tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post3039578505969896730..comments2024-03-28T15:55:53.792+10:00Comments on down to earth: Top tips for your vegetable gardenUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-35270847402638774382014-03-07T07:59:51.101+10:002014-03-07T07:59:51.101+10:00Frances, if the mulch is thick enough, it will sto...Frances, if the mulch is thick enough, it will stop the weeds. Good luck with your garden.rhonda jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962112306968959985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-52085187273416697822014-03-07T07:53:12.731+10:002014-03-07T07:53:12.731+10:00Thanks Rhonda! Yes, it was newspaper to surpress a...Thanks Rhonda! Yes, it was newspaper to surpress any weeds. So you don't think I need that when I have the mulch? No worries, I will dig it all in along with some manure and off I go again. Can't wait!Francesca Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205098498690628883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-26046312487427498962014-03-07T04:43:17.492+10:002014-03-07T04:43:17.492+10:00Frances, why did you cover the soil with paper? Wa...Frances, why did you cover the soil with paper? Was it newspaper to suppress weeds? Your mulch would have done that. Anyhow, if it's newspaper and it's starting to break down, dig that and the mulch into the soil. If it's not newspaper and not breaking down, remove it. That will help you build up a rich soil over the years. Add more manure because the plants from last year would have used up most of the nutrients from last year's manure. By doing that, every year you'll have better soil and increasing harvests. rhonda jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962112306968959985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-81022662896944100972014-03-07T04:37:17.148+10:002014-03-07T04:37:17.148+10:00Hi Debbie, this is the first time I've done bl...Hi Debbie, this is the first time I've done blueberry cuttings so I don't feel comfortable writing about it. There are a few sites online that you can google. That's what I did, and just used common sense. It's certainly worthwhile doing and I encourage you to have a go at it. Let me know if you're successful.rhonda jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962112306968959985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-64421273658848988022014-03-06T18:46:46.971+10:002014-03-06T18:46:46.971+10:00Hi Rhonda, loved your post! I do have a question: ...Hi Rhonda, loved your post! I do have a question: Last year I had my first veggie garden (in raised beds). I put good soil and manure in the beds, covered the soil with paper, planted, covered the bed with sugarcane mulch, harvested and then removed most plants at the end of Nov. Now I'm ready to plant again. Do I need to remove all the paper and mulch or do I just leave it in and re-plant as I did last year? Sorry if this is a dumb question, this is the first time I'm doing this and I cannot find any info on this. Thanks!Francesca Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205098498690628883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-53053447470880344002014-03-06T17:56:27.636+10:002014-03-06T17:56:27.636+10:00Would you please do a post specifically on how to ...Would you please do a post specifically on how to do the blueberry cuttings and how to get them started in pots? I have never heard of this before and would love to try this with my plants later this gardening season here in the USA. Thanks so much!Debbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16449564619872452771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-17304876265771193382014-03-06T12:49:59.227+10:002014-03-06T12:49:59.227+10:00Great tips, really interesting post.Great tips, really interesting post.The Desert Echohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11891255939722192166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-15472886199273711782014-03-04T10:28:46.285+10:002014-03-04T10:28:46.285+10:00Rhonda, thank you so much for your post. We have j...Rhonda, thank you so much for your post. We have just bought our own house after renting, and we are just starting to plant some of our veggie and herb garden. