Comments on: Vegetable growing: What would you teach?

By: VP

VP — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:17:34 +0000

PS You can link directly to Matron’s original post, it’s just that the template she uses doesn’t have them in the main body. You have to pick it up from the Recent Posts list in her sidebar instead:

http://veggies-only.blogspot.com/2009/11/food-security.html

Voila!

By: VP

VP — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:13:10 +0000

Sadly I can’t be as pithy as you or as succinct as your respondents here Soilman, so I couldn’t resist giving you my answer over at mine…

Great post and conversation

By: Tanya Walton

Tanya Walton — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:53:33 +0000

My tips would be;
1) Make sure you have storage space for what you grow and no how to preserve it so you have no wastage.

2) Save seeds from everything…it costs you nothing if they don’t grow.

3) invest in some livestock…chickens, bees, horse and goat…this way you have dairy, compost and a grass cutter too!!!!

By: Soilman

Soilman — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:05:53 +0000

Great advice here… thanks to everyone for chipping in!

And Mal, don’t even think about it. Nobody eats my bloody horse but me.

By: glittertrash

glittertrash — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:40:48 +0000

The first year- actually, the first season- grow a lot of greens. A variety of them. A few types of kale, a few varieties of chard/silverbeet, anything else that looks interesting/you can get some free or traded seeds for. Greens are ready for eating fast, and are what can turn a pantry stocked with nothing but storable grains & dried beans into actual meals. It’s also incredibly encouraging for a first-time gardener to be able to harvest armfuls of produce within a couple of months of planting. Take note of what grows well in your conditions (I learned fast that Red Russian kale grew really, really well year-round in my Sydney backyard, while Lacinato was a total & consistent failure). Then, plant more of what works, and share your seeds with other local gardeners.

Also, plant beans. They’re pretty easy, pretty fast, and will improve the soil where they’re grown. And if you grow enough of them, you can leave some to mature & dry for winter storage.

By: altadenahiker

altadenahiker — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:40:42 +0000

1. Garlic is the easiest plant to grow
2. You can’t make a meal out of garlic alone

By: Mal's Allotment

Mal's Allotment — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:46:05 +0000

1) In The first year, when you first dig up your lawn, just grow potatoes. (This maximises your return, ‘cleans’ up the soil and has that wow factor for first time growers. There is an opportunity to build up the nutrients in the soil by composting kitchen wast (including potato peelings)during this year. Also they store well. You will get fed up with just potatoes through that first winter and will be itching to grow something different!)

2)In the second year, grow one third potatoes, one third cabbages and one third other produce like leeks and lettuces etc. This introduces crop rotation which will be an essential element in land management and extends variety while maintaining a long season of food availability.

3) By year three you will have your own ideas or have given up, in which case you will probably have already eaten Soilman’s horse.

By: Christina

Christina — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:34:26 +0000

Here, in my neck of the dry woods where water is another scarcity, my answer is mulch, mulch, and mulch some more (this time with horse manure).

Like you, I love horse poop.

By: Soilman

Soilman — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:53:26 +0000

… and assuming we’ll be able to afford the fuel for the strimmer, Simon!!

By: Simon

Simon — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:50:11 +0000

Here are my tips:
i) make friends with others nearby. You can exchange ideas, crops, seeds etc and you can water/harvest for each other if you have to be away from things for a while
ii) grow a few flowers (eg dahlias). The addition aesthetic componant cheers things up, and the is a subtle pleasure to be had from growing something because you want to rather then need to
iii) if you have grassy bits try and keep the ground flatish so you can quickly mow. Bumpy ground with grass on is a nightmare and will swallow huge amounts of time strimming.

Simon