Winter Vege Gardening

I know the rewards are spread out a bit more when you are growing veges over the winter, but I really wanted to share this photo of my Beetroot with you.  I have a couple of them waiting to be harvested and think I may be eating Beetroot for dinner for the rest of the week.  This isn’t a bad thing, because I went to a nutritionist last week and it was suggested that I eat more Beetroot to help improve my health and immune system.

As you can see from the photo the root on the beet is the height of a teaspoon which I thought was pretty good going considering I don’t give my vege garden much attention.  I am sure the plants are relieved it has rained this past week, as my attempts to water them has been few and far between.  Mainly when I look out the window and notice that they have all gone limp.

I have added a few new winter plants over the past month including my staple of Cabbages and Garlic.  By the way it’s not too late to plant Garlic now, you can plant it up until the end of July.  And I am having more success with my Rocket and Coriander as I have previously tried to grow them both in summer but both have bolted to seed. I may even have enough Rocket to create a Rocket, Feta and Beetroot salad.

I am also having a go at growing some Fennel, I saw the small seedlings at market and couldn’t resist giving it a go, even tho I have never eaten it.  I figure you are never too old to try new things.

The Planting Plan

Before I started planting my new garden, I wanted to be organised and make sure I could fit all of the necessities in, while also being mindful of companion planting. Some plants don’t like to be neighbours with others, so I referred to my companion planting book to ensure I didn’t cause to much upset.

So here is my planting plan

On the first day I planted Borlotti Beans, dwarf peas, Honey and Pearl Corn, tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage and spinach. Over the past couple of weeks I have also planted thyme, spring onions and zucchini.

I have covered the garden with straw to help keep the moisture in over summer and the weeds at bay. It also makes in look nice and tidy.

Here is what the garden looks like now.

Building a vegetable garden, where do I start?

Over the weekend I put the hard yards in and built myself a garden. This should reduce the amount of summer vegetables we need to purchase.

So I started with this...



Clearing the area of the weed suppressant, in this case it was shredded pine.

I then created the raised beds. The soil at my place is a very heavy clay that is difficult to dig, so instead of trying to turn this soil over and add nutrients to it, I decided to make it easy for myself.

I had a mix delivered that I could plant straight into; sometimes planting into 100% compost can be too rich for plants and burn their roots. I had a small truck load of compost and recycled potting mix (mix that has already been used by the nursery to grow plants, it is cheaper than new potting mix) delivered. This mix should be available from most large nurseries.

Now it is ready for planting out...



I have planted; tomatoes, corn, zucchini’s, lettuce, beans and peas, along with the few existing plants I already had (lettuce, broccoli and leeks).
Next week I will share my planting plan with you.