my weekday lunches. The baby spinach and shallots are also doing well - I spent a bit of time today thinning the spinach seedlings out. They are now spread across four pots so it will be interesting to see how they go. I wasn't sure whether moving them at only two weeks of age would be ok so I have left a heap in the initial pot just in case. I have also taken the top off the makeshift greenhouse now that the seeds have sprouted and covered them with cheesecloth to deter any birds or possums that might want to have a nibble. It was nice to have Arrow and her friend from next door, Mirin, helping out today! Mirin was keen to check out the rolled oats I had put around the broccoli to deter the snails!
So I also planted the first of our bulbs into the garden today, the Dutch Irises, that don't require any chilling prior to planting. I have planted in four sections of the garden, three bulbs per area so it will be interesting to see how they go. We have put a packet of tulips in the crisper in the fridge to chill for at least 4 weeks prior to planting out the front of the house.
It's so nice to be able to get out into the garden, particular on days like we had today. I'm about half way through a great book at the moment in preparation for a course I will be starting next week at CERES - I'm very excited! I'll be doing an Introduction to Permaculture course over two weekends which will be lots of fun. I highly recommend, if you are interested in the topic, reading 'The Basics of Permaculture' by Ross Mars. A very easy but interesting read!
PS Thanks to my boyfriend Dan for taking the photos today!
So I also planted the first of our bulbs into the garden today, the Dutch Irises, that don't require any chilling prior to planting. I have planted in four sections of the garden, three bulbs per area so it will be interesting to see how they go. We have put a packet of tulips in the crisper in the fridge to chill for at least 4 weeks prior to planting out the front of the house.
It's so nice to be able to get out into the garden, particular on days like we had today. I'm about half way through a great book at the moment in preparation for a course I will be starting next week at CERES - I'm very excited! I'll be doing an Introduction to Permaculture course over two weekends which will be lots of fun. I highly recommend, if you are interested in the topic, reading 'The Basics of Permaculture' by Ross Mars. A very easy but interesting read!
PS Thanks to my boyfriend Dan for taking the photos today!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Having spent time on the weekend searching for resources on planting and sowing I thought it would be great to share some of my finds with you! Below are a selection of web resources that I have found really helpful as a novice vegetable gardener.
The Veggie Guide is an interactive website produced by Gardening Australia that shows you what to plant when for your region.
The Permaculture Research Institute website provides a wealth of knowledge and supports the sharing of knowledge and resources. This Companion Planting Chart is a great resource for your organising your veggie garden.
The Backyard Gardeners Blog
A local Melbourne urban gardener sharing his experiences in his organic backyard garden.
Sustainable Self Sufficient Gardening
Research blog focussing on what influences the Melbourne community's ability to garden for self sufficiency in a sustainable manner - very interesting.
The Urban Vegetable Patch
An Australian blog focussing on veggie gardening in an urban environment.
Grow Harvest Cook
A gorgeous blog written by four talented Australian ladies.
The Cheap Vegetable Gardener
Thrifty ideas for growing your own veggies at home.
iGrowVeg
An excellent website for the beginner gardener. Back to basics information on planning your vegetable garden, sowing and growing.
The Veggie Guide is an interactive website produced by Gardening Australia that shows you what to plant when for your region.
The Permaculture Research Institute website provides a wealth of knowledge and supports the sharing of knowledge and resources. This Companion Planting Chart is a great resource for your organising your veggie garden.
The Backyard Gardeners Blog
A local Melbourne urban gardener sharing his experiences in his organic backyard garden.
Sustainable Self Sufficient Gardening
Research blog focussing on what influences the Melbourne community's ability to garden for self sufficiency in a sustainable manner - very interesting.
The Urban Vegetable Patch
An Australian blog focussing on veggie gardening in an urban environment.
Grow Harvest Cook
A gorgeous blog written by four talented Australian ladies.
The Cheap Vegetable Gardener
Thrifty ideas for growing your own veggies at home.
iGrowVeg
An excellent website for the beginner gardener. Back to basics information on planning your vegetable garden, sowing and growing.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Week 1 Veggie Garden
So we start in early April, Autumn in Melbourne. Melbourne's climate is quite well suited to Autumn planting - quite different to Canberra where frosts are frequent meaning that many vegetables cannot be grown during this time. Well, they probably could be grown but would need a lot of care to ensure they weren't frost bitten and received enough sunlight throughout the day.
