Online Food Garden Chat May 2020

On Sunday 17 May 2020 the Food Garden Group's first-ever online food garden chat took place. We talked about aphids in Brussels Sprouts, biochar, improving soil, weed mat, wicking beds, moving an olive tree and carrots.  See below for a summary of the discussions.

Aphids in Brussels Sprouts - Marg reported that she has many aphids on her Brussels Sprouts, and asked what to do about them. Aphids seem to prefer Brussels Sprouts over all other Brassicas. People commented that Brussels Sprouts seem to do best if amply fertilised, regularly foliar-fed with seaweed extract, and grown in a position with all day sun. Spraying with water + dish wash liquid kills a lot of aphids if done two, three times a week. Aphids will become less of an issue when colder weather starts in earnest.

Biochar - Bill mentioned adding biochar to his soil. Biochar is a great way to improve soil and make it less dense. Biochar is charcoal enriched with seaweed extract and liquid fertilisers. I make my own biochar by taking charcoal from our wood heater (I collect it every evening before starting the next fire), crushing it, putting it in a large bucket, and adding liquid seaweed extract and/or fish emulsion or whatever soluble fertiliser I have, to it. The fluid will enter the small cavities in the charcoal and become food for plants and microbes when you add the biochar to the soil. You can add the biochar to the soil while it is still wet, or let it all dry and use it many weeks later. Charcoal without the solutions added is not really biochar, but will still loosen up the soil. You can buy ready-to-use biochar, but it is not cheap.

Improving soil - Leonie described her not wonderful soil in her new garden. Biochar would be a great way to improve that soil. If the soil is not dense, it can be improved with compost, green manures, manures and aerating with a garden fork. If soil is too dense it can be best to create raised beds with purchased vegie soil, for instance offered by a company called Best Mix at Mornington. Some purchased soils are not very good at all, so please examine a sample before buying. There are many posts on improving soil on the Food Garden Group blog.

Weed mat - Leonie described how a lot of her garden is covered in weed mat and how unhealthy the soil below seems to be. Ross commented that when he had to clean up beds with weed mat, without doubt every bed was completely dead underneath. Yes it may help to prevent the spread of weeds BUT it also seems to make the soil sour. As a guide I watch the earthworms, if they won’t live under it then that must tell us something.

Wicking beds - Leonie talked about wicking bed kits that she bought that come complete with hoods made out of thin material to keep insects out. We invited Leonie to put some info about the wicking beds + one or more photos on the Facebook page. You can find more info about these wicking beds at  https://vegepod.com.au/

Moving an olive tree - Chris asked whether an established olive tree can be moved, and how this should be done. He is contemplating moving the tree because the olives don't seem to be ripening (May).  This may be because the tree is in a spot with too much shade.  There was no olive-expert in the meeting, so it was suggested that he put a post with the question on our Facebook page. Out of the discussion on Facebook came three thoughts. One, that Chris may just need to be more patient. His olives may ripen, just later than he expects them to.  Two, that the well-developed tree, even if it is pruned back severely before moving, might not survive the move.  Three, that it would be a big job to do so, and a new young tree in a sunny spot would be far less work.

Carrots - Several people reported having good carrots crops. Chris wanted to know why his carrots had done so much better this season. People felt that maybe the cold rainy weather in November had actually contributed to good crops because it made for good germination. People felt that growing carrots in full sun would also contribute to success. Regular foliar feeding with seaweed extract is another way to improve good growth. Max reported that his carrots have in some cases split. This is due to uneven watering. The surface tension in a carrot cane become too high if there is not enough watering, and it splits. Split carrots don't look great, but can still be eaten.