Posts in Category: The Farm

Summer Harvest

On January 3, 2014 0 Comments - The Farm

So many vegetables to pick!!!

This is just a sample image of what has been coming out of the garden. The cucumbers are a definite winner this year in the output for effort competition- we can't keep up with eating the amount the vines are producing. If I have a day out of the garden, I come back to seemingly instant giant cucumbers that need immediate picking! I think the sheer numbers are a testament to the success of companion planting- the cosmos and lavender nearby have attracted plenty of pollinators. All I have to do is turn on the watering system on hot days and try to remember to pick the cucumbers regularly!

The tomatoes are also going great guns, and like the cucumbers, just keep coming- it seems the more I pick the more we get. There have also been plenty of beans and a few artichokes. The zucchini is not my friend this year- I have planted it in a "too shady" spot, and the powdery mildew is winning. I keep having to cut back the effected leaves, and this means fewer flowers and limited fruit.

I have high hopes for my capsicum plants- I had a failure with them last summer (not enough sun? irregular watering?) that resulted in blossom end rot. This year they are in a different position in a new garden bed and I am trying to water them as consistently as possible. There are a few babies growing on them already, and I'm hoping that if I keep paying attention to them we might actually get some edible veggies from the this year.

End of Spring farm update

On November 24, 2013 1 Comments - The Farm

I am just a little bit in love with the backyard farm at the moment.

Everything is growing beautifully- the tomatoes are setting their first fruit, the zucchini and beetroots are already producing crops, the leafy greens are still producing and the first crop of corn is starting to show flowers. We have had a few weeks of rain showers and thunderstorms after a long dry spell, and the plants are absolutely loving it. The border flowers (nasturtiums, lavender, cosmos, sunflowers and salvia) are well and truly established, and are starting to bloom.

There is a whole universe of insect activity, including bees (both European and native), hoverflies, wasps, butterflies and ladybugs. And of course, birds and lizards to eat the insects and caterpillars.

I can just stand in the garden for whole stretches of time watching what is happening, using chopsticks to pluck the destructive caterpillars off my plants or "assisting" my zucchini to pollinate each other.

I also love that this blog allows me to look back at the first photos of the freshly dug plot - just this winter- and see how much everything has grown and changed. The contrast between this latest photo and the first is pretty satisfying!

Beets!

On November 17, 2013 0 Comments - The Farm

Deliveries! (in and out)

On November 5, 2013 0 Comments - The Farm

The last few days have been all about things coming in and going out of the Backyard Farm! Mainly, it has been about giving away surplus harvests. This is one of my favourite things about gardening- getting to share the bounty with friends! At the moment I am up to my ears in kale and rocket, and have provided several 'care packages' to friends and family including these leafy greens. There are also plenty of herbs up for offer, including mint, rosemary, bay leaves, coriander and chives.

Luckily it isn't all about produce leaving! Yesterday morning I was pleasantly surprised by a package at my door. Well, slightly surprised given that it was something I had ordered online a few weeks ago! In keeping with the move towards a permaculture garden, I want to dedicate the far corner in the backyard to native plants, including flowering shrubs that attract bees and native birds. It is also a way for me to assuage my guilt at petitioning to have the sunlight-blocking giant gum tree next door removed. I figure that I can compensate by providing an alternate habitat for native species- and one that is well planned and unlikely to drop branches or stop surrounding plants from growing!

Planting out (part 2)

On September 16, 2013 0 Comments - The Farm

Being impatient, I couldn't wait until these guys had more mature leaves before planting them out! The cucumber seedlings are going up the back of the eggplant and capsicum plantings. The cucumber are spaced about 30 cm apart, and are going to climb up the chicken wire fence. This is great, as it will cover the fairly unattractive wire, save ground space and keep the cucumber fruit off the ground and prevent them from rotting. It should also make the cucumbers easier to spot for harvesting.

I grew the cucumber seedlings in the same way I did the zucchini- in peat pots that can be planted whole into the ground. This makes it so easy to get a head start on germinating the seeds, and allows you to plant them out without disturbing the plants. The eggplant and capsicum were grown in punnets in the greenhouse. A couple of the capsicum seedlings had leaves that mysteriously disappeared. I moved the trays onto our back deck and went to inspect them one night- it was a baby slug. He was chopsticked off and thrown in the bushes- hopefully never to return.

The capsicum and eggplant are being spaced out as much as possible. Last year I had pretty rubbish crop of capsicum, and I am keen to improve them this year. I think I planted them too closely together last year, and I think I watered them too inconsistently, and potentially didn't feed them enough. I ended up with really small fruit, and towards the end of the season a few of them got blossom end rot (gross). So fingers crossed things go better this year!

Planting out (part 1)

On September 9, 2013 2 Comments - The Farm

The seedlings are loving the hot weather we have been having- the tomatoes and zucchini are ready to go into the ground. I've also cheated and bought 3 artichoke seedlings (as I failed at propagating these at the last attempt!).

So first things first- I had planted the zucchini into peat pots that can be directly transplanted into the soil. This prevents disruption to the root system with plants that you're supposed to sow directly into the ground. I had to thin out the seedlings as I planted 2 seeds to a pot- the idea is to gently pull out the weaker of the two if both seeds germinate. I'm growing 4 zucchini plants- they take up lots of space, but they also mean plenty of produce so they will be worth it. To attract pollinators (insects like bees) I am companion planting with purple alyssium, which will look pretty as an added bonus.

