Change Or Perish

That was the headline that greeted me yesterday morning from the local newspaper.

The article went on to tell us that South Australians need to change the way we grow plants or face a backyard wipeout.

The local expert being interviewed pointed out that with climate change and water restrictions gardeners need to adapt to those conditions.

Further into the newspaper there was an article suggesting that backyard gardeners used raised beds and shadecloth to combat the problems mentioned. That is going to be great for the manufacturers and suppliers of raised beds and shadecloth. 

The article also suggested ways to improve soils in the raised beds, which would also mean making your own compost, or buying it in from elsewhere. Another boost for a sector of the gardening supply industry.

There are some compelling arguments and handy tips about using water wisely. One thing that is not mentioned is how the use of wicking beds can be a great tool for sensible and conservative water use. Most raised beds advocates still have the bed build on soil or other stuff that will allow water to drain away, while a wicking bed retains that water, to be circulated around the root system of your plants.

In a post of a few days ago I outlined how I made a small wicking bed, and planted some seeds. Those seeds are now starting to raise their heads now.

Rocket Seedlings in a Wicking Bed

 The newspaper also is running a promotion where they are offering little packets of seeds, available for a small cost with a coupon from the newspaper. Now that not just an effort to raise circulation is it? Or am I being a bit too cynical linking the doom and gloom headline to the seed offer?

From The Garden

After the first few months of preparing some beds (both in the garden and in boxes) for growing some vegetables and salad plants we are starting to be able to pick a few.

This evening my meal consisted of several items from the garden, plus a few things from elsewhere.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's what I dished up for dinner tonight.

Yes, a delicious fresh salad wrap.

Working from the base up I had:

• Gluten Free flat bread wrap. I'm trying gluten free to see if that is going to help with digestion, etc. On the advice of my Naturopath.
• Lettuce from my wicking bed.
• Salad Rocket, also from my wicking bed.
• Fenugreek and Lentil Sprouts from the sprouting trays on our kitchen bench.
• Snow Peas from the very first vegetables I planted in autumn.
• Flat-Leaf (Italian) Parsley, from the near back door herb patch, in a raised bed.
• Half of an Avocado (bought from the shop).
• Cherry Tomatoes (also shop bought because it's too early and cold for home grown ones).
• 1 egg (boiled). Free Range from a neighbour, since we haven't got any chooks yet.

I will admit that I cheated a bit and had to eat some of the goodies before I rolled it up into a wrap, because there was no way I could do that with all of the goodies.

It was a delicious meal, made even more so by the thought that many of the ingredients came from my garden.

How Are Your Duck Feet?

That's what the barber asked me yesterday.

Obviously he was referring to the current constant rain that we have been getting in our region. This has been most welcome, although a little frustrating at times when I want get to work in the garden. And it seems to be encouraging the weeds to grow even faster. I am waiting (and dreading) to see how a few days of sunshine will help speed up that growth.

I have asked a few neighbours if this winter's rainfall is normal or a bit above average. The feeling that they have is that this year's rainfall is about the same as a few years ago, and they seemed happy about that.

What I am hoping for is that there will be enough rain to to get the currently appropriately named Rocky River flowing. I heard someone say that there is some water in the upper reaches, but will that flow get further downstream is the big question.

A New Wicking Bed

Now that we have started harvesting from the lettuce and rocket in some earlier established wicking beds, they will need to be replaced in the near future. Another bed has been set up to plant some more lettuce and rocket.

 

In this post I will outline the process that I have used for this new wicking bed.

 

I used a foam "brocolli" box for this new bed. It was one that was just begging to be used after sitting empty for a few weeks.

 

First I made 2 holes in each side of the box, about 30cm down from the top of the box. This will allow for about 30cm of compost/soil to be established above the reservoir of water at the bottom of the box. (more about that later).

 

 

 

 

Next prepare the material to used as the reservoir to hold the water that will be stored in the bottom of the bed. I used several plastic water bottle. I cut tops and bottoms of all the ones to be laid on the bottom of the box, so they fit together to make a long tube, the length of the bed. If the ends of the tube are closed, any water added will seep more slowly along the length of the box and be stored at the base of the bed to be taken up the soil above it. But once again I am getting ahead of my self.

