Edible garden chatter

[briggsy's girl]

I swear there used to be a thread like this, but i just had a beak and couldn't find it, so thought i'd start another one!

we've just done our spring planting (well, some of it) so thought i'd see who else was doing an edible garden this year.

what sort of garden do you have - do you have a dedicated vegie patch or potted plants? what are you growing? do you "companion plant" (i'm looking in to this)? is there anything you really want to plant but not sure how it will go - maybe someone else has some advice for you

so lets get some chatter going - and hopefully we'll be able to share our successes and help each other out when problems come up!

[Mother Goose]

not yet but planning to put one in at the new place!

[briggsy's girl]

ok, should probably post where we're at first I guess

we have a mixture of gardens going on - at the moment we've got a mixture of small pots, big pots, old bath,water features we've turned into planters, and a big garden bed - with plans to add another large garden bed in the next couple of weeks

we have fruit trees in large pots - we are still nipping the fruit off as it develops so the plants can grow a bit bigger first - currently there is apple, nashi pear, peach, nectarine, 2 mandarins, lemon, lime, orange and blood orange

we have potted herbs (chives, mint, parsley), with coriander in the old water feature
chilli sees in the old water feature
strawberries in the other old water feature, and in the old bath we brought from the old house

some capsicums and zucchinis in pots (waiting to go in the ground when the new garden is built)

in the garden we have corn, lots of tomato, lettuce, bean, snow peas, peas, more capsicum, cabbage, cauliflower, brocolli, spring onion and beetroot seedlings, carrot seeds and two small passionfruit plants


we also have some pretty stuff in the garden - potted roses, a potted magnolia, hippeastrums, bearded irises, clivias, snowflakes, some potted seedlings mum bought for DD - and about 125 sunflower seeds to put in the new pretty garden when it comes in to being - can't wait!

[Pholi]

I've got an edible garden which is slowly taking shape. We've only been in the house 18 months, and unfortunately it's been somewhat neglected through my pregnancy, but even so, we're currently harvesting cherry tomatoes, eggplants, spinach, rainbow chard, swiss chard, a range of herbs, and finally the broccoli is almost ready to start enjoying, too. On the way are carrots, beetroot, garlic and red onions, snowpeas and sugarsnaps, chillis, and kale. I have 2 potted blueberries, strawberries and a potted lime, and the lime has set it's first ever fruit this year.

I have a wonderfully sunny stretch along a wall where my brother-in-law has built me a trellis, in exchange for physio treatment I give him, but I'm still waiting for him to find time to come back and dig out the thick root mass from the tree/vine thing that we removed from the spot, so I can get some soil improvement in and plant a few more things out - 2 types of passionfruit and possibly a grapevine! The understory will be mainly perennials - rhubarb, asparagus... ummm not sure what else!

The next major project will be building a set of 4 raised beds on the area of lawn that I have killed under newspaper and mulch, but I really thought that the cherry tomatoes and eggplants which I planted in large cardboard boxes in this space would have died off over the winter... strangely, they're still going strong, and have both fruited right through the winter. At this stage, at best it will be a project to tackle after the baby comes (which is anytime in the next 2 weeks) while DP is on paternity leave, and at worst we might not get to it until next winter!

I've read a bit about companion planting, but am going to focus more on crop rotation once the beds are in.

[Floweryfields]

I have a veggie patch, which I made a 'cover' thingy for this year to keep the cabbage moths at bay without chemicals! Looks like this:004.jpg
I currently am waiting for the winter crop to finish which is cabbage, caulis, spinach and potatoes. When they are done Iwill put in corn, tomatoes and zuchini, possibly snow peas.