I went down to CERES over the weekend for the first time - I'm not sure how many of you might have heard about this wonderful place before? It's such an inspiring place and I urge you all to head down there if you live in Melbourne.
http://www.ceres.org.au/
They have a wonderful food market on Saturdays selling organic vegetables that they have grown onsite along with vegetables grown by other local organic gardeners. They also have an organic food shop, supplying a variety of grains, eggs, and other organic store cupboard items. What interested me the most this weekend was their nursery - my mission was to buy a selection of seedlings to plant to get my autumn gardening up and going. They sell not only organic seedling produced onsite, but other seedlings for a vast array of vegetables and flowers.
I love snow peas, and was determined to give them a go in the garden. I have had success with them before in Canberra, but haven't grown them in pots before. As long as they have a trellace to grow on apparently they are very easy to grow in pots and only require a weekly feeding of seaweed solution to grow happily and healthily.
We had a spare polystyrene box that was perfect to slide the pots in and to hold a sheet of metal mesh to act as a trellace for the vines. I hear that it isn't wise to grow plants directly in polystyrene boxes as nasy chemicals leech out into the soil - not sure about this as many people do grow in them? I had picked up a few free pots from CERES anyway so thought it best to just grow in them instead. Another tip that I thought was great was to plant a quick growing veggie alongside your peas, like lettuce, that will provide whilst the peas are growing (I planted some butter lettuce!).
The other vegetable that I love and thought would be worth trying in Autumn is broccoli! CERES have grown their own broccoli and snow pea seedlings so I thought it would be great to get a head start and plant these straight in the ground. Two to a pot - it will be interesting to see whether they are overcrowded in the pots? Time will tell! We're really lucky to have a north facing courtyard, so I have tried my best to position the pots in spots that receive the most amount of light during the day. With a two storey townhouse nextdoor to us it can be tricky to find areas that aren't in shade for the majority of the day. The peas are in prime position, with the broccoli positioned to the west receiving most of the morning sun up until about 12-1pm in the afternoon.
The following weekend I went down to Bunnings and bought a couple of packets of seeds and have had them germinating in a make-shift hot house made from a clear storage container with holes drilled in the top and bottom for drainage and ventilation. It has worked a treat and as you can see the seeds have already sprouted! I have planted spring onions and baby spinach, both of which we eat a lot of which is great. I think its really important to have a steady supply of the vegetables you know you already eat, along with a few different vegetables that you would like to try. My aim is to grow most of the vegetables we eat all the time, and dapple with a few different varieties here and there.
You can see the large sprouts are the baby spinach that sprouted in less than 5 days (the packet said they would in 10-14 days!). I think the hot house is definitely doing its job! The spring onions have only just started peeping their heads up a week after sowing. The pictures below are of the broccoli, snow peas and lettuce a week after planting - they're doing well. No sign of pests yet (only a few nibbles here and there). I have tried to water all of the seedlings everyday and provided them with a seasol feed once a week as well.
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I went down to CERES over the weekend for the first time - I'm not sure how many of you might have heard about this wonderful place before? It's such an inspiring place and I urge you all to head down there if you live in Melbourne.
http://www.ceres.org.au/
They have a wonderful food market on Saturdays selling organic vegetables that they have grown onsite along with vegetables grown by other local organic gardeners. They also have an organic food shop, supplying a variety of grains, eggs, and other organic store cupboard items. What interested me the most this weekend was their nursery - my mission was to buy a selection of seedlings to plant to get my autumn gardening up and going. They sell not only organic seedling produced onsite, but other seedlings for a vast array of vegetables and flowers.
I love snow peas, and was determined to give them a go in the garden. I have had success with them before in Canberra, but haven't grown them in pots before. As long as they have a trellace to grow on apparently they are very easy to grow in pots and only require a weekly feeding of seaweed solution to grow happily and healthily.
We had a spare polystyrene box that was perfect to slide the pots in and to hold a sheet of metal mesh to act as a trellace for the vines. I hear that it isn't wise to grow plants directly in polystyrene boxes as nasy chemicals leech out into the soil - not sure about this as many people do grow in them? I had picked up a few free pots from CERES anyway so thought it best to just grow in them instead. Another tip that I thought was great was to plant a quick growing veggie alongside your peas, like lettuce, that will provide whilst the peas are growing (I planted some butter lettuce!).
The other vegetable that I love and thought would be worth trying in Autumn is broccoli! CERES have grown their own broccoli and snow pea seedlings so I thought it would be great to get a head start and plant these straight in the ground. Two to a pot - it will be interesting to see whether they are overcrowded in the pots? Time will tell! We're really lucky to have a north facing courtyard, so I have tried my best to position the pots in spots that receive the most amount of light during the day. With a two storey townhouse nextdoor to us it can be tricky to find areas that aren't in shade for the majority of the day. The peas are in prime position, with the broccoli positioned to the west receiving most of the morning sun up until about 12-1pm in the afternoon.
