How I've improved the soil in my backyard veggie beds

First of all I realize it has been a while between posts (I'm not dead in case you were wondering)

When I opened up my blog a few days ago I was shocked to see the last post was in 2016! Basically I got a bit blogged out and forgot / ignored it. I'm pretty sure that I've lost all the people who used to follow my blog and that is my fault but hopefully I can get things rolling again and put down some content regularly from here on. If you're an old follower who is reading this because of some kind of alert then please come back again. Anyway I'm alive and well plus I'm going to be starting my own garden design / maintenance business very soon now which is personally very exciting (see www.aggregata.com.au for a partially finished website).

Improving the soil in my backyard veggie patch

History of the site

We purchased our land in Macedon Victoria around 10 years ago and after a while I noticed a few strange things about the soil. The block we live on was one of the most barren in the street. Unlike the other blocks which had lots of trees and plants ours was rather bare with large patches of mixed species (weedy) lawn. Through digging in the backyard I found very little top soil compared to the front which had at least 15cm and more in some places. I'm wondering whether the top soil in the back yard was scalped by a bob cat at some stage.

Soil analysis

I learnt how to complete a basic soil analysis through one of my subjects at university and I discovered the following info about the soil in the backyard;

• It had a PH level of 5 which is slightly acidic and possibly detrimental to plant growth for some species
• Using the soil texture triangle I was surprised to find the soil was in fact classified as sandy clay loam (56.52% sand, 30.43% clay and 13.04% silt)

Ah Manutec my old friend. You are so much more accurate and reliable than the $5 Bunnings PH probe.

Is it 5.5 or 5? Hard to tell from the pic but it looked more like 5.

Soil improvement last year

I dug the beds last year in preparation for spring planting. I sprayed off the turf with organic herbicide and dug in some compost. Unfortunately I didn't attempt to rectify the PH. Plant growth was not great last season.

Bed #1 with last spring / summers pathetic left overs.

Bed #2 which I cleared out a few weeks back.

My raised bed. You can see the difference. So much growth. On a side note organic snail bait doesn't work. I caught the little buggers munching on my bok choy it a few nights ago. I'll have to try other methods as I don't really want to go back to using Baysol snail pellets.

Overhaul

After pulling the old veggies out I dug in roughly half a m2 of five ways soil mix then limed the

Although last years crop wasn't very good I was pleased to see the soil had improved structure wise. It felt nice and loose when digging it over and it had a nice amount of moisture. The soil definitely was less hard packed. I applied lime at the rate of 100g per m2 to try and change the PH back to a more neutral level. I'll do another PH test soon to see if it worked. I then watered the lime in and mulched over with old straw from my chicken coop that I removed a few weeks back. The plan for the beds are to plant out 1kg of garlic that is arriving in the mail soon.

There's nothing like the feeling (and smell) of driving a ute with one m2 of 5 ways mix on the back.

Look at that pristine bed all ready to go and not a weed in site. It won't stay that way for long :)

I always water down mulch. Don't know if it really helps it settle and become wind resistant but that's the idea.

Burnley produce plot. Harvesting lettuce cos the time is right.

Melbourne University plot mini harvest

The last blog post I wrote about my Burnley produce plot related to it as it stood back on the 9th of March (approximately one month prior to this post). Back then all the seeds and seedlings had been planted out, the plot had been mulched and fertilised and drip irrigation was installed. Now in less than one months time I am starting to harvest some food.

The plot on the 9th of March

The plot on the 6th of April

It's amazing how productive the plot has been considering the minimal amount of work I have put into it. During the last month I have probably only done a total of 30 minutes of weeding thanks the thick layer of mulch I have employed. Other tasks have included netting the brassicas to protect them from cabbage white butterfly, threading some twine around my tripod to aid the peas in their ascent up the bamboo and pruning my indeterminate (vine) tomato plant. Pruning the vine tomato is actually something which at home I had attempted and failed. Essentially I think I failed because of the myriad of conflicting and confusing youtube videos I had watched on the subject. Due to that negative experience I gave up and grew only bush varieties (which necessarily require pruning). I think next spring I might give some vine varieties a go and write up my own guide on the subject. Today was the first harvest from the plot and I took home some zucchini and two heads of cos lettuce. All the other plants look to be doing fine. Next update coming soon.

