The Organic Home Garden

Autumn is here but not the rain! It is still very dry here in Perth and the Organic Gardener needs to keep on his toes if plants are to keep growing. This week saw a few cooler days and nights and a little moisture on the lawn on a couple of mornings! Heavens above I could almost say it was cool one morning – 12 degrees!

Anyway enough on the weather – can’t change it so have to live with it!

Next Months Crops Go in Now

The cooler days do allow me to get out and get the next set of seedlings in the ground and well established before the predicted 35 degrees on 3-4 days next week. I put in some more cucumber and beetroot as well as some leek.

The board is there for me to tread on when I check the seedlings or remove weeds – it spread my weight and minimises compression and compaction of the soil. It is hard enough for young plants to survive the weather without hard sod for their little baby roots to try to drill through.
A light fluffy soil structure allows better water penetration and access for air.

The last crop of lettuce did not fair too well thanks to the slaters and some seriously hot weather. Of the 12 seedlings I planted maybe 6 are left and likely to make it to the table.

I did a little thinning of the carrots this week and we had a nice feed for dinner last night. The carrots are proving quite successful this year despite the harsh temperatures. This encourages me to set up a few more larger scale carrot rows. They are largely pest free and need little attention other than thinning, feeding and a little water.

We are still getting a few of the last of the summer crops. Cherry toms and capsicum are still growing a little and the egg plant are thriving.

Garden Bed Renovation

I was eyeing off the broccolini patch this morning and thinking that they are past their best now and the cooler weather may be a good chance to dig over the bed and get some fresh manures and compost in there before the rains start.

I will possibly plant spinach, silverbeet and some turnip in the bed next since I cannot follow the broccolini with cauliflowers since they are of the same family of plants (brassicas). I may even sneak in a row of carrots since this bed is quite clean and I should get nice straight roots.

The cucumber may still give a few more fruit so I will wait another week before I start digging the bed over. Not that I really dig the beds much now – I usually top them up with a well mixed load of manures and compost, wetting agents and rock minerals.

The capsicums in that bed are now two years old so they are going for sure – I would be lucky to get another year of fruit from them.
Speaking of fruit here is the last fig for 2010 – I ate it straight after I took this little snap!

A New Toy err Tool

The Organic Gardener finally found time to get out and buy a new lawnmower this week for my landscaping business.

It’s a beauty and has a neat trick – turns grass into a fine mulch that can be pushed back into the lawn as you mow. This puts nutrients back into a lawn and helps keep the nutrients handy for the grass. What I like is that the 4 blades produce a fine cut that I can use in the compost heap. I also run the mower over shrub prunings and trimmings and it turns them into fine mulch as well which I then pick up by putting the catcher on after the mulcher has done it’s job.
The fine clippings are like dynamite in the compost heap and really get things moving a lot quicker.

This is the magic device that turns a regular mower into a mulching genie!

It is designed to fling the cuttings back around and into the blades for a second third or fourth cut!

Here is the back of the mower – normally the catcher is attached here and the cuttings exit!

With the insert in place the clippings go around for another chop before being thrown down into the lawn.

Weird Organic Vegetables

Let me finish this week with a couple of strange vegetables I picked!

Mr Eggplant Head

The Foetal Carrot Baby

February 2010

After a couple of days back in a school I realise how important working in the garden is to me. A few minutes here and there all day helps keep me sane and calm. (I have a 5 week contract of work holding a Head of Learning position in my old school starting the day after I officially resigned! Such is life!)
I have only taken it up as a favour to a friend who has to face some serious health challenges for the next couple of months and asked me to help him out.

So to get ready for this situation I have had to go flat out ripping out the old crops and getting the seedlings in and established before I start spending full days working away from home. Well I have done it and I am fairly sure the seedlings will survive without my regular checks next week – thankfully the weather this week is hovering around 30degrees instead of 40 degrees celcius!

Out With the Old and in with the New

I have removed the tired Zucchini, added a pile of compost and blood and bone to the bed – the seedlings are spring onions (two varieties) and some lettuce, beetroot and carrots.

The corn is in the compost heap and the bed has received a pile of compost and manures to get it ready for more seedlings next weekend. The mulch is Sugar Cane mulch that I buy in bulk – $20 a bale from Bunnings. I am undecided as to what to plant right now – so will think about it for a week!

The new cucumber are thriving and double in size every couple of days and should be bearing fruit very soon! We have started harvesting the lettuce.

On Sunday I harvested a feed of broccolini, eggplants and capsicum. We can possibly pick one or two capsicum every day now. The tomatoes have started ripening and we have had two lovely organic tomatoes in our sandwiches and some cherry toms on our plates so far this week.