The following weekend I went down to Bunnings and bought a couple of packets of seeds and have had them germinating in a make-shift hot house made from a clear storage container with holes drilled in the top and bottom for drainage and ventilation. It has worked a treat and as you can see the seeds have already sprouted! I have planted spring onions and baby spinach, both of which we eat a lot of which is great. I think its really important to have a steady supply of the vegetables you know you already eat, along with a few different vegetables that you would like to try. My aim is to grow most of the vegetables we eat all the time, and dapple with a few different varieties here and there.
You can see the large sprouts are the baby spinach that sprouted in less than 5 days (the packet said they would in 10-14 days!). I think the hot house is definitely doing its job! The spring onions have only just started peeping their heads up a week after sowing. The pictures below are of the broccoli, snow peas and lettuce a week after planting - they're doing well. No sign of pests yet (only a few nibbles here and there). I have tried to water all of the seedlings everyday and provided them with a seasol feed once a week as well.
.JPG)
Welcome to Harvesting in Hawthorn! I hope you find my ramblings about my gardening adventures both informative and entertaining as I undertake a years worth of vegetable gardening in our inner city courtyard in Melbourne. Having recently dappled in a bit of home vegetable gardening, I thought it might be fun to seasonally chronical my success (or otherwise!) growing vegetables in a small north facing courtyard in our lovely suburb of Hawthorn. I hope the blog serves not only as a learning experience for me as a novice gardener, but will provide you with some entertainment and enjoyment along the way. I hope you might be able to provide me with advice along the way too!
So a years worth of vegetable gardening - an exciting challenge! I really love gardening - there's something about it that resonates with me. Whether its just being able to get into the sunshine every so often, or whether its seeing something you plant thrive and provide you with wonderful produce. Its something that I have enjoyed doing for much of my life. My grandparents have always been keen gardeners, something that has been passed onto my Mum and subsequently onto me. Its an interest that both Mum and I share, and I have always loved heading into the nursery with her to just look around
Having grown up in Canberra in a house on a reasonably large block, I have had to readjust to living in smaller houses with courtyards and less garden to tend to. Working full time means I just wouldn't have the time to tend to a large backyard anyway, so having smaller yards has been perfect for me. The last share house I lived in had a small courtyard, with small garden beds that allowed for a few herbs to be grown along with a few tomato plants grown in summer. This was great, and I loved having fresh home grown tomatoes to eat straight from the vine. Having moved in with my boyfriend in Hawthorn, we have a similar sized courtyard but much less usable garden bed space. We have a very low maintenance garden which is wonderful, but means that if I were to grow any vegetables in the garden I would have to grow them in pots. I'm sure there are many people in this situation. I have been told that it is possible to grow a bountiful crop of vegetables, just grown in pots, so I am taking this on as a challenge! Bring on twelve months of experimenting with seed germination and plant tending! I hope you enjoy it as much as I will!
So a years worth of vegetable gardening - an exciting challenge! I really love gardening - there's something about it that resonates with me. Whether its just being able to get into the sunshine every so often, or whether its seeing something you plant thrive and provide you with wonderful produce. Its something that I have enjoyed doing for much of my life. My grandparents have always been keen gardeners, something that has been passed onto my Mum and subsequently onto me. Its an interest that both Mum and I share, and I have always loved heading into the nursery with her to just look around
Having grown up in Canberra in a house on a reasonably large block, I have had to readjust to living in smaller houses with courtyards and less garden to tend to. Working full time means I just wouldn't have the time to tend to a large backyard anyway, so having smaller yards has been perfect for me. The last share house I lived in had a small courtyard, with small garden beds that allowed for a few herbs to be grown along with a few tomato plants grown in summer. This was great, and I loved having fresh home grown tomatoes to eat straight from the vine. Having moved in with my boyfriend in Hawthorn, we have a similar sized courtyard but much less usable garden bed space. We have a very low maintenance garden which is wonderful, but means that if I were to grow any vegetables in the garden I would have to grow them in pots. I'm sure there are many people in this situation. I have been told that it is possible to grow a bountiful crop of vegetables, just grown in pots, so I am taking this on as a challenge! Bring on twelve months of experimenting with seed germination and plant tending! I hope you enjoy it as much as I will!
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