By Beth Field
While there’s always beauty to be found in the garden no matter the season, Spring would have to be the gardener’s favourite time of year. Some of our most beloved flowering plants begin to bloom, like roses, daisies, daffodils, petunias and magnolias, just to name a few. The edible garden also ramps up a gear in Spring, in response to the warmer temperatures and longer days.
Here in the nursery, we have the privilege of hearing from lots of different customers about their experiences in the garden. One of the areas we’ve noticed where people find the most satisfaction and the most frustration is in the humble veggie patch. Experienced gardeners and novices alike, we’ve all been on the rollercoaster of failure and success that is the edible garden; launching ourselves enthusiastically into the Spring veggie patch, warm sun on our back, visions of mountains of home–grown shiny red tomatoes in our head, only to have a pesky snail or caterpillar thwart all our efforts. Grrr!
Oh but there are many more moments of sweet success! As the calendar page flips over to September, we hope the following tips will encourage you to get your hands dirty and try – or try again– for that home–grown harvest.
Soils ain’t soils
Preparing your soil is hands–down the most important step when starting or renewing a veggie patch. Edible plants use lots of energy while they’re growing, and they get this energy from the sun and the nutrients in the soil. Herbs and veggies growing in soil with added organic matter are stronger and better able to fight off those pesky pests and diseases when they strike. Preparing your soil also helps it to hold the right amount of water. Soil preparation can be as simple as adding a few bags of compost and cow manure to the soil each season before you plant, and mulching with sugarcane or lucerne afterwards. Searles 5–in–1 is an easy–to–use fertiliser that also improves the soil.
Pay attention
Paying attention to our plants is how we learn what’s healthy and what’s not. Plants have ways of telling us what they need. After a season or two of spending just a few minutes a day with your edibles, you’ll have trained your eye to the difference between a thriving strawberry plant and one that’s in need of fertiliser. You’ll know what rich, healthy, moist soil looks like, as opposed to dry and depleted soil. You’ll even learn the difference between beneficial bugs and ones that will damage your precious plants. Lots of garden pests or diseases can be dealt with very quickly and easily if you ‘nip them in the bud’ (pun intended!). Catching pest or diseases when they’re just beginning in most cases makes them much easier to deal with, rather than when they’ve taken hold. Enjoy that quiet moment just looking at your plants and soaking up the beauty – and the message – in their detail.
Don’t give up
If your first (or second, or third…) attempt at growing edibles wasn’t as successful as you’d hoped, don’t give up! Even seasoned veggie gardeners lose a plant or two to rabbits or snails, or find some plants do well one year and not so well the next – just ask your friend or neighbour and you might find it’s been a ‘bad year for cucumbers’ for them too. Sometimes a new edible garden doesn’t yield well in its first season, but once the added organics have worked into the soil the next season is a bumper crop! Don’t over think it, just prep your soil and have a go. To hear the ‘snap’ of crispy lettuce leaves picked fresh or see juicy strawberries ripening in the sun is to make the dance with nature worthwhile. We’re always here and happy to help with questions.
Happy gardening from the team at Burbank!