So, just what HAVE I learnt during this first year? These photos document it quite well:- Prepare the soil.
- Plan the plantings.
- Rotate beds.
- Leave a fallow "bed".
Prepare the SoilBoth (above-ground) beds were filled with whatever dirt was dug out from the garden site, with a, perhaps, 6" layer of better quality soil placed on top. I now know this is insufficient. I am continuing to add to the soil when each monthly load of compost becomes available. In addition, each month I sprinkle (liberally) the bed with Dynamic Lifter. Both beds are nearly full up to their top rung, so from here on out it is a matter of turning the soil after each crop, and planting an annual crop of "green manure", probably at the end of summer. This takes 6-10 weeks, so is a big commitment of space. I have also invested in a garden sieve. I am NOT going to let those pesky, split/curly carrots get the better of me. Plan the PlantingsI have, using advice from both Diggers and Gardening Australia, devised a list of veggies to grow (those that my family will actually eat!), together with quantity, and frequency of planting, for a family of five. I will modify this list during the next 12 months. Rotate BedsExhortatios to rotate crops, at the very least, assume four beds: Brassicas, Legumes, Alliums, and other. But, they also assume a four year rotation, which is not how I see my veggie patch working. My dig-up cycles are much shorter than twelve months, for heaven's sake. More like 3 to 6 months. I have two beds, the citrus bed, and a range of large (ish) pots. Each of the two large beds, I have (virtually) divided into three subsets, and will rotate these. Sometimes monthly, sometimes 6-monthly. How do I rotate things like carrots and spring onions, when I have to plant another 15 every month. Garening is not for the faint-of-heart! Leave a fallow bedI am figuring that this requirement goes hand-in-glove with the "green manure" rewuirement. I am not grpwing a crop, so much as growing nitrogen. |