New Year Patch

Happy New Year! 2019 already, gee!

Vegetable garden going well, been watering every day. We have had a heat wave on mid to late 30s, between Christmas and New Years. We have heaps of cos lettuce and zucchini coming in steady now. Also sprayed for weeds again in the patch area.

The style of young cos lettuce

Young zucchini

The common bee doing it's thing in the flower of a zucchini

We need the lady beetles in the vegetable patch, eat the aphids!

So this was an update of really what happened in the last couple weeks of 2018. Steve..

Fast update of the Vegy Patch Murrumbateman NSW

Back again, see pics, saves 1000 words...happenings over the past 2 weeks...

Young cucumber

Young zuchini

During the time the cucumber and zuchini have grow rather big and I have transplanted them in their final position and mulched. The potatoes are going gang-busters. Tomatoes are also quite good, snow peas seem slow in growing, so we'll see what will happen. Shallots are starting to show promise, as they are still I think 6 weeks away from harvest. I shouls sow the next generation of shallots soon. Purple carrots seem to be growing well. Radish ready to eat and give away, my Dad likes them, especially when they are young. I have prepared the other two beds and ready for cos lettuce. I'll also transplant the cos lettuce where I find a gap or three. Every square inch I like to use in the vegetable garden. Make the most of it! The sweat potato is still alive and so doing well.

have had for the past two weeks mid weekly rain periods. Decent rain, especially the Wednesday just gone. Rain is best as it's slow soaking rain. I'll have to purchase a soaker hose and retro fit it so it works on the patch for small rectangular beds I do have.

So this weekend I aim to transplant the cos lettuce in their final positions (there is quite abit of it too), perhaps sow next generation of shallots for a future continuos supply, top up soil over the potato plants (ie partially bury them) to hopefully encourage more growth underground for extra potatoes, and spray of weeds too in and around the patch to keep weed free. I'll update the blog later. Have a good weekend.. S.

Start of 2018/19 Vegy Patch Season

Updating the patch with the following details:

A few months ago dug holes around the proposed perimeter of the patch ready for posts for a fence. Aim to put up the fence for the area over the Christmas break.

Started on the 13th October 2018, weeded four of the beds, dug them over, put in concentrated manure pellets for extra nutrients and then installed new garden mix on top only on the bed for potatoes. I sowed 'Dutch Cream' and another type of seed potatoes in one of the beds. Cut up the seed potatoes with atleast an eye on each piece.

On 14 October 2018 I wipper snipped around the beds and sprayed the grass and weeds in the whole of vegy patch area ready for later granite paths in between etc. I aim to keep it this way til then and not let the grass go wild and out of control.

On 17 October 2018, I topped up the other three beds with new compost garden mix and sowed Purple Carrots and Radish. Watered in.

About the 27 to 28 October 2018 I planted tomatoes, namely: Roma, Tommy toe, Beefsteak, and a blend (Aunt Rubys Green, Ananas Noir, Mortgage lifter, Big Rainbow - the larger types apparently). I did have one tomato plant which produced 400g fruit die. The wind snapped it and that was that. By now the radish are in full swing, and carrots and pototoes have just emerged. I also sowed Sweet Basil, Cos Lettuce, Shallots and Snow Peas.

So now on the 7 November 2018 the Basil, Snow Peas and Cos Lettuce are up and growing well. Radish going gang busters and tomotoes look acustomed to their new ground. Soil looks like it is good and doing the job. Been watering every day, morning and night, days have been warm, mostly around low to mid 20's. Very little rain, out tank is like 25% capacity.

Now we have hit 10 November 2018, I planted White Sweet potato. Apparently it is a climber so place it at the mesh trellis. Also purchased a punnet of chives and planted in the tomato department. Mulched all plants concerned except seedlings with some organic sugar cane mulch. Another thing, outside the patch but still related, I planted in hanging pots for my wife mint (standard and a chocolate one) and parsley, these are located closer to the house for easy picking by her.

Since then I have sowed Cucumber and Blackjack Zuchinni. They have since come up. I will prepare the other two beds and relocate the plants when they are about 3 inches high into these two newly prepped beds. I will however import new garden mix compost soil shortly. Below is a photo I have taken this morning prior to the morning watering.

Until next time, cya soon. Steve..

Wet Wet Wet

Wow has it been raining! Well it has and the Canberra region have broken records in the last two months. August I think was the wettest August in 140 years or so and September 38 years. So I really haven't watered much in the patch. The ground all over is water logged. Actually we have had enough wet weather and need sunshine and wind to dry up our terra-firma.

All the beds have been weeded (thanks to the wet ground the weeds came out easily). Started a new compost bin with last years old crop. I did put the years compost from the bin into the beds. So that's good.

The other day (on the 25 September) I sowed seeds for the spring crop in the open. They were Radish, Climbing Beans x 7, Cos Lettuce, Shallots, Purple Carrots, Leek, Mustard Ruby Streaks Amaranth Red Garnet and Rocket, and Grosse Lisse Tomatoes.

