Vegetable gardens

Pitbull

Pitbull

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I posted in another thread but figured it's time to post one of it's own with some updates and progress.

I'm now the proud owner of a small holding and started a massive vegetable garden. Will share my experiences, headaches and victories here and would encourage others to please do the same. I have 3 beddings done already and should be done and planted by the weekend. If anyone has any advice and tips feel free to share them :)

Here with a picture of the garden in it's infant stage. Hopefully it will be green in about 3 months from now.

IMG_20160320_182921.jpg
 
What area are you in?


I have a sowing guide for South Africa if you are interested (what time of the year to plant what plant).
 
AstroTurf said:
What area are you in?


I have a sowing guide for South Africa if you are interested (what time of the year to plant what plant).
Click to expand...

In Pretoria.

I have bought these seed packets (No idea if they even work) But they indicate the season to plant, expected time of harvest and the likes. Will post pictures tonight.
 
Pitbull said:
In Pretoria.

I have bought these seed packets (No idea if they even work) But they indicate the season to plant, expected time of harvest and the likes. Will post pictures tonight.
Click to expand...
S1.png
 
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AstroTurf said:
Shout if you want a sewing guide that works by region and month :)

Pretoria this time of the year you can plant things like brussels sprouts, cabbage and the like but it's already a bit late in the season.
Click to expand...

I could use with a guide anyway. Will PM you :)
 
Just replanted this weekend. Last batch of butternut was killed between my Gardner and a crop of killer weeds. So this time, planted and cordoned off: tomato, cherry tomato, green pepper, chillies and a few butternut plants. Got a potatoe growing in a large pot as well, others were transferred from pots into soil.
 
Looks good, will you be using pesticides or going more organic?
 
Do you have any new friends like worms, moles, fungus, etc. They're all new frineds of mine since I started a vegie garden. I mostly use toxic chemicals to kill them but there are orga-hippiefacsist-nic alternatives.
 
Waaib said:
Do you have any new friends like worms, moles, fungus, etc. They're all new frineds of mine since I started a vegie garden. I mostly use toxic chemicals to kill them but there are orga-hippiefacsist-nic alternatives.
Click to expand...

I did the same with my fruit trees/veggies but I just ended in this cycle of having to spray poisons every month or two. I since adopted a more as you call it hippy methodology and I must say it has helped me a lot. The thing is you need to plant a few herbs and flowers etc that can attract and provide a living environment to ladybirds, wasps etc etc to keep the other bugs manageable. I also use a hosepipe to spray off any aphids etc. I still use poison sometimes but only if I really need to.
 
Beachless said:
Looks good, will you be using pesticides or going more organic?
Click to expand...

Going to try 100% organic for now. What a mission it was planting these seeds. At first I wanted to plant it as directed, certain depth, certain spacing between each seed. Opened the packet and it had what looked like billions of seed. I figured fark it and just sprinkled them on the soil and raked it in. It's been in now since Saturday afternoon. First seedlings should start showing by the weekend (Radishes).

We planted 12 beddings. Those I can recall:
Radish
Beetroot
Spinach
Carrots
Onions
Red onions
Peas
Butternut

I'll have to double check what the other's were. It was all for autumn plant as per the packaging so we'll see how it turns out.
 
How do you guys deal with birds? They have been feasting on my bok choy and chilli plants. I'm about to add cauliflower and brussel sprout plants, and suspect they might get the same treatment.
 
AvatarS said:
How do you guys deal with birds? They have been feasting on my bok choy and chilli plants. I'm about to add cauliflower and brussel sprout plants, and suspect they might get the same treatment.
Click to expand...

My seedlings have not broken ground yet. Was only planted on the weekend. I think the radishes should start breaking ground in about 5 or 6 days so should be close. So atm no birds being any bother. My dog though loves running through the beddings when we're there closing off some of the sprinklers to get better pressure for the top ones. (I think I'll re-route the watering over the weekend as it's running down hill, turns up hill and then runs uphill through the garden so I'm losing some pressure.) So I need to get a gate going to keep the damn dog out. Long weekend ahead :o
 
If you want to go organic you should look into companion planting and should definitely be planting marigolds throughout all your beds.
 
AvatarS said:
How do you guys deal with birds? They have been feasting on my bok choy and chilli plants. I'm about to add cauliflower and brussel sprout plants, and suspect they might get the same treatment.
Click to expand...

Tinfoil.

The bright reflected light keeps them away.
 
AvatarS said:
How do you guys deal with birds? They have been feasting on my bok choy and chilli plants. I'm about to add cauliflower and brussel sprout plants, and suspect they might get the same treatment.
Click to expand...

[video=youtube;FiDCVBsTZ64]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiDCVBsTZ64[/video]

Legit - Im actually going to try this. Obviously large scale it gets expensive but considering it should last a few years it might just be worth it.
 
Pitbull said:
Going to try 100% organic for now. What a mission it was planting these seeds.
Click to expand...

Planting can be a pain but wait till the weeding starts :) my suggestion is get a duch hoe and be proactive.

Those are pretty hardy so you should not have too many issues althought I would still plant a few plants that attract beneficial insects year round. I planted fennel, dill, origanum, marigold and a few others but there are many you can choose from.
The idea is to have enough flowers around to keep bees around most of the year and also have some place where the beneficial insects can lay their eggs. The herbs are also very useful on their own of course.

OH and a few chickens would be really helpful once the garden is established since you have the space.
 
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Nerfherder said:
[video=youtube;FiDCVBsTZ64]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiDCVBsTZ64[/video]

Legit - Im actually going to try this. Obviously large scale it gets expensive but considering it should last a few years it might just be worth it.
Click to expand...

Damn, that's pretty ingenious.

Mine is way too big. I was thinking of putting those shade netting all over it but will require me building a massive steel frame first. So that will have to wait till I have harvested my current vegetables (If they grow that is :D)
 
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