From left to right: tomato, zucchini, beans, lettuce, NZ yams and carrots

My modified pea tripod (inspired by the Melbourne art centre spire) 

The vine tomatoes are looking healthy but will they actually ripen this late in the season?

Two cos lettuce (miraculously untouched by snail or slug) and a mega zucchini from the plot.

My plot at the University of Melbourne (a tradition since 1950)

Melbourne University Burnley vegetable plot week one (1/3/2016)

 

History of the plot system for students at Burnley

As part of our subjects for this year we are establishing vegetable plots in the field station at Burnley. The whole idea of having plots to develop and nurture was initiated back in the 1950s after a visit from Miss Frances Miner from the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. She described a system of individual plots. The idea was implemented at Burnley and sections of the field station (back then a market garden) were transformed into cut flower, tree and also vegetable plots. Students were assessed on their plots and the best ones were awarded prizes (Winzenried 1991). The idea has been continued to this day although I'm not aware of any prizes being awarded. The plots are a great way to provide some hands on gardening experience for students that haven't done much actual gardening.

Plot layout, dimensions and soil composition

The plots were given are 4.2m long by 1.2m wide with the top of the plot (the short edge) facing north east. They all form a grid with walkways of roughly 60cm between them. All plots were raised beds of soil with no sides made of sleepers. We levelled them all down to roughly 15-20cm. The soil in the field station was a welcome contrast to the heavy clay of my home garden in Macedon. It seemed quite sandy and was a dream to work with a spade. The soil itself seemed a little hydrophobic as I noticed some water run off but this was easily worked around by constructing berms (water wells) which helped with the initial watering in of the seedlings.

Crop species

Our lecture Dr Chris Williams chose the crop species. It was always going to be touch and go as to whether some of these plants were going to mature as some of them (eg tomato plants) were being planted out rather late in the season. The timing of the start the semester meant we were growing our plants in more of a transition phase between summer and autumn rather than planting out in spring as one would traditionally do. From south to North we planted out the following seedlings / plants;

• Advanced tomato plants (Grosse Lisse and Roma) with intermingling Genovese basil seedlings as companions.
• Black Beauty zucchini seedling (semi advanced)
• Oregon Sugar snowpea seeds planted around a bamboo tripod
• A row of Brown Beauty bush beans (planted from seed)
• Cos lettuce seedlings
• New Zealand Yam / Oca (delicious if you haven't tried it then give it a go)
• Nantes carrots (by seed)
• Green Dragon broccoli seedlings
• Ruby silverbeet seedlings

Work done during week one

We initially level out or plots down to raised earth beds approximately 15-20cm in height. I then plated out the seeds / seedlings mentioned above and installed a bamboo tripod for the snow peas. I paid careful attention to irrigation as we were working on a day that was to reach 36 degree Celsius! I watered in each hole, planted the seedlings, constructed a berm (water well) around each seedling then watered in the seedlings. I spread dynamic lifter fertiliser on the bed and then mulched the bed with lots of straw (the sown seeds were lightly sprinkled with very fine sugar cane mulch). I mulched the walkways and then irrigated the whole bed very thoroughly.

Worries about irrigation

As I am a part time student I was worried about my plot drying out over the coming week. I only attend Burnley two days per week which meant five days where I couldn't water. The forecast predicted very hot weather. Luckily in my absence a fellow student voluntarily irrigated my plot.

A note on my lecturer for this subject (Plant production and culture)

Dr Chris Williams is particularly interested in edible plant culture, public open space issues and also in combining the two in the form of edible landscapes . He writes his own blog on such subjects. If you are interested the address is http://peopleplantslandscapes.blogspot.com.au

The field in 1894 when it was a market garden (Winzenried 1991).