[diva det]

I am just starting my edible garden off so i would love to join this thread. I got chickens 6 months ago and have been busy using their straw filled with chicken poo to make compost with so then i can grow my vegies. There was an old vegie patch in our new house but it hasnt been used for years so i am trying to get it filled of worms and goodies ready to start growing some yummies. I have also been worm farming and have over 20lts of worm wee ready to use on my newly composted soil as well!
I am still a few weeks away from planting but i am getting there.
I am swapping some worm wee with a friend for some heirloom seeds so i am going to start sowing them next week in the strawberry punnet containers i have been saving.
we also planted some bare rooted fruit trees last week-Pippin apple, granny smith, galah apple and a nectarine. So they are now in - we also have kafir lime and a lemon
I also have a small cheapy hot house i ws growing herbs in over winter but i am winding it down so i can concentrate on my outdoor gardens- plus my kids put a hole in the plastic so its not sealed unless i use the sticky tape to tape it up lol
so thats us
cant wait to get our gardens started!!

[briggsy's girl]

cover looks good Ausgirl - i'm tempted to do something like that - but it would be a huge project given the bed we have at the moment is 20+ square metres - and the new one will be the same size

[~Kim~]

Oooh us this year. Funny you put this up BG, I was only thinking a few days ago that I should dig it (the thread) up.

We have a lemonade tree, a nectarine and a passion fruit in half wine barrels. We have a raised garden bed with carrots, pumpkin vines (will be moving these out into the garden), cucumbers, tomatoes and blueberries. We also have various herbs and several strawberries. Two are in hanging baskets and one underneath the passion fruit vine. It survived being destroyed by the chooks and has grown back from nothing.

Our seasons and soil are fairly extreme here in the desert so it's easier to manage stuff in pots. DS is so proud of our raised vege bed. We planted and raised the seeds ourselves. No mean feat for a little boy who loves to dig.
Our chooks are now contained in their fortress to stop them decimating everything. When the tomatoes get a bit bigger I will get some marigolds and am going to look into other companions. We are lucky enough to have very few pests and diseases here (cos nothing can survive lol). We don't have a whole lot of viable space but am keen to get as much as we can going. Fruit and veg are tediously expensive here so I will start with the stuff the kids eat the most of and go from there.

[Floweryfields]

I also have a neglected very old mandarin tree in the garden, a lemon in the garden and a baytree in a pot.

[Mother Goose]

I'd love to plant a lemon tree but DH won't let me. Not sure why. We are planning on snow peas, cucumber, tomatoes... I think rhubarb? But think it's the wrong time of year for that? We move this week but won't be able to work on the garden for a few weeks I don't think. Also need to sort drainage as I noticed it pools where we want to plant.

Someone suggested to me Sunflowers... dumb question (I can kill Cactus), but if I plant Sunflowers, how do I get the seeds you eat? Which is what I'd like

[Cass72]

I have a veggie patch, which I made a 'cover' thingy for this year to keep the cabbage moths at bay without chemicals! Looks like this:004.jpg
I currently am waiting for the winter crop to finish which is cabbage, caulis, spinach and potatoes. When they are done Iwill put in corn, tomatoes and zuchini, possibly snow peas.

OOh, that's clever! I'm printing it off so DH can build one on the weekend!

[Cass72]

We have our "winter" crop in: cabbage, cauliflower, silverbeet, brussel sprouts. We've had some really heavy frosts so are waiting another couple of weeks before we put in our new seedings. I want to actually design our "summer" garden so it looks pretty as well as functional.

I'm also putting lots of herbs into big pots so I can move them around - also we are renting so can take them with us.

Roll on summer.... I long for the taste of homegrown, vine-ripened tomatoes, warmed by the sun that pop when you bite into them and dribble down your chin.... oooh, sounds a little naughty doesn't it?!

[Rivlas]

We plant peas, all sorts, beans and carrots for the boys to pick and eat. They are hardy so great for children. For a novelty plant rolly polly carrots. They don't go very deep so good soil that isn't in great shape.

For ourselves we grow zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes, corn - it needs alot of water, onions, strawberries, spuds and lettuce. If you grow lettuce, the ones like cos are great for picking as you need. Let one go to seed, collect the seed and you can plant it nearly all year. We have it on the deck near the back door so it's handy. This yea we want to try sweet potatoes

If you find holes in your veggies and cannot see snails look for green grubs. They can be hard to see and do alot of damage.

In the ground we have grafted apple trees, nectarine, mandarin, peach, lemon and rhubarb. I am also trying a pomegranate in a self watering pot.

If you grow veggies in a pot make sure the saucer to a size or two larger than the pot as this seems to help stop them quickly drying out. Another thing we do is after planting the seedlings and watering them is place a thick layer of straw, we use sugar cane mulch. this keeps the snails away and keeps moisture in

[Mother Goose]

oooo thanks BG and ausgirl! I might have to get some of those seeds!

BG - I desperately want to grow watermelon too - but DH says no because of the room factor

[Dansta]

Oo this is a good thread!

We have a veggie patch - it was going grate guns until a boar pump died and it was eather veggies or drinking water!

that said i have celery that i thought died - spring back up (so im seeing if i can do a pick as you go with it, seeing as it hasnt died yet, LOL) also some onions and suppriseingly leeks - they died but came back right under the tank over flow - so it floods in that spot when ever it rains! also just planted some spinitch and fond some galic that the chooks didnt manage to dig up. Im waiting to see if any tommartos spring up as i had to let them die last year and im wondering if any managed to self sew.

In the next few weeks we'll be extending the patch out - and covering it with some netting so the chooks cant get in as well as the little native ones.

Saw dust will work with snails - it drys them out and they often die in. but with my chooks we dont seem to have many of them. im hopeing to try and get an old bath tub or alike so that i can grow some water veggies EG water chest nuts. with out worrying about the boys getting in - and moving some gold fish into it so keep mossies at bay.

I have 3 types of mit growing (yes, it'll take over but i want a 'herb' corner) as well as rosemary and chives. hopefully soon some parsly and i'm going to plant some strawberrys too.
Out front we have 1 cherry tree (another two out the back) plus two apple trees (again another two out the back) plus peach, plum, orange, manarine, lemmon aaaaaaaaaaaaand something else that i cant remember what it is. but they where all here when we moved and last year we had curly leaf run riot though.

[Mum2twoBoys]

I've just planted some seedlings to start my own vegie patch. I've got tomatoes, carrots, capsicums, parsley, rosemary, cucumbers and corn. DH is going to make me a vegie bed in a couple of weeks out of old railway sleepers. I'm excited to start.

Sent from HTC wildfire using TAPATALK, so forgive any spelling errors its a small keyboard.

[Tuesday's Child]

Ooh thanks for starting this BG. We're about to start our veggie patch, hopefully this weekend. I've been wanting to for ages but we didn't have room at our old place. We have a raised garden bed that DH has been emptying mouse poo (we breed them to feed our dragons) into the bottom and will hopefully get some soil to fill it this weekend.

I have no idea what I want to plant though. Suggestions are welcome

We do have a lemon tree that was here when we moved in. DH wants to get rid of it as it's in a spot that makes getting his cars in and out awkward. MIL and I are trying to convince him to move it.

I also have a small box of herbs: parsley, rosemary, thyme and oregano. They kind of got forgotten in the move though and I didn't get them planted soon enough. I've lost the oregano and the thyme isn't looking too good.

It's been years since I've had an opportunity to garden but i'm looking forward to getting out there with the girls this spring.

[Mum2twoBoys]

I have a recipe for homemade insecticide. It involves pureeing 10 cloves of garlic and 3 tsp of vegetable oil. Strain into a 1L jar. Add 3 cups of hot water and a tsp of dishwashing liquid. Spray infested plants, making sure to cover both sides of leaves. Apply every 3 days for a week. Then repeat as required.

Sent from HTC wildfire using TAPATALK, so forgive any spelling errors its a small keyboard.