needing a little help/advice/tips

[Rainbow_Mumma]

We have recently moved to a house that has just over 2 acres I am wanting to make a veg patch and need some starter tips im new to anything gardening! How do you grow them, whats the best conditions for them, what do i do to the soil anything really i have no clue!
I would also like to get my own herbs going.
I am doing this for financial reasons and the health benifits of organic home grown foods.
We also have some fruit trees here from what ive seen so far a few apple and plum there maybe more different fruits but they arent producing anything as yet, the fruits that are on the trees are a bit small and well not the best is there anything i can do to improve the productivity of the fruit trees?
TIA

[Rainbow_Mumma]

anyone

[AllisD]

Hi

I have a vege garden and also grow my own herbs. I have a bible called the Yates Garden/growing guide. You should be able to pick up a copy on Ebay cheap or a good bookstore. There is not heaps of pictures what it is full of is information. It covers everthing you need to know and more. It covers pretty well ALL vegetables/fruit grown in Australia.

Start making a mulch pile out of all your garden clippings and dig this through the soil when you first turn it for the garden. Get your hands on some good organic animal manure and dig this through also.

When it comes to choosing what to plant - this will be dictated a lot by the area that you live in and what time of year it is you are planting - a long comprehensive list is also included in the Yates guide. You will want a few different areas of garden so whilst one part is growing you are eating the returns from the other - especially day to day stuff such as lettuce/tomato etc.

In the end it is about having a go. Remember that you are not going to get perfect fruit/vegetables like in the shops as they have millions to sort through to only sell the best - but yours will TASTE sooooo much better - and be waaay cheaper.

I dont know about the citrus - could just need a good fertilising and decent watering when growing fruit? Maybe do a soil test before you start your garden also so you know whether it is acidic or alkaline soil. The book I told you about covers all this.

Hope this helps! Is there anything else you want to know - just ask!

[Mugsy]

You are in kinda the same area as me, I am near Castlemaine. summers are harsh on vegies around here and very water needy. Too much sunlight is also an issue - it will burn or wilt your vegies quick smart on a hot windy day.
The first thing I would suggest is pick a spot for your vegie patch that has some shade or protection from midday summer sun - or as we are planning - build a shade house for your patch.
Wicking beds are quickly becoming the garden bed of choice around here - they make growing vegies easy and so water friendly!
here are some links to explain them.
wicking bed
Mairéid Sullivan
waterright australia - water crisis solutions - wastewater treatment greywater recycling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35TU5...layer_embedded
You can use anything for a wicking bed if you don't want to build a raised bed. With our budget too stretched this summer we haven't built ours yet - so I am using an old bath tub, and several clam shell wading pools I stole from my son until I can wrangle the extra dosh to build a proper raised bed system.
I have grown many vegie patches over the years and this is by far the most successful garden I have ever had - and I only water once every 2 or so weeks! - even with the recent hot`weather!

[Rainbow_Mumma]

Hi

I have a vege garden and also grow my own herbs. I have a bible called the Yates Garden/growing guide. You should be able to pick up a copy on Ebay cheap or a good bookstore. There is not heaps of pictures what it is full of is information. It covers everthing you need to know and more. It covers pretty well ALL vegetables/fruit grown in Australia.

Start making a mulch pile out of all your garden clippings and dig this through the soil when you first turn it for the garden. Get your hands on some good organic animal manure and dig this through also.

When it comes to choosing what to plant - this will be dictated a lot by the area that you live in and what time of year it is you are planting - a long comprehensive list is also included in the Yates guide. You will want a few different areas of garden so whilst one part is growing you are eating the returns from the other - especially day to day stuff such as lettuce/tomato etc.

In the end it is about having a go. Remember that you are not going to get perfect fruit/vegetables like in the shops as they have millions to sort through to only sell the best - but yours will TASTE sooooo much better - and be waaay cheaper.

I dont know about the citrus - could just need a good fertilising and decent watering when growing fruit? Maybe do a soil test before you start your garden also so you know whether it is acidic or alkaline soil. The book I told you about covers all this.

Hope this helps! Is there anything else you want to know - just ask!

thanks so much for that getting our own organic animal manure should be hard we have chickens and sheep

[Lulu]

Even some of the magazines at newsagents can be terrific sources of info. Most of them have 'zones' so you can see what grows best in your area at what times.

If you really want to do it right, learn to grow from seed. Google Diggers - they have all the best pre WW2 species, teach you how to save seeds, have a fanTAStic vegie growing guide and membership comes with 4 catalogues a year and it drives you nuts trying not to go overboard with your choices. Highly recommend Diggers.

hth

[Oorki Galoorki]

DIGGERS CLUB!!!!!

they have the books! they have the seeds they tell you what area your in and when you can plant it is AWESOME