There are plenty of reasons to start growing your own vegetables
at home: you’ll spend less at the shops; be swamped with happy
vibes as you nurture your own little patch of land; and have healthy
snacks growing right outside your door. If you’d quite like to bring
some carrots, sweet corn or peas into your life, below are a few
tips for making it happen.
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- Step one in the journey to a healthy crop is deciding where
your new vegetable progeny will live. Pop them in the wrong spot,
and you’ve signed their death warrant before they’ve even had a
chance to push out their first leaf. The main factor to consider is
light: will they be exposed to at least six hours of sun each day?
If so, turn your attention to things like space (you’ll need adequate
room for your plants to grow, but not so much that watering and
weeding becomes tricky); exposure to the elements (strong winds
can damage fledgling sprouts); and access to a water source
(a sprinkler system or garden hose, for example).
................... - No backyard? No worries! You don’t need a whopping big plot of
land to grow your own salad-y stuff. There are a few options to choose
from based on the size and setup of your home, like an in-ground
vegetable patch, raised garden bed, large pot or even polystyrene
box. Just keep in mind some plants adapt better to container life than
others, so it’s worth doing a bit of reading before you put spade to dirt.
Raised beds sit above the ground, and tend to be built with bricks or
timber – they heat up fast, which is ace for winter growing, but can
leave your veggies feeling parched in the warmer months.
................... - Here’s the fun part: choosing which vegetables to plant. Consider
what you like to nosh on most – is it broccoli? Cucumber? A spicy
chilli? Some plants are more productive through the year than
others, so your patience and harvest expectations will also come
into play. Most importantly, though, make sure you consult a
gardening calendar. These handy charts will tell you which veggies
are best suited to your local climate, and when’s the best time to
sow your seeds. There’s no point planting frost-hating eggplants in
a chilly Tasmanian winter, for instance – work with what you’ve got
and you’re far more likely to succeed....................
4. Now to get your hands a little bit grubby. Start the planting
process by preparing your soil – aim for crumbly, freely draining,
easy-to-dig dirt and you’re in good shape. Turn over the soil with a
spade to loosen it up and help air get in – this creates room for your
seedlings’ roots to grow and spread. Group together plants with
similar water and feeding requirements, but don’t let things get too
squishy. You can start with seeds or established seedlings (aka baby
plants), depending how quickly you want to put a salad together –
growing veggies from seed will take an extra four to six weeks.
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5. As your plants begin to put down roots and develop into sweet,
juicy vegetables, you’ll need to show some love and support to
help them on their way. Keep them fed and hydrated with regular
drinks of water (if the soil is dry two to three centimetres down, it
probably needs a top-up) and vegetable-specific fertiliser. Homemade
compost made with kitchen scraps, leaf litter and other organic matter
is an ace way to add important nutrients to the soil, and is equally
great for the environment. Give weeds the heave-ho, and consider
companion planting as a natural form of pest control. (Placing basil
near tomatoes will repel aphids, for instance, while rosemary
sends carrot flies scarpering.)
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6. The general rule when it comes to harvesting your veggies, is if
it looks good enough to eat, it probably is. In fact, picking vegetables
as soon as they’re ripe will often encourage the plant to produce
more goodies. Bigger doesn’t always equal better – most veggies
are at their yummiest when they’re relatively small. Pop out daily
with pruning shears, and before you know it you’ll have a kitchen
full of fresh, homegrown produce.
fancy a backyard vegetable patch?
all you need is some sunshine, kitchen
scraps, and a little bit of patience.
WORDS SOPHIE KALAGAS ILLUSTRATIONS EVIE BARROWvegging out
try this at home