In article ,
Trish Brown wrote:

We're just about to embark on our first-ever veggie patch and I wondered
if anyone might have some tips for us? The reason we haven't started
before is that our block is boggy and spongy when the winter rains come,
yet arid and awful in the heat of summer. It finally dawned on me that a
raised (about 60cm or more) bed might be the answer! So, that's what
we'd like to do: build up a well-raised bed and then see if we can
reduce the grocery bill by growing some veggies.

Very good ideas!

I've read lots of material about permaculture and no-dig gardens (they
come with a recipe for layering that seems pretty impossible - I mean, I
don't know any sheep, so I won't be getting sheep-poo any time soon...)
My thoughts were to lay something drainy ('aggregate'? chitter? etc?)
and then pile on some organic mix soil (purchased at Great Cost from a
local bloke who sells it). We've got some recycled planks to make the
walls of the garden and a few years' worth of rotted grass clippings for
mulching.

Frankly, I'd just bung in what you have. I'm sure all that lucerne, straw,
sheep poo etc is wonderful but it's just too expensive for a Sydney gardener
to manage, especially considering there are cheaper/free materials that will
work just as well without requiring further greenhouse gas emissions to bring
in!

If you are building the bed on grass, put lots of layers of newspaper at the
bottom. Right now is a good time to do this as rain is expected along the
coast all week. A few *years'* worth of rotted grass clippings is probably a
beautiful friable soil by now, under the top 10cm. Use the top bit for the
mulch. It's good to have manure in there as well. And probably a good
sprinkle of lime. You will see people say that dolomite is "better" than
builder's lime; for our purposes that's nonsense. We just need to raise the
pH a bit, and if builder's lime is cheaper than the garden one, go for it.
You'd need maybe four cups for your little bed.

I see you are starting with a 2mx1m bed. That's good to start with if you are
unsure of yourself, but I can guarantee that you'll have started a second bed
within the next year unless you literally don't have any land to put it on.
Growing vegies is addictive!

Oh, and have the long side of the bed facing north/south and the short sides
east/west. Northern sun warms your vegies; western sun cooks them. Pop a
trellis on the southern side of the bed and put in your peas (snow peas or
sugar snap peas if you'd rather, but ordinary peas are easiest to grow).

Is there anything else I should know? What can I plant nowish (within,
say, the next month)? And is there anything mentioned above that sounds
wrong? 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.

You can see a nice free list here, updated monthly:
http://www.global-garden.com.au/plnttemp.htm

Sydney, and, I imagine, Newcastle are temperate.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/