The eggplant I left have already increased in size and should be suitable to eat any time we need them!

That’s it from me this week since I have a lot less time now with a day job to attend to!
The Organic Gardener.

In The Organic Garden This Hot Summer Week

Well here we are past the mid point of January and several weeks of very warm weather with today being the second day in a row over 42 degrees celcius. Tomorrow promises to be around 37 and it might even rain – the first time in 57 days!

We have broken some records this month on the summer temperatures and rainfall front. Normally this spells disaster for the vegetable garden but this year I seem to have had a win! My plans and preparations have saved the day and I have suffered minimal losses in the garden. A few lettuce plants got fried, a few capsicums burnt but generally all is well.

This zucchini plant has a little stress (as seen by the white fungal infection which I will treat with milk)

Beetroot and spring onion doing fine under the shade cloth. Oh yeah, that’s Dill growing in the front there!

Tomatoes doing fine, little sun damage and nice and plump.

The eggplant are thriving and we are enjoying them on and off the BBQ!

The next round of Cucumbers doing very well and a few lettuce in between them and the broccolini.

Will pick our first ever grapes tomorrow if it rains other wise the next day it cools down.
The cloth is to cover them on the hottest days, otherwise they are raisins!

Picking and Preserving the Corn Crop

Last week we picked the first of the corn to have cooked on the BBQ for Margit’s birthday. Today I picked half of the remaining crop to preserve for eating in the winter months. It seems so far away right now, but warm buttered corn on a cold winters day is some fine comfort food! The following photos demonstrate the procedure for preserving them in the deep freezer.

A very successful crop of corn this year it was 42degrees when I took this photo – corn was quite happy!

A sharp broad knife makes cutting the corn much easier.

Strip the cobs of the leaves and the filaments.

Cut into convenient bite sized cobs.

I had a big pan of water coming to the boil and ready to go as I finished chopping. The corn goes in for 5-6 minutes only to just partially cook them. (This stops freezer burn)

This bucket has a little ice and cold water ready to cool the blanched corn cobbettes.

The corn is bagged in lots of 6 for a dinner serve, dated and placed in the freezer. There is some lovely organic beef and free range pork sitting next to them!

That’s it, all ready for the coming winter. The rest of the crop we will eat raw and BBQ – and also give a few away to some lucky neighbours and friends!

I wish the best for the rest of the week – we expect more hot weather in the mid-30’s this weekend so the heat is on in Perth!

Take care,
The Organic Gardener

Heating Up

The summer weather has been mixing it up a bit – cool days (24C) and hot days (38C) and lot’s of in between days as well!
I know that the summer is yet to really heat up so I am already seeing the problem of the high temperatures on the delicate plants. My umbrellas have been working but the winds are challenging some days so I have followed a friends example of building a shade over the top of the beds.

Shade Cloth

Today I have built my first shade over the two hottest beds – they get sun nearly all day so can get very dry unless I pour in more water. Water is restricted now in most cities and Perth is no different. The shading should cut down water loss and allow me to keep to my rostered days.

So here is the process I followed:

Some tall start pickets on the four corners and a brace across the ends and the middle.

I used old PVC to strut and support the posts and shade cloth. It’s light and cheap!

This is 50% shade cloth.

The cucumbers were a lot happier this afternoon so I believe we are on the right track!

Veges in the Garden This Week

Here is a quick update on the veges this week!

Apples are starting to grow!

Siamese Twin Cucumbers!

Eggplant

Zucchini

Spring Onion

The Corn Forest! Over 1.5m high now!

This weekend will be over 37C so that should a big test for my shades and I will let you know how it all performs!

Until next week, have a great week!

The Organic Gardener

This post may seem a little out of time! You see my last post was to be published at the start of November but I got sick and was too ill to publish on time!
I have just got back to the keyboard today to find the unpublished post! However, this is no drama since it shows the dramatic growth over the last 4 weeks. You won’t believe the way my seedlings and seeds have rocketed into the world!

Anyway, here is the update for the first week of December – weather has been strange – some very hot days now and then, rain and thunderstorms and then some very mild and thoroughly amazing days – 23-27 degrees with a cool breeze…. the best of Perth’s climate!

Let’s start with the corn –

It is so thick and lush and I am delighted with it’s progress – could be the best we have ever grown!

The cucumbers are just about to start their mad rush up the fence and supply us with a dozen or so fruits a week!

We should be able to pick 6-7 by the next weekend!

Oh yeah here is one of the lettuce I planted in the corn bed between the rows – it clearly loves this location.

Here is one of the 8 or so eggplant I planted!

The Zucchini are also near bursting with fruit and by the weekend we will be picking 5-6 of those as well!