In seeding containers I sowed Roma Tomatoes, and Big Beef Tomatoes.

Beds after all weeds and old vegetable growth gone

Seeds sown in the open

Compost laid in bed

Bed with vegies in for since late summer I think, growing well. I put in a climbing lattice for the peas

Check out the pictures of what it looked like back on the 25/9/16. I also took some pictures today as below. The lettuce and radish have merged.

Until later on...........bye for now.

End of Autumn (Fall) Vegetable Gardening

Hey All

Updating, vegetable garden is doing well. Here in the Canberra region we have had a warmer than average Autumn. 2.5 deg warmer in fact. So the vegy patch is going well and I have managed to grab the tail end of the warmer autumn weather. Tomatoes etc from the summer garden have obviously withered and died off. I still however need to dig up last seasons potatoes, ummm yes I better. Still have a few purple carrots in the patch.

So recently I sowed new seeds. Seeds sown were: Peas (greenfeast), Spinach, Cos Lettuce, Hunter River Brown Onion, & California Red Onion. Also I put in some manure pellets over the soil.

See the below pictures. There are progressive starting 7 May, 28 May and this morning. We have had awesome rain in the last few days, totally 69mm. But that's enough.....further rain coming later this week again.

7 May 2016 - Day dot

28 May 2016 - 3 weeks later

7 June 2016 - Approx 1 month later

69mm is a lot of rain for us!

Until next time, up the green machine!

End 2015 Vegetable Garden

I'm back, so without delay, this is where I'm up to......

See below picture of the vegetable garden as it was tonight.

Six beds with contents as shown

Tonight I sowed new shallot, capsicum and cos lettuce seeds in bed 6. I removed the old radish plants which I didn't harvest to food. 

Below are some pictures of tonight's vegetable garden........

Vegetable Garden as a whole (facing east)

Sowed tonight (Bed 6) - cos lettuce, shallots, capsicums

(Beds 1-3) Bed 3 showing dead potato plants, others ok

(Beds 4-6) looking westward

This season I imported much better mushroom compost soil for the garden beds. Better than last years shit. The results are astounding. A much better garden with much better produce. I also lined each garden bed with black cor-flue just to separate the arsenic in the timber sleepers which I used to construct the beds. 

In garden bed 3, the potatoes have suddenly died on me, like over a period of 2 weeks-ish. Not sure why. The above picture shows it. So what I'll do is dig up the potatoes from that bed and sow some fresh seeds while the summer is still rather young. The carisma potatoes seem to be okay, so I'll leave these in till end summer. 

Yesterday and today I put in the stakes and mesh for the climbing members of the veggie patch, ie tomatoes, beans, and snow peas.

Enjoy the patch....... bye for now.....

The vegetable garden as of the other day

Christmas Eve Garden

The vegy patch as of today (looking westward). We had good heavy rain late yesterday and overnight. All seems to be growing well. Watering well and very warm days of average 28-30 deg, is the formula for a healthy vegetable garden. Have a good Christmas!

 

Vegetable Garden up and Running!

Well I have constructed five vegetable garden bays to date over the past month or so. Please see the photos showing progress below.

The next series of photos show the actual construction of the first bed. I sprayed for weeds, put down one layer of weed matting, and then filled up with imported soil mix from a local rural supplier. Each bed will have a pathway around of about 900mm so walking and wheel barrows can fit. Later I'll dress these pathways with weed matting and compacted granite dust. They are made from 200x75mm treated pine sleepers. The actual depth of each bed is approx 350-400mm. Footprint size of each bed is 2400mm long by 1200mm wide. In total there will be nine, but possible of extending this number to 12 or 15 (see how things pan out). You will notice some shabby fencing around the vegetable garden beds, this is because I have two dogs and they will destroy the plants and seeds etc if they have access. I will later put up a better and secure fence and gate surrounding the vegetable patch.

In this bed, I planted pink fir apple potatoes and silverbeet seedlings which I planted earlier. See below.

This next photo show the first three beds complete. What I have in these beds are: Potatoes (Pink Fir Apple), Silverbeet, Sweet Corn, Zucchini, Tomatoes (Big Beaf & Roma) and Dwarf Beans.

These next photos show the construction of the second row of three beds, but to date I have only made two.

In these two beds (with a different soil mix - mushroom/compost mix), I have planted the following: Beetroot, Capsicums in one bed, and the other seeds - Iceberg Lettuce, Shallots, Carrots, Radish, and Coriander. Now all of these seeds have surfaced and growing well. See the next photos of each bed (5 off):

This is the power feeder I'm using to help with the ones that are struggling such as the sweet corn and zucchini and tomatoes which are planted in the local imported soil. I think this soil is shit and is most likely fallow. So I have had to add compost and manure to these plants to help them. 

We have also separately been growing indoors Basil, Parsley and Tomatoes. I have this morning taken them from inside and transplanted them in the beds except the tomatoes which will be for a new bed (to be constructed shortly). Over the Christmas break I'll construct more beds.

Ok till next time, bye for now.