Outback Kitchen - Growing Veggies in the outback and beyond.

Outback Kitchen - Growing Veggies in the outback and beyond

The best way to eat healthy is to grow your own and that's not as hard as you think

Summer veggies- love 'em

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Winter work in the Garden

Watering should be done in the morning so that both soil & plants can dry off before nightime. This reduces fungal disease. Try not to water on the foliage of those plants which are prone to fungal disease like roses. Fungal diseases love wet conditions and if the plant leaves are wet during the night, this creates ideal conditions for fungal diseases to proliferate, so this is very important for healthy plant growth. There are many plants however that do not mind being wet all over.

Dig summer mulch into soil. Now when it is not needed as much did into soil to boost organic matter and bring the worms in. You can add more mulch next spring. This only applies to those who are using peastraw/straw type mulch, I don't generally dig the pine bark variety in.

Often people think that plants don't need fertilising in winter, this is not true. Plants will flourish with the right winter fertilising. What is more important is the type of fertilisers used. High nitrogen fertilisers are more suited for spring through to autumn, but not really for winter. However, fertilisers containing high amounts of Potash (Potassium) are excellent for developing deep green leaves and promoting plant strength and vigour through winter. Don't forget the bulbs underground that will start to shoot end of winter, they could do with a little too.

I use Searles® Liquid Potash & Searles® Liquid Seaweed. Both these liquid fertilisers will promote hardy growth that builds plants resistance and prepares them for spring. The seaweed mixture promotes root growth too. Potash is good for flowering and fruiting.

Things to do when starting a vegie patch.

Soil preparation is the most important thing. Plants will only do well if the growing enviroment is good. How do you prepare your soil? Well it all depends on the type of soil you have. If you have heavy clay soil, you know the type that goes rock hard in summer and gets heavy and sticky in winter, this needs to be broken down with gypsum. The gypsum gets inbetween the clay particles and loosens things up. The great thing about gypsum is that is can be used to 'top dress' the garden bed. This means you don't have to dig it all through, it also means you can add it to your lawn if it is in clay. (Soil in the outback can range from clay to bulldust all in the one backyard. You can have a layer of bulldust even over your clay)

Gypsum will not work overnight though, it does take some time and it will speed things up if you dig it through your vegie patch. You will also need to add some organic matter, like compost to your soil. Cow or horse manure is a good organic matter. Some people use bark mulch or sawdust, but these things remove nitrogen from the soil as they breakdown so you will have to add this back. Remember to water in the gypsum once it has been added. You may put it in at anytime of the year. Gypsum can be obtained from most garden centres and rates of application are found on the pack.

If you are going to use lawn clippings as your organic matter don't put it in straight after mowing the lawn if you have couch or a runner type lawn. This is because the clippings may take root and establish themselves right where you don't want lawn. Let them age on the compost heap for a couple of months first.

Sandy soil. This type of soil does not hold water and nutrients well and will need the addition of much organic matter. Once again I recommend horse or cow manure, composted organic material from your garden. This needs to be spread well and dug in.

Growing root vegetables.

Root vegies such as carrots, turnips and swedes do not like hard compacted soil. A very heavy soil like clay will not bring good results. A crumbly, loam soil is the best as the vegies can push their way through the soil as they grow. This will require you to not only have the right type of soil, but also a soil that has been well broken up by digging and turning over.

Potatoes are heavy feeders and need a good rich soil so "build" up the soil a good couple of weeks before you plant them.

Cottage gardens do better than mono-cultures.

I am a firm believer in the 'cottage garden' style of vegie gardens. A cottage garden is where you mix lots of different things together in the one area as opposed to mono-culture which has only one type of plant.

Mono-cultures are not natural. What part of earth do you find just one plant growing naturally to the exclusion of all others? Monocultures are also easy to invade when it comes to disease and pests and the plants in a monoculture all compete for exactly the same nutrients etc. This means a mono-culture garden ends up having to be artificially supported by chemicals and things.

On the other hand a 'cottage garden' has so much variety that pests like insects and grubs can have trouble establishing themselves, or if they do get established, the chances are that their natural preditor is living just next door. more coming soon.