This is our first bunch of grapes growing up over the patio!

Also let us not forget the carrot seeds and leeks I planted in the refreshed bed.

The board is for me to step on so I don’t compact the bed – each garden bed has something for me to stand on without compacting the soil to encourage good root growth and water absorption when it rains.

Beetroot, eggplant and onions here are doing very nicely indeed!

Let me finish off with one of the many delicate flowers growing around the yard right now!

Have a great week – I can feel a stirfry coming up this weekend – zucchini, coriander, spinach, carrots……..

Heritage

You may recall me speaking about the decision I made this year to grow tomatoes from seed and particularly sow heritage varieties. Well here they are and doing very well thankyou!

That is self sown lettuce in the background – it’s like weeds at the moment!

We are well into spring here in Perth and the organic garden is warming up and the soil is just right for preparation for summer crops.
Seeds are in the trays and germinating so the next step is to prepare the ground.

Step 1. Complete the Harvest of Winter Crops

I have picked the last of the turnips and onions and also found a few beetroot.
The organic Garlic are going well but no where near ready for harvest yet.

Step 2. Weed the Beds

With the extra rain this winter and spring I have actually had quite a lot of clover growing in the beds.

This has not been a problem since it fixes nitrogen in the soil and makes good compost too!
So I have weeded these all out and turned the soil over.

After all that the compost heap is looking huge.

Step 3. Add compost and Blood and Bone

Next is the addition of blood and bone and compost to revive the tired soils that have produced wonderful winter food like cauliflower and turnips.

I also add some germs – this are granulated bacteria that kick off the soil activity when you add them with the organic materials.

Step 4. Mulch the Beds

This year I am trying something new – cane sugar mulch!

Garden straw has become very expensive over the last few years so I have tried to find alternatives but most are just as expensive. I spotted this sugar cane mulch last week and though I would try it this summer. It comes in a compressed bale in a plastic bag so the bag covers 7 square meters at the depth I need. Very convenient and easy to handle.

We will see how this goes and I will report back next year.
I give it all a good watering – completely soaked and ready for the plants.

Step 5. Plant out the Seedlings

I have bought a few seedlings as well as grown my own to get things moving and to space out the plantings.
Today I have put in cucumber, yellow zucchini, egg plant (3 varieties), coriander (in tomato bed for pest control).

So there we go the crops are in and the only thing to do now is to keep an eye on the pests and keep the ground moist.

Now Keep that Dog Out

Now blood and bone has a nice smell if you are a dog and so if I don’t take precautions the red menace will be into the garden in a flash. This is why you can see the galvanised fence around each bed.

Here he is chewing his raw bone looking very happy. I can tell you he would also be thinking how that freshly dug garden bed will be a great place to bury this bone later today!

The black pipe is the recycled tyre material that I bury below the soil as an underground water system. The pipe weeps and effectively maintains good moisture levels with little evaporation.

Protect Seedlings From Heat

In Perth we can get some real scorchers even in spring so I prepare for the odd day by placing my beach umbrellas in each bed.
I have placed steel stakes deep in the bed and then tie the umbrella base to them. Top of the umbrella can be removed in very windy weather but usually I can just leave them down and tied.

This one is in the broccoli bed and last year enabled me to grow and pick the vegetable for almost the whole of summer!

Here it is in it’s full glory doing a great job protecting my dinner!

I actually have two stakes in some beds one for early summer and one for late summer. This can compensate for the changing tilt of the earth as the season moves on.

That’s it then all ready – now I just keep an eye out for bugs and deal with them as the weeks progress.

Have a great week and may you have success in your garden as well!

The weather is still quite rough here in Perth at the moment but this has not hampered the plants. The spring flowers are bursting out in all their glory as I type!

This is a fine example the first buds on the apricot tree!

Bulbs still pressing on into the early spring heat!

Flowers Amongst the Organic Vegetable Beds

One of my tricks is to grow a range of flowering plants for the benefits of the bees and friendly insects. Ladybirds and wasps etc can hide amongst the bushes and get a feed on the unsuspecting grazers and visitors to my flowers.
This does two things, firstly it keeps the control insects in my garden longer during the year and also provides them with habitat to shelter from the weather at this time of the year.
This is all part of my pest management routine.

Colourful Vistas

The second purpose of the flowering shrubs and ground covers is simply aesthetic!
The yard looks a great deal nicer with lots of colour.
The following is what can be seen out the kitchen window for example.

Ornamental Plum

Jasmine, Bottle Brush, Daisies, Roses

This is my latest success my Strelitzia is about to flower in the little tropical corner I have out the front yard.

Update: the flower has opened and here it is in all it’s glory!