Raising the dead...I mean, 'bed'!

Well the weather in Melbourne has been great - if you're a snail, slug or duck. I have chicken wire over the beds, so at least they're safe from most pests.

But...I havn't had the weather required to cut up and make my new bed for the back part of the yard. Tsk tsk I hear you say. Well, you get out there and make the bloody thing in the rain then smart bum.

This weekend looks like good weather for it, so i'll hit up a mate for his circular saw and give it the good old college try.

Photos of band-aided thumbs, blood covered soil and me swearing to follow...

ALSO,

This site has some great ideas for beds:

raised-garden-beds-kits

Irrigation - Stage One

After waking this morning to a lovely day, but still feeling pretty crook, I decided a visit to the garden would help, and sure enough, as soon as the sun hit me, I felt a lot better.

So I put in the first stage of the irrigation for the poly boxes already in place. The weather in Melbourne can go any which way but predictable, so at least i'm prepared for drought.

It literally took me 5 minutes to set up. Photos below:

Update:

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a cat person, but when I went back again only a couple of hours AT MOST, and the next door neighbours cat has trampled have of the seedlings.

I have a few options:

1. Create an elaborate and highly technical motion sensing watering system, that will spray the little bugger, though cats are pretty crafty, he'd carry a mirror and have the James Bond theme playing....

2. Electrify EVERYTHING in the entire backyard. He'll get the hint.

3. Hire a particularly well armed private militia (i'm thinking there may be a few excess since the US pulled out of Iraq....

4. Move......a canon into the backyard, and declare (quite formally) a state of war, dragging both properties into a protracted and devastating conflict that will change the world forever....

I got wood!!!!

So, moving to a new office has many benefits. One of these benefits is finding a whole lot of lengths of pine PERFECT for my raised garden bed. AND not treated (I wouldn't use treated, as it's full of arsenic, and other nasties that leach like crazy)!

I knew having a 4X4 (also known as a $X$ - because of petrol) would come in handy:

(my car boot is chockers)

And the job lot in the backyard:

...and finally, where the raised bed will be (soil to be removed and luckily there are bricks beneath the soil - which should stop weeds from growing up through the growing area):

Now...to find a circular saw, and some VERY long screws. I intend to make the front of the planter removable to make turning the soil a lot easier after each harvest....

Addendum: http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/forum/treated-pine1/ If you're going to use pine, of any variety, you need to look at the codes printed on the sides.
Almost all pine available in Australia has been treated in some way.

http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/Food-and-Agriculture/CCATreatedTimber/CCA-safety-overview.aspx

The CSIRO's take on CCA (treated wood). I think I'll put a lining in my garden bed just to be sure.

First Planting

My neighbors had a couple of extra cucumber sprouts spare, so in they went after work today. The first of the many plants that will soon fill my garden with edible delights.

Blueberries

I'm thinking I will add 2 blueberry bushes to the rear of the garden.

From what I've read, they're pretty easy to maintain and love pots.

http://www.homelife.com.au/gardening/how+to+grow/how+to+grow+blueberries+,15687

http://containergardening.about.com/od/vegetablesandherbs/a/Growing_blueberries.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s789952.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s3791706.htm


Buying two will assist in pollination and produce twice as much fruit.

It can take up to 2 years for the bushes to produce good quantities of berries, so I'd better get onto it quick smart.

Compost Bin

Yesterday I bought a compost bin from Bunnings.

The first one I brought home didn't have a lid...

The second one had handles missing...

And when I went back a third time, the Bunnings guy told me to grab the one that had been opened, as he'd "already checked it". It was a different one, but by that stage I thought 'bugger it!' and took it. All the parts were inside thankfully and it's now begun it's life work of composting in my backyard.

There's doors at the bottom of each side for removing the composted materials.

Soil!!!!!