Summer time is variety time.

There is so much to plant in summer time you can have a hard time choosing just what you want to grow. From the many varieties of tomato, cucumber, capsicums and beans. Then there are the water mellons, rockmellons and my favourites the pumpkin family. The choice of what to plant is often dictated to us though by space and climatic zone.

Small gardens should focus on plants that either have a bush habbit or climbing habbit. You can grow root veggies but going by space versus crop potential you will get more produce from bush plants. For example in the space it takes to grow say 12 carrots I can plant a good variety of tomato and get far more than 12 pieces of produce. However this rulu of thumb can be proven wrong if you use the space to grow a quick growing root veggie such as raddish. Where you can plant a couple of consecutive crops in the time it takes to grow your 12 carrots or your tomato plant.

For high yield in a small space you can't go past runner beans. You can put in a bamboo tripod and get a harvest of good food that continues over a couple of months. Beans also freeze really well so they are very versatile. I will put in a photo of mine soon.

The pumpkin and mellon family need a lot of room as they like to 'roam about'. One way to overcome this is to trellis them, but remember that they produce fruit that is quite heavy and you may have to think about how you will support the growing fruit. When growing pumpkins if you don't get many bees to your garden you may find that it is difficult to get the fruit to set. I play the role of the bee by picking the male flower and intserting its stamen into the female flower. How do you tell them apart? I will draw a pic or take a photo later this week and show you.

I will try to have the pics in place by Jan 24th. See you then.

Page 2

The picture above shows our first attempt at a no dig garden bed for our veggies. The kids and I just used what we already had around the home. The site sloped so we used some old peastraw for the lowest corner. We then used some bricks and a log to hold down the paper and keep the edges tidy.

Our layers for the no dig garden bed are as follows from the gournd up.

   * Newspaper - thick and wet. Acts as a weed mat.
   * Peastraw - but you could use any type of straw or wood chips
   * A layer of dirt only about 1/2 inch thick
   * fresh cut weeds minus the roots
   * Very old lawn clippings - don't use fresh they might start to grow
   * Some of my vegie compost heap which is not well composted.
   * Layer of lucerne hay about 2cm thick.
   * Layer of soil about 1 1/2 inches deep.

We wet down each layer as we went. The veggie compost was lumpy and not well rotted but they say that does not matter. You could use old cardboad or carpet on the bottom but stay away from sythetic stuff. I will be researching more about this so come back soon for some more information.

If anyone has some good ideas about this please email us on
jackie@outbackjack.info love to hear from you. Don't send attachments though as I don't open them.

No-dig Garden general information

No dig gardening is an approach to gardening based on a set of simple principles which seek to mimic many of the natural processes found in forested/woodland areas.

In a woodland which could even be a mulga scrub, plants rely on the recycling of matter which when broken down (composted) provides nutrients essential for growth.

Leaves, branches, dying grassed, dead insects, fungi, moulds, animal manure and bacteria all work together to form humus wihich is nutrient rich and has good water holding properties plus aeration capabilities.

Layers form naturally and seeds falling into the layers whether by bird droppings or by wind germinate in this enviroment.

It is a continous process and creates its own balance of carbon and nitrogen which are both necessary.

So when we create a no-dig garden bed we try to recreate the layering effect, which should ensure all properties are present for the process to continue.

When making a no-dig garden bed you need to provide materials which have - carbon, nitrogen, bacteria and water holding properties. Almost anything can be used but some things need preparation before use.

Grass clippings and fresh weeds need to dead before use or else they will grow where you don't want them to. Laying them out in the sun and heat, or bagging in black plastic bags for a couple of weeks should accomplish this.

Pine chips, needles and bark along with eucalyptus leaves, chips etc need to be weathered to remove the oils which are naturally present in the resin/sap. These oils inhibit growth. They can be removed by leaving in the sun and rain for a few weeks.

Any animal manure can be used, I have used horse, cow, rabbit and chook poo over the years in my normal garden beds. Chook poo which is fresh can be a little overpowering so best to let it age a little before it goes in.