 

In one end of the tube, cut a hole to allow another plastic bottle to be fitted at right angles above the tube you have made. See the photo below.

 

 

 

 

Next, collect some stone, rocks or building rubble to pack around the tube made in the step above. This will keep the tube in place and also allow water to be stored among the packing.

 

 

Collect compost to build up the soil for planting. Put this over the tube and rubble packing that were added in the previous step. I add approximately 25 to 30cm of compost, which becomes the growing medium for the plants to grow in. Sometimes I also add some commercial potting mix to get the best consistency in soil.

 

 

To help the wicking bed to perform effectively I also add some worms. These come from my compost heap, and at this time of year they are easy to collect from there.

 

 

Next, plant the seeds (or if using seedlings, plant them out now). And add water.

 

 

 

 

 

The wicking bed is now set up. All that needs to be done now is to monitor progress and occasionally top up up the water when necessary. This can be checked by looking into the bottle used  for filling. 

 

And finally, here is one that I prepared earlier. 

 

 

Finished and operating Wicking Bed, with Rocket and Lettuce.

How does a Wicking Bed work.

 

If you have seen the "self-watering " pots that you can buy at your local nursery, or even at the supermarket, then you have seen an example of a wicking bed.

I believe that it works like this:

• The bed is set up with the capability of keeping a reservoir of water in the base.
• This water can be topped up by having a pipe at the end that be used to add when when the level gets low.
• The soil above is prevented from a falling into this reservoir by the pipe(s) laid along the base, but some of it comes into contact with water that spills from the reservoir into the packing materials.
• Capillary action (similar to the way in which a candle wick takes up melted wax) makes the water work its way up the soil. This makes the soil damp, but for the plants I have chosen in my beds, not too wet.
• Water is thus conserved and put to good use as there is less evaporation and leeching out of the bottom of pots.
• This keeps beds (pots) moist and requires minimal watering. In fact I have not needed to water my beds once established. All that is needed is an occasional top of the reservoir.

I have used Wicking Beds for small scale vegetable growing, but I believe that it is also possible to this on a much larger scale, with great benefits in water conservation.

Good luck with your own Wicking Bed experiences. Let me know how you go. 

  

 

Winter In Full Swing

It's more than 2 weeks since the last entry, but the last fortnight has been a tricky time.

A few days in hospital waiting for a diagnosis for the severe stomach pains I felt, and then a trip to city to have the specialist blast the stone that was a major contributor, meant that there was no time for working in the garden.

I think the weeds must have known something. they have grown tall and thick. Especially the Stinging Nettles. I have never seen so many in such a small space, but at least the rain we have been having has kept the ground soft, which makes the nettles easy to pull. Some of the nettles will hopefully made into a soup for fertilising the garden.

Those weeds that I am not pulling by hand being cut down to ground level using a second-hand scythe that I found at Crystal Brook last weekend. I was not expecting to be able to find one so soon after deciding that it might be a suitable tool for the job. Good exercise and no fuel or fumes.

It has been raining most days for the past week so the makeshift water storage containers are overflowing. I really must get another rainwater tank. But it  has been great to sit inside on those rainy days, listening to the rain on the roof, especially when there is a loaf of bread being baked in the breadmaker.

Although it's winter, and sometimes the range of vegetables to harvest might be less, we have enjoyed the salads that we had for lunch in the last couple of days. Thanks to the Snow Peas, Lettuce, Italian Parsley and Rocket that have been established. Now is the time to get some more going, because they won't last forever. I also had the first of our Brocolli from the garden yesterday. It was only tiny but at least the caterpillars didn't get it!

How come the bugs in the garden only choose the vegetables to eat and leave all the weeds alone? And it's hard to catch the little critters, although the evidence of their presence is obvious.

As I'm writing this, the rain is falling again. I'm wondering if the amount of rain this winter is typical of the location.