In case you were wondering, this is what 1.5 cubic metres of soil looks like (wheelbarrow for scale):

The soil's new home in the backyard. Soon to be in it's boxes and producing lots of vegetables and herbs.

Raised Garden Beds (supply/construction)

http://www.renos.com.au/bargains/vic/

This is a list of melbourne second hand timber supplies.

I'll have to measure up length, depth and width before commencing and purchase/ordering.

http://permaculturenews.org/2013/04/30/how-to-build-a-cheap-raised-garden-bed/

http://www.wikihow.com/Construct-a-Raised-Planting-Bed

Gardening Australia instructions:

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s3681448.htm



Construction:

I'm thinking of just using an interlocking joinery, as this will allow for easy deconstruction should I need to move the boxes etc. Similar to the photos below:

Also some great ideas on the google image search: 

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=interlocking+wood&espv=2&biw=1418&bih=790&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=si9kVK-8B8jEmAWJxYLgCw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#tbm=isch&q=planter+box+wood+join

French Intensive Gardening

With thanks to my awesome Aunty, I'm going to research and implement this technique:

http://www.vegetable-gardening-with-lorraine.com/French-intensive-garden.html

Soil arrives tomorrow. I'm just a little excited to start this project...just a little :)

Mmmmmmmmaybe mushrooms too...

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s3490712.htm

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/vegetables/how-to-grow-mushrooms/

http://www.fungi.net.au/grow_your_own_mushrooms/

http://mushroomkit.com.au/


This was the letter I received from Gardening Australia regarding using Mushroom Compost to propagate fresh mushrooms (turns out you dont actually need the kits):

Dear Boogins,  

Thanks for your email.

Yes, any mushroom compost will do – although you will, of course, get a better result with a mushroom farm.

We’d suggest you see our online Edible Garden section, which has details on crop rotation, companion and grid planting, making raised beds, no-dig gardening, soil management, troubleshooting and much more:

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/features/ediblegarden.htm

You might also want to download our free Vegie Guide app which will tell you what to plant and when:

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/resources/vegie_app.htm

... or otherwise, please use our online Vegie Guide:

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/vegieguide/

Thank you again for contacting us and we hope you continue to enjoy watching the programme during our 25th year.  Good luck & happy gardening!

The GA Team

Mmmmmm Wheelbarrow

Photos to come soon....

No Dig Gardening?

My friend keeps telling me to go down this path:

No Dig Gardening

Though i'm really keen to try this soil/straw garden first, as it's less initial effort and I want to make a go of it now that I've started.

And another article on the subject from ABC Gardening Australia:

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s867068.htm

Perhaps I could do this type of gardening down the very back of the yard...just need plenty of straw/chook poo...

Compost Bins

I think with the added plant material this yard will be producing, I'd better invest some time in a compost bin.

I've used a barrel previously that I constructed myself. It was a little cumbersome and quite messy. I drilled holes into the side for aeration, but the rolling process (to mix the contents) meant compost would fall out. See picture below:

I think i'll go for this one: 

http://www.bunnings.com.au/220l-compost-bin_p3160023

As it's not too big, cheap-ish, and has doors that also act as scoops (i have lots of leaves).

Sugarcane Mulch

I bought some Sugarcane Mulch yesterday, in preparation for the first plants, and because this is getting quite addictive and exciting, so I want to add something every day to it.

Bunnings had the better deal, and I chose organic mulch as it's for vegetable stock, and using sugarcane mulch is better for the environment, as it value adds to something farmers traditionally burnt off. It's my bit to reduce CO2 emissions.

Having a backyard garden will also reduce my impact on transport emissions for the delivery of vegetables to market. I just wish I could somehow add a water tank to the backyard an collect rainwater for the garden, but alas, it's a rental and there isn't access to the drainpipes off the roof at the back of the house (otherwise I would just jerry-rig something of my own that could be easily dismantled in the future).

Companion Planting

Some plants love the company of others. Either for pest distraction and repulsion, or to help fix essential nutrients to the soil for one another.

