I'm thinking of starting a new vegie patch in the next couple of weeks now the temperature has become a bit warmer (and we're heading into spring). I was wondering other than digging up the soil, is there anything else that would be particularly good to do to prepare the soil before i plant? Also, are you (generally) meant to plant a little before spring (how much earlier?) or when it starts to be spring? (I just know that spring is a good growing time)
The time down here in Melbourne used to be Melbourne Cup day for planting because that was when frosts were over and the soils had warmed up. But these days who knows. There are things that can go in now such as lettuce the picking kind (oakleaf)Re soil don't forget to put manure/mulch/fertilizer and some plants need lime. At least on my acid soil they do. http://www.aussiegardening.com.au/articles/vegetablegarden.html Liz
I started my first in-ground garden this year and after half the summer I've realized that having a raised bed would have been fairly beneficial for the size of garden I have.
Thanks, Liz thank you heaps for that website, I have been finding it quite difficult to find good Australian gardening websites. Lime...I'd never even thought of that, I'll have to find out somehow if my soil is acid and needs it too - there are already heaps of fruit trees in the property so I don't know how that will affect the soil. Seamus, by a raised bed do you mean up to waist height??? Or just each row being a little raised? We are planning our veggie patch to be big enough to, hopefully, supply us with most of our vegetables so we don't have to buy any from the shop.
I'm planning on raising my patch 8" up from the ground using 2x8's turned on their sides. But my grandfather used to have a garden that he used to supply himself and my grandmother with most of their veggies and it was huge, so having a raised bed contained by walls would probably turn out to be a big pain. I think that if I were going to create a garden that large I'd just mound the dirt up into rows a few inches higher then the surrounding ground, that way it would be easy enough to get into your garden with a motorized tiller. The only reason I'd go through all of the trouble to raise a garden of that size would be to improve drainage if there was a drainage problem in that area, which I have in my little spot.
It is also a good way to control your area for weeds and for people who are infirm to access their beds from neat safe pathways. There is a wonderful vegetable garden in the Tasmanian botanical gardens in Hobart I think that regularly features on a gardening show here on the national broadcaster. I am green with envy. Has cobbled brick paths, proper compost bins and is just beautiful all in raised beds of about a foot high with slopeing sides for I assume to be able to put frames ontop to keep some items warm. Sort of cold hot house frames. My father had a similar set up years ago to get seedlings started. Before the advent of supermarket punnet seedlings. http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/features/petespatch.htm http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/ http://www.rtbg.tas.gov.au/_media/_pdf/Vegie Patch Flier.pdf Liz
I'm a big fan of square foot gardening, with 4x4 raised beds. There is a book by Mel Bartholomew that you might be able to find in your local library that explains it all. http://www.alexharford.com/images/garden/SummerGarden2007_1_Thumb.jpg http://www.alexharford.com/images/garden/SummerGarden2007_2_Thumb.jpg http://www.alexharford.com/images/garden/SummerGarden2007_3_Thumb.jpg http://www.alexharford.com/images/garden/SummerGarden2007_4_Thumb.jpg http://www.alexharford.com/images/garden/SummerGarden2007_5_Thumb.jpg http://www.alexharford.com/images/garden/SummerGarden2007_6_Thumb.jpg http://www.alexharford.com/images/garden/SummerGarden2007_7_Thumb.jpg http://www.alexharford.com/images/garden/SummerGarden2007_8_Thumb.jpg
If you're trying to find out your soil acidity, you need litmus paper (or pH paper if you can find it), a clean glass, some distilled water, and your dirt. Dig a scoop of your dirt into the glass, add enough water to make a slurry, and dip in the litmus/pH paper in. Voila, instant soil acidity/alkilinity test. pH paper is easier so far as a reading goes; this should be available at garden centres and if not there, then at a pool-supplies store. Although, you're in a larger city, you may be able to go to a chemistry supply store.
