No back yard? Don’t let that stop you from making vegie soup from your own vegies.
It’s an increasingly common phenomenon. People without much space at home and still wanting to grow their own vegetables are approaching nurseries and horticultural consultants in growing numbers, asking for advice.
“It’s happening all the time,” says Wendy Wicks from Northcote Nursery in Victoria. “And just because someone has only got a small outdoor area – whether it’s a small backyard or even just a balcony – doesn’t mean they can’t grow their own vegetables.”
The fundamentals of growing vegetables in pots are the same as for any plant. You must use the best quality potting mix you can find and you need to choose an appropriate size of pot to accommodate the root system of the plant.
According to Wendy, every vegetable that will grow in your climate can be grown in a pot. This includes climbers like beans and peas (as long as you place the pot next to a structure like a fence or netting for the plants to climb) and leafy plants like lettuces, silverbeet and spinach. Even spreading plants like pumpkins and zucchinis can be grown in pots.
“They just need a pot for the roots,” says Wendy. “The plant itself can cascade over the side of the pot and run across the ground.”
The single most important factor in growing vegetables (and any other plant) in pots is that they receive sufficient sunlight. “As long as you’ve got room for a pot and the spot that you put it receives plenty of sunshine, then you can grow vegetables,” says Wendy.
Then it comes down to feeding the plant correctly. Remember that soil in pots dries out more quickly than soil in the ground, so regular watering is important. Wendy suggests using a potting mix that contains wetting agents and water-storing granules to make your job easier.
She also recommends using a root stimulant (like a seaweed product) immediately after planting, to promote root growth and reduce ‘transplant shock’, and to use liquid fertilisers. Routines for feeding vary from product to product, so check the instructions on the packet for advice on how often to feed your plant.
Plants respond differently to different fertilisers, so make sure the one you use is appropriate for your vegetables. Plants producing fruit like tomatoes, for example, will require a different fertiliser to leafy vegetables like lettuce or spinach. If in doubt, ask your local nursery for advice.
Soil preparation
When it comes to soil preparation, a bit of effort goes a long way.
Only a tiny proportion of Australia is naturally fertile. Most of it has either clay or sand-based soils, and neither of these is particularly rich with nutrients. Apart from indigenous plants – plants native to particular localities, which have evolved naturally to be able to tolerate the harshest soil conditions and soil structures – nearly all plants benefit from human intervention in the form of soil preparation.
In a domestic sense this means that the plants in your garden are more likely to survive and prosper if you can enrich the soil beyond its natural capacity.
“The best way to improve the soil is to add organic matter,” says horticultural consultant Lionel Wilson, from Inverleigh Gardens Horticultural Services. “As the organic matter rots and breaks down it adds nutrients naturally to the soil and also improves the soil’s water-holding capacity.”
Lionel suggests comprehensive preparation of the soil in any new garden bed before planting. This involves vigorously digging organic matter into the soil – e.g. compost, mulch, pea straw or leaves – down to a depth of about 30 centimetres. Turn the soil with a fork or spade until the organic matter is thoroughly mixed into the garden bed.
When microbes and bacteria go to work on the organic matter, breaking it down into compost and humus, they absorb a certain amount of nitrogen from the soil. Lionel recommends adding a high-nitrogen fertiliser like blood and bone with any organic matter, to compensate for this lost nitrogen.
“This is especially important if you’re hoping to grow exotic plants,” he says, “since they require nitrogen to stay healthy.”
When preparing soil in a garden bed around existing plants, Lionel suggests a more delicate approach.
“A couple of times a year, dig the organic matter into the soil at a decent distance so you don’t disturb the root zone of the plant, and lay mulch directly around the plant,” he says. “Over time it will decompose and be absorbed into the soil.”
This technique can be extended to tired-looking trees. Rather than risking breaking the fine roots of the tree, it’s far better to lay mulch around the base, water it in and allow time and nature to get the nutrients into the soil.
With careful soil preparation your plants will live longer, require less water and less fertiliser.
Right plant, right place
Got a small or awkward garden space? Choose wisely and transform it into something special.
When choosing plants for small gardens it’s important to get something that will bring colour and interest to the space while not dominating it too much.
Simon Reid, a horticultural consultant at Tim’s Garden Centre in Sydney, suggests that people with a limited amount of space to fill should search for plants that will look good all year round.
“There are numerous plants that could fit the bill, but individual conditions and garden aspects will dictate which plants best suit them,” he says. “Then it’s just a matter of narrowing down what function you want the plant to perform, and what your personal preferences are in terms of shape and colour.”
Two small plants that provide year-round interest are hebes and abelias. There are a number of cultivars of each, but one particularly good variety of hebe for small spaces is called Annie’s Winter Wonder. A drought-tolerant shrub growing less than a metre tall, with a pleasant rounded shape, its foliage combines pink, white and green, which means that, even when not in flower, it brings interest to any small garden.
As for abelias, a particularly popular form at present is the Kaleidoscope. A delightful lemon yellow during much of the year, its leaves turn reddish in autumn.
Just because you have a small block doesn’t mean you can’t grow trees. Simon recommends the Littlegem magnolia, which he describes as the “sexiest tree ever”. As an attractive evergreen that grows between three and five metres tall, it will provide cooling shade in summer. The crepe myrtle is another option: with a long flowering season, it will provide colours such as white, pink, mauve and deep red much of the year. As a deciduous tree, it will lose its leaves as the weather cools and bring a splash of burgundy orange to your garden in autumn.
Another issue in small gardens – especially those in neighbourhoods where the houses are particularly close to each other – is privacy, and a need to screen out neighbours. Simon says that a Lilly Pilly cultivar named, appropriately, “Goodbye Neighbours”, is perfectly suited to this job on a small block.
“They grow quite fast and can get up and provide that screen quite quickly,” he says. “Once it’s established it’s quite drought tolerant, and it’s nice and thick and bushy.”
Groundcovers to consider include grevillea – a native plant with a number of varieties, all of which attract a great number of birds to your little garden – and verbena, which likes dry conditions and is available in pink, lilac, white and red.
Always contact your local nursery or landscaper for advice specific to you.
We recommend ABC Online and Yellow at Home websites for a great source of general information, hot hints and tips.
Article provided by The Retiree Magazine