Spring Veggie Garden Rebuild
Spring is the time to be out in the garden, particularly the veggie patch. It's the perfect time to prepare, repair and replenish veggie garden beds and plant some new crops for the spring and summer period.
On Tuesday 22nd September 2015, Grounded visited the garden of good friend Stuart Reid and family in Cabarita Beach to renew one of the existing veggie garden beds that we installed 2 years ago. Stuart and wife Sam have always expressed a keenness on growing their own food and making their 'patch' as self-sufficient as they can, and as part of a garden overhaul 2 years ago, productive garden beds were a must. With daughter Alice and twins George and Megan, the Reid's recently spent some time overseas and in their absence the veggie gardens suffered, so it was time to renew and replenish one of the gardens. To help on the day were Stuart, daughter Alice and her cousins Grace and Josie, making it a hands-on family affair.
The Project
Recondition the garden soil with compost and other soil conditioners, plant a new season crop of veggies, and watch their progress through the spring and summer with regular updates. In this way we can monitor growth and deal with issues such as pest and disease control as well, as we move along with a regular update on the gardens progress, week by week.
The Ingredients
Soil conditioners: Soil conditioning, continually adding organic matter to your soil is the key for strong growth with veggies and the products that Grounded use are the best and safest bagged products available. BFA (Biological Farmers Association) certified organic Compost, All in One and enriched Cow Manure from Amgrow provide peace of mind in establishing new or renewing existing veggie gardens. For an extra boost after planting, we will use Amgrow's Organic Xtra pelletised fertiliser which is also BFA certified.
Seedlings: For the start of spring, we decided to plant Lettuce, Shallotts, Baby Spinach, Cucumber, Corn, and Supa Purple Carrots, Tumbling Tiger and Cherry Bite Tomatoes from Pohlmans Nursery.
The Plan
First step is digging through the soil conditioners and turning over the soil to a depth equivalent to a shovel (30 - 50 cm) and tilling the compost etc through the existing soil to build the soil profile. Then its planting time, with the veggies planted to recommended depth in rows and planted so that the plot becomes beneficial. All this was done with the very helpful assistance of Alice and her cousins, Grace and Josie.
Corn provides protection for lettuce and baby spinach on either side and allows cucumbers space to climb. Carrots and shallots are also considered good companion plants, encouraging each others growth.
There are simple ways to get the best out of your veggie garden and in Garden Goodness we are exploring a few of these.
- Some companion planting is a good way to ensure your veggies are content and happy together.
- the use of certified organic soil conditioners is essential for good growth and for the comfort of food safety come harvest time.
- These two elements should also help with pest and disease control as well. Any issues that might arise, we can also look at dealing with in a safe and organic manner.
- The last element is involving kids and family and creating food awareness and a hands-on classroom in the backyard.
So, its now up to the veggies ! We have given them the best start we can and we look forward to seeing great results over the coming months and some great harvests.
See you for Part 2 of Garden Goodness soon.