I used a similar planting process for both the tomato seedlings and the artichokes- mounding up soil enriched with compost to provide lots of nutrients and good drainage. I had already put in stakes for structural support for the tomatoes to climb. I mulched around the seedlings, making sure to leave plenty of breathing space so the mulch doesn't inhibit their growth or cause the stems to rot. I companion planted some marigold seeds with the tomatoes, this time to keep insects away. Once the basil seedlings are ready, I'll plant them nearby for similar reasons.

Meanwhile, in the greenhouse…

On September 3, 2013 0 Comments - The Farm

The seeds that I planted into punnets about 3 weeks ago are coming along nicely. The tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, eggplant and capsicum have all germinated. The salvia, sage, marigolds and chives aren’t doing so well- no action as yet. I think perhaps it isn’t getting hot enough in the greenhouse for them.

I have also had leaves from new plants go “missing” a few days after germination- especially the rudbeckia seedlings. This is super annoying, and whatever is doing it is leaving very few clues behind!! I decided today to move the punnets out of the greenhouse and onto the sunniest part of our back deck. I’m hoping this will help the remaining seeds to germinate, and will remove the seedlings from whatever keeps attacking them in the greenhouse.

A few of the seedlings are at a stage that I can transplant them to the vegetable patch over the next few days. So, in preparation I marked out where they are going to go (according to plan), topped up with some extra compost and hammered in some stakes for the plants that need them (like tomatoes).

Sowing Seeds

On August 29, 2013 0 Comments - The Farm

It’s the last week of winter and I’m really excited about getting my large seeds sown directly into the vegetable patch. Today I’m planting the first crops of corn, green beans, coriander, beetroot- I’ll plant a second round of these seeds in about 4-6 weeks to prolong the harvest. I’m also planting a watermelon and a pumpkin- these guys are going to take up lots of space, so there is only one of each.

To start off, I went through the soil again to remove any large lumps of grass. I turned the soil with a pitchfork to make sure all the pea straw mulch, compost and cow poo is mixed in well. I feel like I massacred lots of worms in this process, which is a shame as they help to improve the soil structure. Then I raked over the surface with a garden rake to even out the soil and ensure a good planting surface for the seeds.

Pretty much all the seeds I planted today need to be spaced about 10-15 cm apart. The greedy watermelon and pumpkin get 1-2 meters each of garden space. I’m thinking of growing some quick crops near them that will be ready for harvest by the time they completely take over the garden! I roughly measured out spacing between rows and marked with chopsticks, covered the seeds over and watered in well.

Given the time of year I shouldn’t have to water again until they germinate, as the soil is retaining moisture pretty well. This is particularly the case for the beans and the corn, as I don’t want them to get waterlogged and rot in the ground.

Preparing the Plants

On August 10, 2013 0 Comments - The Farm

While I wait a few weeks for the soil to settle and for the temperature to heat up, I am starting my seeds early in the greenhouse. I have already planned out what I am planting and how many plants I need to grow to fill the Backyard Farm. So the first step for preparing the plants is sterilising my propagation equipment. This involves rinsing off the potting trays and the soaking them in a 50:50 mix of white vinegar and water. An alternative is to use a diluted bleach and water solution, but I prefer not to use harsh chemicals where possible. Once the punnets have soaked for about 15 minutes, I give them a rinse in fresh water and dry them off ready to be filled with seed raising mix and seeds.

I’m planting seeds of hugely varying size, from the large ones like zucchini and cucumber to tiny Rudbeckia seeds. Always follow the specific growing on the packs, but generally speaking it is best to plant things like zucchini and cucumber either direct into growing position, or, as I have done, into peat or jiffy pots that mean that the roots won’t be disturbed when replanting. Other seedlings like basil, tomato, eggplant, capsicum and leek can go into punnets. I’m saving the corn, beans and melons for direct planting in a week or two.

I make sure everything is labelled and in order in the sunniest spot in the greenhouse, and keep the seeds moist while they germinate over the next week or so.

Adding Structures

On August 4, 2013 0 Comments - The Farm

It seems that I am doing weekly trips to the not-so-local hardware and gardening stores. Today’s purchase included garden edging. I wanted something that could be:

easily removed (as the beds cannot be permanent);
either look good or be hidden; and,
would block grass and weed roots from creeping into the garden beds.

I ended up going with a lightweight black plastic edge that turned out to be excellent for all of the above and also great at going around the square corners of the patch.

The process was to sharply re-dig the edge of the patch, and lay out the edging with a minimal amount of plastic above the final soil surface. I back-filled with the soil as I went in order to keep the edging in place. Once again, a few tree roots had to be severed to ensure that the edging could be evenly laid. Once the edging is in place, the beds look much neater and it is easy to even out the soil in the beds.

The next step is to get the chicken wire fencing up- this is to act as both a support structure for growing climbing vegetables, as well as a tool to keep out our pooch, who finds digging in loose, fertilised soil particularly tempting. We are using really innovative steel posts that make attaching wire easy- all you have to do is loop and stretch the wire over the lugs (small hooks) that hold the wire in place. We are enclosing the vegetable patch on all sides, and will make some sort of gate at a later stage. For the moment, some extra chicken wire will suffice!