Creating the layers.

Once you have decided what you are going to use in your layers you need to choose where you are going to put it and what you are going to edge it with. You don't have to provide edging but it does make it neater and helps to stop the blackbirds and others from scratching it out where you don't want it.

Remember the following tips as you build.

1) Wet each layer as you go. Don't make it water logged just damp

2) Every second or third layer should contain animal manure.

3) Mix nitrogen rich layers inbetween carbon rich layers.

4) Layers such as flat leaves and grass clippings can bond together creating a barrier to water and aeration etc. It pays to mix them with some material that will create some space for drainage and aeration. You could mix with straw, lucerne hay etc.

5) Vegie scraps are great to mix in and you can put them into any layer.

6) The deeper you make your garden the more careful you have to be to make sure that there is moisture in each layer
as it does not easily penetrate from the top when it is too dry.

Weeds you can eat

Never thought the day would come when I would view weeds as useful, yet one should not be amazed that God gives food in abundance, and weeds are just that abundant.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) also known as the common lawn weed in south-eastern and south western Australia. Easily recognize by its sunny yellow flowers which grow on a hollow unbranched stem. This plant is used in the health food stores as a beverage which is made from the root which is pretty expensive as it takes a lot of roots to make a bag of (coffee). The leaves are also edible and ideal for soups and quiches.

Chicory is another one which is closely related to the dandelion, catsear and salsify. Chicory is the most popular for coffee substitute and since the roots are large much cheaper. Chicory is also used as a salad plant.

Both plants should be harvested while young, before the full flowering.

Pig faces and pigweed. These are actually two different plants but both have edible parts.

According to Tim Lows book Bush Tucker - Australia's wild Harvest (1989 Harper Collins) the pigfaces have mauve flowers which are followed by purple or red fruits with two horns. The juicy pulp, is squeezed and sucked from the base and is supposed to taste like salty strawberries or soft figs (paraphrased p57)

Australia has 6 native pigfaces, Karkalla (C. rossii) grows in the south. Inland you will find C. modestus, which are sometimes confused with the desert loving pigface Sarcozona praecox and S. bicarinata. The latter has more upright growth and the flowers have fewer petals.

Then there is the round-leaved pigface found on southern beaches and inland plains Disphyma crassifolium. "It has smaller, less angular leaves, and small capsules on tall stalks in place of fleshy fruits" (ibid). The leaves of this plant and juic and edible. Can be used in salads or as a substitute for spinach. Leaves of the common pigface are also edible, but sometimes have an irritating aftertaste.

Pig weed however is an altogether different plant. (Portulaca oleracea),
has tiny yellow flowers Goto Bush Tucker page for more information

Wood fire ashes and your garden.

I was asked the other day should you use wood ashes on your garden. When it comes to this a very little goes a long way. Wood ash is very alkaline above 8 on the ph scale. Most plants prefer neurtral to slightly acidic soils so you could end up making the soil ph unbareable for your plants.

Whilst ash does contain some potassium sulphate which is necessary for flowering and fruiting the constant use of ash would not be benifical.

If you are going to add some for the potash content mix it well with good composted green waste which will help create a balance. Only use ash once a year.

Wood ash is not a good recycling material.

Vinegar and Gardening.

If you have soil that has recieved too much ash you can help restore the pH balance by adding vinegar mixed with water. Vinegar is a really useful product from cleaning to plant health. Rather than re-invent the wheel. I have inluded some useful links in the Go menu next door.

I often use vinegar as a cleaning product and use the left over water in my garden. It does pay to know what pH your soil is though before using it.

Got excess garden produce that you would like to enjoy later. Freeze it. For tips on Freezing veggies
Go HERE

Believe it or not but some people, other than our kids actually eat Sour Sobs Oxalis pes-caprae. Yes they do contain oxalic acid which has been linked to kidney stones as it forms a salt/crystal with some minerals like calcium, but with proper preparation coupled with the bodies ability to excrete it they can be consumed moderately with safety. Irish recipe Sour Sobs and Potatoes HERE