Women attending crops in 1900 in somewhat impractical attire. Women were allowed to train at Burnley starting in 1899 which I believe was a quite progressive decision during that period of Australia's history (Winzenried 1991). 

Seedling being planted out at an unknown date (Winzenried 1991).

Class of 1950 students in what I assume could have possibly been the first student plots (Winzenried 1991).

 Student plots in 1965 (Winzenried 1991).

Student plots in 1980 (Winzenried 1991).

Overview of the area for our plots

Plots as furrows.

My levelled bed with spacing marked out and a few plants in the ground.

My plot all planted out and mulched.

References

Winzenried A.P. (1991) Green Grows Our Garden: A centenary history of horticultural education at Burnley, Hyland House Publishing Pty Limited, Melbourne.

Williams C. (2016) Lecture notes plant production and culture, University of Melbourne, Burnley.

Turn your pot marigolds into tea. How to make calendula tea.

Calendula tea recipe

I came across this recipe similar to this on a visit to the Geelong botanic gardens. At the time they had a tea garden which featured amongst other plants, calendula. I thought I would write up my quick variation of this recipe to compliment my other post on dandelion coffee. According to info from the gardens drinking calendula tea has been used to treat gastric ulcers and infections of the mouth and throat. It improves digestion, relieves menstrual cramps and helps to relieve liver disease. I have no idea if any of that is actually true but you can believe it if you want :). This tea tastes very mild not bitter and is quite refreshing.

Lots if text I've read states it is important to only use Calendula officianalis (common name pot marigold) and not the other varieties of marigolds (Tagetes) because they may not be edible. Some text I've read states otherwise. Based on my current level of knowledge on the matter I wouldn't risk it at the present time.

Equipment;

A coffee plunger, colander and a grater.

Ingredients;

• 1/4 cup of fresh calendula petals
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• Sprinkling of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of orange zest
• 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice
• Boiling water

 

 

Method;

Steep calendula petals in 1 cup of  boiling water for  5 minutes with the grated orange zest. Add the honey and orange juice. Stir and strain into a cup then sprinkle with a pinch of cayenne pepper.

How to preserve fresh beans by freezing them

HOW TO PRESERVE YOUR BEANS

I went out into my garden the other day to inspect my edible plants to find that I had a bumper crop of beans. Presently my beans are in full production mode and as such I have more than I can eat so I decided to freeze some. I will admit that I haven't really done much preserving of produce in the past so I thought that freezing my beans would be an easy start into the world of produce preservation. Its really easy to do and many of you probably already know this but some may not so here it goes.

Why should you freeze beans using this method?

Freezing beans using this method will preserve the colour and nutrients inside the beans. If you just throw them in the freezer without blanching them they will be dull and less nutritious when you re-heat them.

You will need

• A colander
• Freshly picked beans (the sooner you freeze them the better)
• Chopping board
• Knife 
• Boiling pot
• Cooling bowl (any large bowl)
• Zip lock bags
• Water
• A freezer

Method

1. Pick your beans just before you plan to freeze them. If you leave them in the fridge overnight and then freeze them they won't be as nutritious or tasty

2. Boil a large pot of water. You will need enough to cover the beans.

3. Cut off the tops of the beans (the part with the stem attached) and the tails if desired. Then cut them into bite sized pieces.

4. Fill the cooling bowl with cold water and plenty of ice.

5. Place the beans in the boiling water then remove them after 2 minutes. Drain them in a colander.

6. Directly after draining the beans place them into the cold water until cooled.

7. Once cooled drain them in the colander.

8. Pack them into your zip lock bags, leaving a little room at the top, then place them in the freezer.

Re-heating the frozen beans

The trick to reheating them is not to boil or steam them for too long. If you do so the beans can become mushy and a bit bland. I usually place the frozen beans in boiling water then just bring the water back to the boil for only 30 seconds. If you are unsure just taste one of the beans and remove them when you are happy.

