the sowing and the plan

Until now each growing season of the past three years have been chances to experiment with various crops in a mix of conditions. I would like to think that I now have a reasonable understanding of the space I am working with and what to grow where. Since the beginning of Autumn (early March) I have been preparing the next phase of the garden.

I sowed a range of seeds; broccoli, leeks, celery, brussels sprouts, cabbage and lettuce (see my prior post for details on varieties used) which have mostly matured to a reasonable size for transplant. Unfortunately I haven't an appropriate space for propagation, relying on table space in the open of the back yard. However despite the less than ideal conditions, the seedlings continue to grow in time for the Autumn/Winter crop rotation. It is in my plans to construct an enclosed propagation space (green house) mid year to increase production.

As could be seen in the last update, the pictures showed the state of the garden post Spring/Summer harvest. I am somewhat embarrassed that it was in such a mess, however over the past week I have cleared most of the pots/plots and started sowing the mature seedlings and direct sown seeds.

Out the front there isn't a great deal of sun over winter so I have planted crops which should be OK without direct sun and can grow over a longer period.

In the main plot I have direct sown snow peas, green peas, parsnips, beetroot, spinach and carrots around some broccoli seedlings. It is a very dense planting scheme however I am hoping it takes advantage of the space by producing different crops over the season which will be harvested at different times. The spinach should crop quickly then allowing the root crops to fill out a bit more. The peas, carrots and broccoli should be next to harvest followed by the beetroot and lastly the parsnips which could take some time (into Spring).

In the smaller bed I have sown golden podded peas, Chinese broccoli and more carrots. Once germination occurs of the directly sown seed I will apply mulch and rig up supports for the pea crops to climb up. Normally I would have sown a green manure crop before planting out, however on inspection of the soil I decided it wasn't necessary. I may get a chance to do so before spring crops which will be heavier feeders. Instead I applied a slow release fertiliser at a rate of 50g/m2.

Out back I have tried to clear up the mess that seems to always occur at the end of the season. This involved clearing all the plants which had stopped producing (tomatoes, zucchini, capsicums, and lettuce), collecting material for the compost and organising seedlings. I decided to keep the last of the tomatoes going as they still seem to be doing well and producing fruit - whether it will ripen before it gets too cold is somewhat doubtful - and given that I've not anything to replace them with just yet, they will live a little longer.

In the areas where I do have free I have directly sown a mix of quick crops (spinach, arugula) as well as onions and beetroot. It is a somewhat haphazard approach, but it should work out as the rest of my seedlings mature and are ready for transplant. I also had a large amount of seed sitting around which I wanted to use up. Currently I am focussed on the bigger project(s) of reorganising the existing trees, building more garden beds and general clear up/rearrangement. Part of this involves replacing unproductive trees/plants to really make the garden as productive as possible.

In my sights is the olive tree which does produce fruit, albeit rather small and not in great number. It was an opportunistic purchase by my mother years ago at a supermarket. I'm not a fan of olives, however I do like the trees so I have decided to replace it with a new variety which will hopefully produce a decent harvest. After reviewing the available specimens from The Diggers Club, I settled on Olea europaea 'Manzanillo' for it's high productivity and fruit qualities. At full size it is a very large tree (5mx4m) but like the current tree it will be grown in a container and kept to a manageable size.

Ficus carica ''Brown Turkey' 

Last winter we bought a quince Cydonia oblonga 'Smyrna' bare rooted and planted in a half wine barrel. It was suggested to use this to replace the huge Kangaroo Apple which is growing in the ground in the back corner of the yard. Initially this was the plane before I considered buying several other fruit trees which may be more suited. I'd love to plant the fig Ficus carica 'Brown Turkey' however they are known to have large root systems which can cause problems if not properly contained, again this is in a half wine barrel. Both of these were bought with my mother in mind as she loves their fruit in concession to me pulling out so much of the old garden. However both are now reasonably well established and in need of some winter pruning to help create better structure. The benefit of needing to cutting the fig back to about half it's current height is that I'll be able to take several cuttings.

The other motivator for the new direction for the garden is to reduce maintainence. It is likely that over the coming years I wont be able to look after things to the level I am now - which isn't as much as I'd like. So with that in mind I am looking to plant more perennial plants. Annuals are fantastic and will continue to be a major player in the garden, but to have some dependable crops thought the year with minimal effort would be fantastic.

The major consideration is over fruit trees. While space is very limited, I am trying to incorporate as many as possible in areas of the property that have seen little use. It is still a work in progress, but the following are some of what is up for consideration:

Prunus dulcis, 
Prunus persica var. nectarina 'Goldmine', 
Prunus avium 'Stella', 
Prunus salicina 'Santa Rosa', 
Microcitrus australasica, 
Passiflora edulis, 
Tasmannia lanceolata, 
Carissa macrocarpa, 
Lycium pallidum

To that rhubarb and strawberries are also high up on the list of what to plant. This will hopefully be settled in 4-6 weeks when time allows for such work. I am also waiting until dormant trees are available for planting.