Starting from scratch
If you have always thought about having your own veggie garden, here's a few tips on how to get started!
You will need to scope out a sunny spot in your garden. Ideally, it should be in full sun or get at least six hours of full sun each day. Ensure that your bed has good drainage, so avoid places where water might pool, such as gullies or wet places on the property.
Some veggie plants can survive in part shade, especially in summer, including lettuce and coriander to help stop them from 'bolting' and going to seed fast. However, any more shade than that and vegetables will struggle to grow.
If you are starting out a new bed, dig up the grass first. Some grasses, such as Kikuyu grass, will grow through soil that has been put on top of a lawn. Use either a mix of your own topsoil and compost (3:1 parts), or bags of straight Organic Veggie Mix. If you don't have compost, you can always start collecting the leaf fall on your property and start to make leafmould. After creating it, ideally let the bed settle for a couple of days to a week before planting.
Working with your existing garden
Current garden and vegetable beds will be tired and lacking much-needed nutrients after the last summer crop. Weed and take out any old, unwanted plants and lightly fork in compost, sheep pellets and even Nature's Organic Fertiliser to introduce organic nutrients and beneficial microbes back into the soil before replanting.
Planting late autumn/winter vegetables
Start planning for mid to late winter harvests from March.
In March and April, sow seeds into the garden or in trays now so they can germinate in autumn's warm temperatures. Make sure they are sown at the right depth - too deep they may struggle and develop damping-off disease, too close to the surface, and birds could easily find them. Make sure they have enough room so their roots don't compete for space and the leaves don't compete for light.
In May, plant seedlings instead of seeds to ensure they grow large enough to use this winter.
Consider staggering your plants. This means planting seedlings or sowing seeds every few weeks so you have a continued harvest. To get the most out of small spaces, try hexagonally spacing rows.
When handling seedlings, avoid holding them by the stem as they can easily be damaged. Only take the seedling out of their trays and punnets when the hole is dug to stop them drying out.
Maintenance and care
Give them a good watering once you have sown your seeds or planted seedlings and plants.
For seedlings, make sure they aren't planted deeper than the pot, as this can lead to the plant struggling or a higher chance of disease.
Gently feed veggie plants with Kings Plant Barn Fast Food or Organic Garden Booster every three to four weeks. Water only to keep veggie beds slightly moist – too much water and disease can start to appear. Deeply water larger fruit shrubs and trees once a week if there hasn't been rain for a while.
Protect your garden from pests with Bug Netting. This will save your plants from insects as small as whitefly, as well as birds, slugs, snails and even cats – all free from sprays. If you only have slugs and snails, use Quash bait – it is safe around pets and children.