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-5562054493986448152014-03-04T10:01:01.964+10:002014-03-04T10:01:01.964+10:00thank you , I do add a lot of shredded paper, but ...thank you , I do add a lot of shredded paper, but obviously need to add more at a time and some other fibre. My Comfrey plant is big and 3 feet away from the composter, so some of that goes in too. If I make a tea from some of this "black gold" compost the plants go berserk. I also accidently got this same black stuff from a forgotten bag of sugarcane mulch, left behind the shed for 2 years...awesome stuff.MargaretPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990336317308988689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-11183232346572778812014-03-04T09:20:51.214+10:002014-03-04T09:20:51.214+10:00Okay, the rosemary - they hate wet feet so make su...Okay, the rosemary - they hate wet feet so make sure wherever you plant is has perfect drainage. You can improve drainage by throwing in half a bucket of gravel and sand and mixing that into the bottom of the planting hole. There is nothing wrong with leaving it in a pot. If you do plant it out and it grows, just clip it back to the size that you want it to be. Use the clippings in the kitchen or give to friendsrhonda jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962112306968959985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-48508646964882910232014-03-04T09:15:48.308+10:002014-03-04T09:15:48.308+10:00Thank you Rhonda. I have just found the book in a...Thank you Rhonda. I have just found the book in another library close by and have reserved it. I asked about the rosemary and salvia because i have been growing rosemary in a pot for a few years now but not sure if i should plant it in the ground when we move into a house with a garden. I have been watching a rosemary plant at a train station near us and it has grown to about 1.5 metres in just over a year -- I am concerned it may take over a small garden if left in the groundAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-81813090686905062772014-03-04T08:57:16.150+10:002014-03-04T08:57:16.150+10:00We have a rosemary plant but it's only been in...We have a rosemary plant but it's only been in a few weeks. I'm not a fan of rosemary but Hanno had some rosemary potatoes at someone's home and he loved them. Salvia is one of my favourites. We have a few different salivas out in the front garden but only one - sage, in the vegie patch.<br /><br />Here are the details of Linda's book. They should be able to order it in for you:<br />The Permaculture Home Garden<br />Author Linda Woodrow<br />Edition illustrated, reprint<br />Publisher Viking, 1996<br />ISBN 0670865990<br />rhonda jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962112306968959985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-2293055750475006562014-03-04T08:50:48.097+10:002014-03-04T08:50:48.097+10:00Margaret, we produce dense black compost like that...Margaret, we produce dense black compost like that if we leave a compost heap, heavy with grass clipping, to sit and decompose for a year or two. In a tumbler your compost should be crumbly - add more dry materials such as shredded paper, cardboard, straw, cotton fabric, not grass clippings.rhonda jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962112306968959985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-27277259704415239622014-03-04T08:35:57.695+10:002014-03-04T08:35:57.695+10:00Hi Rhonda, thank you for another great inspiring p...Hi Rhonda, thank you for another great inspiring post, all that hard won information will kick start a lot of us to get going with this years work.<br />My tumbler composter produces moist thick BLACK stuff, just like worm castings, do I need to add more dry fibre, paper, dry grass clippings etc. ?MargaretPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990336317308988689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-78517905497991370192014-03-04T06:46:28.928+10:002014-03-04T06:46:28.928+10:00The seedlings look very healthy Rhonda. It's ...The seedlings look very healthy Rhonda. It's so nice to see a garden taking shape at the start of a season. I was wondering, do you grow any rosemary or salvia at all? Do you think they serve a purpose in a small vegetable garden (just a quarter-acre, for example)? I've been trying to look for the permaculture books you recommended in a previous post but I still haven't found them in our libraries.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-27214393916798854652014-03-04T03:10:08.203+10:002014-03-04T03:10:08.203+10:00For years and years I read about gardening and wan...For years and years I read about gardening and wanted to be the gardener (of flowers initially) that my Mom was; but everything I read seemed to emphasize all the problems with pests - worms, aphids, birds, diseases and more. I figured by the time I fought off all that it wouldn't be worth the trouble. In spite of that I did have a go at gardening in Oklahoma, but I ran into so many creepy crawly things I was afraid of I soon gave up! Tried again in Salt Lake City and I still remember the lush tomatoes that appeared almost by magic - I at them like apples and still had plenty for salads and home canned spaghetti sauce that we saved for Saturday nights it was so special. We do grow runner beans, kale, strawberries and the odd courgette here in Britain, but your post has made me aware that we don't stay on top of 'succession planting'. That