Aims
When we retired we planned thirty years of healthy, happy retirement, and decided a necessary pre-requisite of this was to grow our own vegetables.
Our vege patch therefore is not about having wonderful exotic edibles, but about growing the vegetables that we eat everyday.
Our vegetable garden consists of eighteen raised beds each 2 square metres in area, as well as a larger 14 square metre bed for growing things like pumpkins and zuchinis.
We also have a small glass-house for growing our seedlings for our vege garden as well as our indigenous garden.
Our vegetables are grown organically. Our weeds, including the weedings from the indigenous garden, are composted and allows us the luxury of adding about 10 cm of compost to our beds each year.
A strict crop rotation is practised. Written records are kept. As soon as a crop has finished producing it is replanted within days.
Much planning has gone into designing a planting regime which delivers the veges fresh for dinner each day, 365 days of the year, without the need for preserving.
Habitat is supplied for skinks and frogs, both of which abound in our garden.
Seed Planting Schedule
January Beans (staggered planting), potato (tubers), silver beet, sweet corn
February Cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, parsnips
March Broccoli, snow peas, onion (barletta)
April Garlic, potato (tubers)
May Broad beans, cabbage, cauliflower
June Onion (odourless), peas
July Broccoli, onion (red), potato (tubers)
August Carrot, onion (cream gold), pumpkin, tomato, zucchini
September Cabbage, cauliflower
October Potato (tubers)
November Broccoli, brussels sprouts, bush beans, cabbage, cauliflower, leeks,
sweet corn
December Sweet corn
Harvesting Schedule:
Note: Garlic, onions, potatoes and pumpkins are stored and last all year.
Broccoli, carrots and silver beet are harvested, as required, all year.
January Cabbage, tomato, zucchini
February Tomato, zucchini
March Beans, cauliflower, sweet corn, tomato, zucchini
April Beans, cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, zucchini
May Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, sweet corn
June Brussels Sprouts, parsnips
July Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, parsnip
August Cabbage, cauliflower, parsnips, peas
September Cauliflower, parsnips, peas
October Broad beans, peas
November Broad beans, peas
December Broad beans, cabbage, peas, zucchini
