During February Geoff Woods delivered a series of highly informative talks on how to grow vegetables in your backyard as part of the Transition Town project. What follows are the insights gained from the 1st talk.
Lesson #1 behind every good vegepatch is great soil. Around Coal Point there are two main kinds of local soils, the very unproductive ridge soils which have had their nutrients leached out over time and the much more productive gully soils which have received the sediments washed from the ridges. The waterfront soils are aquatic deposits, which aren't too bad either. If you live on the ridge an elevated garden or pots are the best options.
Lesson #2 Soil horizons-Improve the top 20. As far as vege growing goes it's the top 20cm of soil, full of organic matter, where all the action happens as most vegetables have a shallow,fibrous root system.
Lesson 3# Soil is not dirt. Dirt is dead and is the stuff of vacuum cleaners. Soil is a living system made up of organic materials such as earthworms, insects, bacteria, fungus and decomposing plant material (humus)and inorganic material such as sand,clay, pebbles, water and air.
Lesson #4 Be kind to compost worms. There is a difference between compost worms and earthworms, the former needing plant material as their food source and doomed to starvation if added to soil...sorry to all the compost worms I have freed from captivity. Earthworms eat the humus in the soil.
Lesson #5 Location, location, location. A daily dose of sunshine for 5-7hours a day, especially morning sun which warms the soil and gets the sap flowing will keep veges on the sunny-side of life. It's important to watch the shadows before deciding a location and the best aspect to aim for is North. Slope was considered something to avoid by building up the low side.
Lesson #6 Soil chemistry. The optimum pH of 7, neutral, is good for growing vegetables, knowing your soil pH will help determine what you need to add to ensure the bumper crop. The best organic complete fertiliser was deemed to be cow manure which is rich in Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium, the key elements for leaf, root and flower growth. Worm castings were also given a big thumbs up.