Propagating strawberry plants from runners is easy

Propagating strawberries from runners

What are runners?

I looked at one of my strawberry pots last week and saw that it had several runners cascading over its edges. These 'runners' are one method that the strawberry plant uses to reproduce. Towards the end of the season the plant will start producing long stems that shoot out away from the main plant body. At the tip of these stems (or upon several points of the stem depending on how long they have been growing) you will see some green leaves or perhaps even some green leaves and a small root system beneath them. The technical term for the longs stem the plant produces is 'stolon' and the technical term for the leafy growth is 'plantlet'. The plantlets are infact a small version of the mother plant and you can use these to propagate several plants from the one mother or host plant.

Those long stems that you see shooting from the main plants are what are commonly known as strawberry runners.

Why propagate strawberries from runners?

After 3 years a strawberry plant will start to lose its vigor. It will fruit less and basically become weaker. Your options include;

• Replacing the plants with newly purchased ones
• Growing new plants from seed
• Propagating new plants from crown division
• Propagating the runners of the plant

Growing the plantlets on the runners into new plants is by far the easiest and safest option. Growing from seed is a little more difficult than most other edibles and propagating the crown by division can compromise the mother plant if not done correctly. The plants should actually naturally propagate by runners but if you give them a little help they can be even more successful. In the method described below I grow on the plantlets into small pots but you could actually grow them on in the ground next to the mother plant if you wish. Growing the plantlets in pots however gives you the option of planting out the new strawberry plants anywhere you wish. If you take the effort to help the runners then you possibly may never have to buy new strawberries again.

Runner propagation method

Propagating the runners is quick and easy to do. The steps are as follows;

1. Identify the planlet on the runner

Look for the leafy growths (plantlets) on the runners. You may have one plantlet on the tip of the runner or several along the one runner. If you have several generally the best one to propagate is the one closest to the mother plant as it probably has a root system.

A plantlet with no root system

 

A plantlet with a small root system

2. Create some pegging material to secure the plantlet

You could use any type of pegging method but I choose to use sticks that I break in the middle to create a pegging device. Its easy and doesn't cost anything.

A quick, easy, cheap and environmetally friendly pegging system (aka a bent stick).

3. Peg the plantlet into the potting mix

Make sure to peg it down roots down and leaves up. Even if there are no roots then they should develop if you peg the plantlet with the leaves up. The idea is for the roots or base of the plantlet to have constant contact with the potting mix until the plants roots develop a strong grip.

The picture below shows how the bent stick is used to peg down the plantlet. I deliberately haven't pushed it down all the way so you can clearly see how it is initially pushed into the pot.

 

Here is another plantlet that has been pegged down all the way (even though you can't see the peg believe me it is there holding down the plantlet). Make sure the base of the plantlet (roots or no roots) is touching the potting mix.

4. Cut the remainder of the runner

Snip off any remaining section that is growing past the plantlet that you choose to propagate. Make sure you cut off the correct end (ie not the end that attaches the plantlet to the mother plant). You do this to make the plant concentrate its energy on the plantlet that you have pegged down and not the remaining ones.

Note I am snipping of the stem on the side that is not attached back to the mother plant.

5. Water in the plantlet

Pretty self explanatory. Keep the potting mix in which the plantlets grow nice and moist until the roots take hold.

6. Detach the plantlet you are propagating from the mother plant

Once the plantlet has developed a strong enough root system you can separate it from the mother plant by snipping the runner that joins the two. You will know the root system is strong enough when you feel some resistance when you gently pull on the plantlet (with the pegging removed). If you can feel some sort of anchorage of the plantlet to the potting mix then the plantlet should be able to support itself from thereon.

7. Care for the new plants

If you care for them the new plantlets may even produce fruit assuming you have done this early in the season. Don't worry, if you propagate the runners late in the season the new plants should overwinter and produce fruit (and runners of their own) the next season.

Five little plantlets that should grow into strong new plants and produce fruit of their own next season. These new plants will be genetically identical clones of the mother plant.