Vegetable Gardening in the Valley

By Chris R.

The lowlands of the Sanctuary have highly fertile soil, easy to dig and needing little improvement.  Benefitting from the annual flow of Gidgegannup Brook, they are rich and dark, excellent conditions for growing a range of fruit and vegetables.  

Chemicals are not used in the gardens at Possum Valley.  This ensures any free ranging animals or visiting fauna are not exposed to a possible poisoning.  It also ensures the food that both we and our residents consume is safe and totally organic.  With time often short, veggie patch maintenance is irregular and sometimes limited, but remains productive, enjoyable and often quite pretty. So how do you manage pests while maintaining production, with little time on hand?

Here are some key tips to a happy and healthy vegetable garden – even in the smallest of suburban lots:

- Feed the ground: Add compost, manure and mulch such as pea straw to feed soils; vegetables are hungry plants, promptly using nutrients that will need constant replenishment. 

- Mix it up: Don’t plant the same vegetable in the same place each time.  Crop rotation may minimise the build-up of pests and can counter certain soil deficiencies, which may occur from a monoculture in the same bed.  Plantings of legumes such as peas and beans will increase nitrogen in a plot, ready for nutrient-hungry species, such as tomatoes.

- Promote good bugs: Mother nature created a suite of bugs that can help pollinate plants and prey upon pest species.  Plant species in and around vegetables which will nurture the good guys.  These include a range of herbs and also annual flowers such as marigold, alyssum and lavender.

- Water well: Mulch beds well to reduce water use.  Shade plants in hot conditions with shade cloth or even a cotton sheet to reduce evaporation and prevent leaf scorching. Don’t skimp on watering vegetables when needed, but be water wise by giving them a big drink early in the day.  

- Sow often: Stagger plantings to ensure an ongoing supply of your favourite vegetables.  Make sure you allow for garden visitors in your planting regime (we have bunnies stopping by often at the silver beet patch, so additional plants are added).

- Be vigilant: Just a few minutes on a weekend can highlight problems which can jeopardise your crop.  Use finely crushed egg shells and diatomaceous earth to discourage insect pests on any plant.  Chickens will assist with pest collection, just keep an eye they don’t peck or dig at plants you wish to take.

- Plant in season: Take note of the growing seasons of different crops.  Brassica will often bolt to seed in a few short weeks if conditions are hot, while tomatoes will fail to fruit if too cold.  Minimise disappointment by growing plants compatible to seasonal conditions.

A Possum Valley Harvest.

 - Weeds: Weeding a flower lined veggie patch can be highly therapeutic.  As weeds are not sprayed at Possum Valley, they are collected often and fed out to the various birds and poultry as appropriate.  Parrots enjoy annual grasses (especially with seed heads and sandy roots attached) and thistles are relished by chickens. Be careful to learn toxic species of your area – do not feed to animals  and put in the bin to prevent recurrence in the garden.

Easy to grow species, which are relatively pest free include loose leaf lettuce, kale, Asian veggies, chillies, spring onions and silver beet.  Cherry tomatoes are much easier to grow than larger tomato types, and produce heavy crops for long periods.  Silvereyes and Red-capped Parrots enjoy the cherry tomatoes and chillies, so plant additional seedlings to share.  Excess crops, or those spoiled by our native visitors, are not wasted, rather they are collected for the roosters and peacocks who aren’t concerned by a few peck holes and excited to see the ‘seconds’ barrow arriving each weekend.