would increase our yield substantially. Will have a go at that this year.Shelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10239488936038510294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-90466976183411809662014-03-04T01:49:20.145+10:002014-03-04T01:49:20.145+10:00Your starts look beautiful and health. Our soil is...Your starts look beautiful and health. Our soil is still too wet to turn, so I'm sitting on my hands. Spring is such a season of anticipation. Little baby cows started dotting the hills this past week. <br />I use a row cover on my seedlings when I first put them in the ground to protect them from unwanted critters and to keep them moist. Cheers! marianmarian rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15264775331552596734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-54384372634065812792014-03-03T23:49:07.096+10:002014-03-03T23:49:07.096+10:00I love comfrey tea for my plants but boy, does it ...I love comfrey tea for my plants but boy, does it stink!. I must admit to not owning up to the smell whenever the neighbours enquired 'what on earth is that smell?", I would just raise up my shoulders and reply 'must be spraying the fields with pig muck again!"Dchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02490191919855219024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-16913768272217445382014-03-03T23:29:29.263+10:002014-03-03T23:29:29.263+10:00O, Thanks! I am planning to start a vegetable gard...O, Thanks! I am planning to start a vegetable garden. But is still winter here in Canada. And I have to ask our landlord to start. He is a farmer but so not likes things. We like to have a house in the bush and live the same way as you do.<br />Love ,WilmaWilmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14549316541046652987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-32827308032361040712014-03-03T20:55:23.525+10:002014-03-03T20:55:23.525+10:00So many excellent gardening tips! I had no idea ab...So many excellent gardening tips! I had no idea about comfrey. I've been trying to find a good gardening blog lately. I would very much like to know more about your chickens and gardening happenings.Zenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16373747863822737468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-73619316126106555992014-03-03T14:55:59.140+10:002014-03-03T14:55:59.140+10:00I'm so close to you geographically, Rhonda, bu...I'm so close to you geographically, Rhonda, but don't seem to be able grow small crops let alone bumper ones! I'm getting better. I can get more plants almost to a harvest state before the weather, chickens, or possums get them - although chillies are the one thing I can grow!!! We have four or five rouge bushes that produce over and over without e doing a thing to them... Oh well, you cant win 'em all! - KaraPractical Froghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05929264270672991301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-28139466895945207562014-03-03T14:16:51.530+10:002014-03-03T14:16:51.530+10:00While we were in Melbourne we took a trip down to ...While we were in Melbourne we took a trip down to St Kilda and spent a wonderful hour or so walking around, or rather drinking in the abundance and beauty of what is Veg Out. It is quite possibly the best commuity garden I have ever seen (apologies if I have already said that in another post!). I had to travel thousands of miles to visit it, but if you are a bit more local then I cannot recommend it enough as an inspiration to get digging.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-40312593197580344082014-03-03T13:23:00.445+10:002014-03-03T13:23:00.445+10:00Soaking seedling before planting out can also enab...Soaking seedling before planting out can also enables planting in hot dry weather. I recently planted out an entire bed during hot days of 40+ Celsius. And they are all thriving by soaking them in a tray of water overnight. <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/planting-in-hot-weather.html" rel="nofollow">Read more here.</a>Jason Dingleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-57545111554203195862014-03-03T11:44:35.499+10:002014-03-03T11:44:35.499+10:00This is an exciting time for us gardeners in Queen...This is an exciting time for us gardeners in Queensland. My soil is looking so good this year, I am anxious to see if I can produce some bumper crops. Thsoe bandicoots can be pretty persistant - I hope yours gets the hint.africanaussiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16660727599623626163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-26061161229654650782014-03-03T11:23:32.787+10:002014-03-03T11:23:32.787+10:00Good luck with the season ahead, Jaime.Good luck with the season ahead, Jaime.rhonda jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962112306968959985noreply@blogger.com