Starting a garden can be overwhelming, especially for gardening beginners. We have some amazing tips and tricks to establishing your garden and continuing to grow vegetables year-round. Follow these steps to give your garden the best chance to flourish this year.
Step 1: Choose Location Take a look around your yard. Are you going to do raised garden beds or plant into an existing bed? You will need a good mix of sun and shade, where possible. Planting near fences or under trees is often a great option to get the best of both worlds. Shade cloths are also a great alternative if you don’t have access to shade in your yard. If planting directly into the ground, ideally, your soil will be medium-light and loose enough to drain moisture nicely.
Step 2: Soil Testing
It is essential to the success of your vegetables to have the garden soil tested before planting. Each type of vegetable thrives in the various soil types we have across Western Australia. Our soil testing service uses XRF technology to detect nutrient levels and contaminants in your garden. Click here to find out how it works. For more information on our soil testing visit the following link: https://www.healthyhomesandgardens.com.au/soil-testing-metals
Step 3: Choosing Plants
Plan your vegetables wisely to avoid disappointment. Overplanting at the beginning will result in unsuccessful crops due to the seasonal requirements for each plant. See below for suggested planting times according to our Western Australian climate:
Summer: zucchini, carrots, beets, capsicum, celery, eggplant, kale, melons, radish, lettuce, leeks
Autumn: broccoli, chillies, onions, spring onions, parsnips, brussels sprouts, cauliflowers
Winter: potatoes, spinach, turnips, chives, silver beet, asparagus
Spring: zucchini, melons, turnips, pumpkins, tomatoes, peas, spring onions
Did you know? You can plant vegetable scraps to start a new crop ie. Spring onion bulbs, heart of lettuce/leafy greens, base of celery etc. This website is a great source of information on how to do so: https://www.ruralsprout.com/regrow-vegetables/
4: Prepare The Area
It is important to ensure you have prepared the soil prior to planting. Nutrient rich fertilisers and boosters are the simplest way to achieve this. Compost is a sustainable way to delivery organic matter to your garden. If you do not have your own compost, it might be something worth looking into for the future. You may want to consider irrigating your vegetable patch, otherwise, you can hand water to get the best possible plant therapy out of your garden.
5: It’s Planting Time
When planting, ensure you are allowing enough space between plants for the roots to establish and foliage to grow. You may want to alternate smaller plants like herbs between underground vegetables and above ground flowering plants to avoid overcrowding in certain areas. Be sure to plant the appropriate vegetables listed above to the time of year to get make most from your efforts.
HAPPY GARDENING!
Want to know more about how our soil testing works? See our previous article here: https://www.healthyhomesandgardens.com.au/post/what-will-my-soil-report-look-like