0tterbot wrote:


you'll work it out over the next 50 years g!

Fnf! I've not long achieved the first fifty, so go easy, eh? ;-D


with veggie gardening (ime) you learn fast but you _will_ make loads of
mistakes (some of which you will post to this group, & others keep firmly
under your hat ;-). but mistakes are better for learning imho.

mostly it is straightforward & common sense. read lots of veggie books
(there are millions - use the library & 2nd hand books too). one common
theme among them is to keep feeding the soil.. always keeping the soil
covered is another "rule" (but then there are people who remove mulch for
winter or spring, bla bla, so no rule is cast in iron & you have to be
prepared to learn & be surprised.)

What can I plant nowish (within,
say, the next month)?

winter spinach, spring onions, some other types of winter onions (actually,
if you plant onions for sowing in winter into punnets now (today), they can
be something to put in shortly, when they are big enough), and several types
of peas i believe should be ok in newcastle to go in in winter. mizuna in
punnets now! mizuna will NOT let you down & can be sown all year. and check
what else in your new veggie books ;-) well-progressed seedlings of lettuce
& stuff maybe, if you want to get seedlings at the nursery.
you probably can't plant much but you can take the opportunity to plan for
spring. :-)

Hmmm... I like the sound of spinach! My unnatural daughter wants
brussels sprouts (bleargh!) And sadly, I'm allergic to onions and most
of their family. Leeks, I can just keep down, but even the smell of
onions cooking on a barbie or of garlic in anything - watch out! Part of
the fun of this is going to be trying the new varieties of veggies we
can grow.

And is there anything mentioned above that sounds
wrong?

not "wrong" but i'm thinking 60cm is a lot for a raised bed if you're going
to have a few of them! if you raise the bed less (i'm boggling at the
expense you must be incurring with 60cm planned!)

It's an access issue. I just can't get down to ground level to maintain
the garden, so I've saved up for this one. 60cm is a good height for me
and will work in a number of ways. For example: we have a bull terrier
who just loves the smell and feel of freshly turned soil. But she can't
jump, so she won't be visiting the caulies in my garden. I reckon I can
fill it at least half-way with ordinary soil dug from another patch on
our block and then pay for the good gear to go at the top. Our soil is
good: nice dark and loamy with lots of organic matter and billions of
worms. I've got violets and camellias rioting away out the front, but
sadly I don't want my veggies there, I want them out the back.

for drainage, you
shouldn't need to allow for the entire length of the plants' roots, but
rather, a decent amount at the top so some or most of the plants' roots can
still breathe when weather is wet. most veg have lots of near-to-surface
roots to breathe with. i'm not sure if i'd use aggregate underneath or not;
the plants will have roots going down into the original soil, too, & not
sure what pebbles would achieve in terms of drainage when you think about it
that way.

Our local council generously tar-sealed the lane behind our place. Ever
since, the water drains down into our block and the neighboring ones
instead of off into the culvert on the opposite side of the lane. Winter
is a real headache with significant quantities of backyard soil washing
down to my back step and even the grass drowns until the rain dries up
toward spring!

I'd be *really* grateful for any feedback you can offer and hope
this might prompt a bit of a discussion on the ways in which others have
started their gardens.

any time i go a-gardening i just jump into it (none of your "planning" for
spring for me! ;-) so i guess that's how my garden started. :-)

Hmm... I've tried that in the past, but never had this #(%&$^@$#
drainage problem before. What's worse is, every rose bush I've tried to
grow has first succumbed to vile phungus diseases and then drowned (glub
glub glub) in its first winter. If I can get the veggies to happen, next
will be a flower garden!

how big will the garden be?
kylie


Starting off at 2m by 1m with the option to branch out if (when) things
succeed. I've no idea how things crop or even how much of stuff my lot
will eat, once I've grown it. It's going to be great fun finding out, I
think. Also, my daughter is a Scout and has been *longing* to earn her
Agriculture badge by starting a garden. Brussels sprouts, she wants!
Eurgh! =:-0

--
Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia