Ten Tips and Hints

This month ten tips and hints that may help you make your food garden even better.

Number 1 – Variety is the name of the game

I often plant too much of one vegetable, and then don’t have space for something else that would have added variety to our diet. The healthiest food gardens contain a wide variety of crops.

I am getting better at adding flowers to that mix. Herbs are a great way to add productive plants that flower. This year flowering herbs in my food garden attracted swarms of native bees (see photo below).

A wide variety of food plants and flowers will attract a wide variety of insects, increase the chances of good pollination of pumpkins and other fruit-producing plants, and generally add to the health of your food garden. A mix of a wide variety of food plants and flowers makes a great food garden even better and great to look at!

Number 2 – Be careful with soil and manure

Unless soil and manure have been heat-treated, and therefore devoid of life (and of no value to food gardeners), they are full of living organisms. That is great and will be fantastic for your garden, but make sure not to endanger your health, while handling it.

If soil and manure are dry and dusty make them moist before handling them. Wear gloves, and if you can’t moisten all the material, wear a simple face mask. Potting soil that comes in plastic bags, in particular, should be treated with care and caution. Be careful, and then all will be fine. Those who find this a bit alarmist please read this article.

Number 3: Prune hard!

In many food gardens fruit trees and berry bushes are insufficiently pruned because owners are not confident enough to boldly make the cuts that need to be made to get the best out of the trees or bushes.

Very rarely will a tree or bush die because it was pruned. Instead, in most cases pruning invigorates trees and bushes. It provides ventilation. It makes pest control and netting easier.

Every season, after harvesting fruit, or when foliage has fallen, prune hard! Work towards making the tree a bowl shape. Cut branches in the centre of the tree and those that go inwards. Cut away branches that cross each other and that may damage each other in windy conditions. Decrease the height of trees at that time, so there will be no fruit that will be beyond reach and you can control pests more easily. Make netting trees easier for yourself by containing their height. Do the same for berries, but on a smaller scale. Blog post Pruning Berries covers how the varies types of berries should be pruned.

Number 4 – Keep grass away from tree trunks

In so many gardens fruit trees are surrounded by grass, and it goes right up to their stems. Most of the moisture from rain and irrigation will benefit the grass. The tree roots will only get moisture when good rains manage to get through this layer. Remove all grass and weeds in a circle around the tree, up to the drip-line.

As a general rule tree roots go out from a tree at least as far as their foliage, so don’t make that circle too small. While you are at it, feed your tree some good compost, and a layer of mulch that is easily penetrated by moisture. Most fruit trees root shallowly, so an extra layer on top will be gratefully received.

Number 5 – Foliar feed regularly!

Foliar feeding is the process of spraying leaves of fruit trees, berries, and vegetables, with a mix of water and a beneficial liquid, such as seaweed extract or fish emulsion or worm juice. Foliar feeding is best done early in the morning, so leaves don’t stay wet too long, and mildew forming is avoided.

Many food gardeners are very good at having worm farms and compost heaps, and using manure and mulch, but forget that spraying plants once a week or fortnight with these mixes can enormously benefit a food garden. There are many liquids that you can make yourself and that are really good to use when foliar feeding.  For some of them have a look at Microbes in your Soil .

Number 6 – Know the difference between lime and dolomite

Most Tasmanian soils are acid, and food gardeners use agricultural lime to make soils less acid, because most vegetables like soil that is almost neutral. More info about soil, acidity and pH can be found here .

Dolomite is a lime that contains trace element magnesium, whereas agricultural lime does not. Most people see the magnesium as a bonus, and therefore use dolomite instead of lime. However, continued use of dolomite can result in excess magnesium in your soil, which makes clay sticky and tightly packed. If you find that your soil is becoming harder to dig, it might well be because you are using dolomite. It may be time to switch from dolomite to lime.

Number 7 – Rotate your crops

A recent Mercury newspaper article about Gourmet Farmer Matthew Evans’ food gardener Nadia Danti caught my eye. This great article discussed many aspects of creating a healthy food garden. One sentence stood out for me. It said ‘Danti is a firm believer in yearly crop rotation to prevent disease build-up and nutrient depletion’.

I have come to realise that many food gardeners plant and sow wherever there is an empty spot in their food garden. Others alternate just a few crops. There is also the misconception that, if you are into permaculture, you don’t have to rotate crops, but you should. It is part of good permaculture practices.

No matter how small or large your food garden is, or how oddly shaped your beds are, you can divide your food garden in four areas of approximately similar size, and reap the many benefits (great carrots, for instance, instead of small forked ones). Honestly, it is not hard! Find out how it is done in a simple way in The Importance of Rotating Crops . 

Number 8 – How to get those carrots to germinate

People complain that they can’t get carrots to grow. Here are the most important pointers: use fresh seed, don’t sow too deeply, and keep the soil moist. That last point is literally often the killer. People sow, a warm day comes along, and they forget to water. Consistent moisture in the first week after sowing is crucial.

So what to do you if you work full time, and can’t water during the day? You cover the sown rows with planks, and water in the evening. Yep, it’s not ‘set and forget’. You need to develop an internal alarm clock (or set a real one) that goes off at least once a day and says ‘watering time’.
In warm weather (which is ideal for germination), you may need to water the rows twice a day. For more tips and hints please read blog post Sowing in your Garden .

Number 9 – Don’t take on too much too soon

People on large properties often start with real enthusiasm, but take on too much, too soon. Weeds grow beyond belief. Wildlife come out of the bush and have a feast. It all becomes too much, and this can lead to disappointment.

To those who are fortunate enough to have a lot of space I say: start small, then expand when the small area is going well, and you realise you have the time, and the money, to expand.

Should my orchard be where I put the first few trees? Is my first attempt at a vegie garden too far away from the kitchen?

As time goes by and you observe the seasons, you will become the expert regarding your local climate. Is there too much shade in that area in winter? Are the prevailing winds very strong in parts of your garden? Is there an area that becomes very muddy after heavy rain?

If you start small, your mistakes will be small, and you will not have too much difficulty adjusting!

Once you know what the best locations are on your property, make sturdy cages that solve your wildlife problems once and for all (see various blog posts on this blog).

Number 10 – Make the width of your garden beds just right

When you add a garden bed to your food garden, whether raised or not, home build or galvanised iron and purchased, it is a good idea to make sure you can reach the middle of the bed without standing on it. Why? Because it means that you will never compact the soil and crush the soil organisms that are working for you in that soil.

Do you have other tips and hints that would be a good addition to this list?  Please email me at foodgardengrooup@gmail.com .