Here is a good quick list, though if you search the web, you'll also find charts that go into much greater detail.

Companion Planting Guide



Here's the full sized image:

http://ediblelandscapingcompetition.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/companion-planting-table-food-matters-manitoba.jpg

So you want to know about Mulches?

Fact Sheet on Mulch (American, but still useful)

I'm going to go with some organic Sugar Cane Mulch from Bunnings:

Sugarcane Mulch

It should cover all of my boxes as the cover claims 6 square metres.

Arrrggghh - Adding a calendar is hard work

So I want to add my shared Google calendar to the page, to include planting, harvest and days special days, but the only calendar i've found so far is just a dumb daily (uneditable).

Will have to do some more research...

UPDATE:

How to add a calendar

Inspirational

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s3871849.htm

From ABC's Gardening Australia

Chemical Leaching?

So I've done some research about chemicals leaching from the polystyrene into the soil, and the only conclusive evidence so far has been that it DOES leach when heated (cook in cup microwaves etc).

As the boxes will be in the sun, I wonder if they'll heat up enough to start releasing chemicals directly into the soil, or air (and subsequently absorbed by the leaves of each plant).

This is a real problem now, as it defeats the purposes of purchasing good soil and keeping it separate from the existing, and almost certainly contaminated soil of the yard...

The site claiming chemical leaching from the boxes

....ok, after further research, and some thinking, I'm going to proceed with the poly boxes. I have a feeling once I get started with the growing process, I'll want to move to larger, raised, wooden boxes, but this is a good start.

This is a great site for growing in styrene boxes: 

http://www.homelife.com.au/gardening/how+to+grow/how+to+grow+vegetables+in+a+foam+box,5320

How much soil?

I wish I had the mathematical smarts to determine how much soil I will need for this project. Just have to figure out many litres of material will fit in each poly box....1 cubic metre divided by number of poly boxes equals...ow my brain...

So far I'm leaning towards Soil Worx, but I've seen on other sites that good veggie soil can be sourced at lower cost...Hmmmm, I think some more online detective work is required.

The boxes

I sourced these from South Melbourne Market, and I only managed to get around 1/3 of what I need to fill the space I've planned for planting.

Poly Piping

So here's the start of what I can only assume will be a mildly addictive hobby/kit building obsession....

I recommend Masters for the piping, as it was more than half the price of Bunnings Warehouse but if you find somewhere even cheaper...let me know :)

After the clearing

So this is the afternoon sun, after I'd cleared the scrub, but before I cleared the over hanging branches.

Noon sunlight

So this is the noon sun pattern...much better up the very back (full, all day exposure), also this is prior to removing some over hanging branches.

Also, tested the size/position of the boxes, prior to hacking all the excess branches/scrub.

9am sunlight pattern

So the right side has some good morning sun...

The 'Before shot'

Let the Gardening Begin...

So, last week, in a flash of inspiration, I decided I wanted to grow more veggies and herbs in my backyard, and as it's my cat Boogin's backyard mostly, I thought I'd name this blog after him.

My plan is to raise vegetables and herbs throughout the year, in polystyrene boxes (I don't trust the soil quality/possible contamination in my rental house) and have a polypropylene drip system and timer set up to set and forget. I'm also exploring planning and harvesting techniques (ipad apps, spreadsheets, calendaring etc) to remind myself what and when to plant and harvest, and recording where the sun falls at what time of the day, as the sun traverses behind a large tree, limiting the area of full sun availability to the plant stock. 

I've ordered ten varieties of seeds from the great website:
http://www.theseedcollection.com.au/ 
They have really cheap seeds available via post and a good selection of asian greens.

After a week planning and thinking about how I would make this work, I hit the ground running (bad pun) saturday morning, and visited my local fruit and vegetable market to gather polystyrene boxes, and borrowed a whipper snipper from my mate Derek.