Transcript 04.08.pps - Soil and Health Library

Two gardeners progress
Late April, 2008
Autumn
Now that the
pumpkins are
harvested, Anne
intends to do a bit
more market
gardening, during
winter, raising
leeks, spring
onions, and soon,
planting shallots,
locally known as
potato onions.
The raspberries are being expanded to a
second row. Notice the gorgeous kale and
purple sprouting broccoli plants behind the
small newly-transplanted raspberry canes.
The garden is sliding into winter mode
Where the last of the corn
patch was, now some leek
seedlings are getting
established, and rows of
rocket are coming up. Kale
plants are behind. The ones
behind the rocket were
stunted by being in the
corn’s shadow. The ones on
the right hand side of the
picture grew normally.
The same bed, photos taken about a month apart.
Above right to left are four rows of mustard,
each a different variety, with rows of leaf lettuce
between them. The light green leaves on the left
side of the photo are lettucy Chinese cabbage.
Swedes seem such beautiful
plants. About four square
metres of this bed will
produce about 24 roots; in
another month or so each will
weigh in excess of one kg and
then will stop growing fast
awaiting harvest until
September.
We grow a local
variety called
the N.Z. Butterswede. It is
white-skinned,
yellow fleshed
and does not
need stiff frosts
to reduce the
turnipy
livestock-fodder
taste of most
swede varieties.
I have produced
my own seed
for this variety
through four
generations
now, with no
reduction in
size or vigour
and with better
uniformity.
To your left (and above) Ladies and Gentlemen, is an untidy pile of dry
vegetation and some kitchen garbage (mostly dried out too). In two short hours it
was turned into the compost heap you see above right. The pile was torn apart,
restacked in layers 30 mm thick (12 inches), each layer watered well and
sprinkled with a with thin covering of soil and complete organic fertilizer. Next
spring, one turn to come, it’ll be potent finished compost.
The small white boxes
Might I point out in both photographs there are two white stryofoam boxes
located atop a folding table alongside the fence. (go to next slide)
Anne sells our garden’s surplus from these boxes, mostly to residents of the 60-house
retirement village across that white fence. They stroll over, lean over the fence, open
the boxes, select their vegetables and sometimes find a punnet of raspberries if they’re
lucky. Our prices are somewhat less than charged at the nearby supermarket. The
amount these sales brings in is still surprising us. The comments about how good our
stuff tastes does not surprise us—that’s what COF does. Next spring we are going to do
some more intentional market gardening on the quarter acre block we purchased.
The soil on this block was first covered with a layer of poppy marc about 50 mm thick (2
inches). Then it was rotary cultivated, shallowly, wiping out the sod and hastening the
poppy marc’s decomposition. During winter wildlife fencing will be erected, paths laid
out, beds dug. The surplus food from this block and the other two gardens adjoining our
house will be sold; the income accounted for; the expenses recorded, and the results will
make some indication of the potential productivity of a quarter acre urban farm.
CLOCKWISE: We erected a wind-break and privacy fence on the west
boundary; the lounge room; view of property from the east (not our land and
probably soon to have a house erected on it); view of property from the south.