Permaculture Living

After a few weeks of hot dry weather, the last week has been a little kinder to the garden and it’s had a good soaking again.

I’ve been harvesting handfuls of basil and the odd tomato, capsicum, and snake bean but mostly I’m waiting for the rockmelons to ripen. There are at least five in there, ranging from tennis ball size on upwards. This is my first time growing them and they are surprisingly easy and tolerant of variable condition compared to finicky plants like tomatoes.

I appear to have won the ongoing battle with the possums. The answer, which was kindly provided in the comments earlier in January, is mosquito netting.

Enclosing the whole garden in a double-bed size net has kept the possums from climbing the fence and from eating any of the vines that are growing along it. It also filters the hot Queensland summer sun a little.

The one caveat to covering your garden in netting - remember to open it up during the day, otherwise the pollinators aren’t able to get in and the harvest may suffer.

I just love how fruits and curcurbits look when really young.

The rockmelons were slow to fruit, running all over the garden festooned with flowers, but now that they have set fruit they are doing it with a vengeance.

And the biggest one so far…

There are about four capsicum plants in my vegie garden, all from the same punnet of seedlings. One has only flowers, two are throwing fruit that all look like chillis (without the heat), and one is producing standard capsicums like you’d see in the shops.

I was keeping a close eye on the first watermelon on the vines, which was growing nicely, from this…

To this…

Then the day I hoped would never come arrived. The possums have figured out how to collapse the top of the fence and get to the fruit growing on the wire.

Sigh. I guess more fortifications are in order.

The first edibles from the no-dig garden, not much more than two months after planting. Basil, two cherry tomatoes, a capsicum and a cucumber.

The cucumber just before it was picked.

I wish I could remember what variety this is; I’ve never seen such a large number of flowers on the one stem.

ETA: It’s a variety called Sweetbite.

In late October I found a spare space in the backyard to expand from growing in containers to a proper vegie patch. Just five weeks after planting, it’s now looking lush. Along the way, I took a few photos.

The finished no-dig garden. I started by digging a brick perimeter slightly in the ground, then laying wet newspaper straight on top of the grass. That was followed by a bale of lucerne hay, a bag of composted chicken manure and a bale of sugar cane mulch. The fence of animal wire was the last part but most necessary if I wanted anything to grow; it keeps the possums out.

Now, it’s lush and green and starting to show fruit. The afternoon storms and odd spell of rain have been keeping the water up well (it rained a lot just after the seedings went in, conveniently) and today was the first time in weeks I’ve had to water.

Four days after installation, 28th October

Planting the Seedlings, 8th November

Tomatoes (two types), basil, capsicums, rockmelon, watermelon. Two pumpkin seedlings at the bottom right which are waiting to go into the ground elsewhere.

Beginning to fruit, 13th December

The tomatoes have set fruit (and there should be a lot). The capsicums are covered in flowers, as are the rockmelons, the watermelon has just set its first fruit. There’s now also snake beans and a cucumber in the jungle.

A rough annual guide to when to plant vegetables in Brisbane. Times will change slightly depending on where you are and what your local microclimate is like, but this is roughly what works for me.

All Year Round

Some veggies can be grown all year round but may require special care at times to do their best. For example, lettuces do best in cooler times of year but can also be grown in summer under shadecloth if the water is kept up to them. They will bolt faster than in winter – but summer is the season when salad greens are most wanted for meals anyway.

I like to plant lettuces every two weeks to ensure a constant supply. They’re relatively fast to grow and pull out (though not as fast as radishes, which will also grow most of the year) so can be used to fill in gaps between slower growing brassicas or other veggies.

Shallots can also grow all year round in Brisbane, as can sweet potato and carrots (barring the hottest months of the year).

SUMMER

January

It’s usually very hot at this time year – grow greens under shadecloth but otherwise let the summer crops grow and keep the water up to them.

February

Plant brassicas (cauliflower, broccoli, kohl rabi, cabbages) in seed trays and protect from possums. They will be ready to plant out in mid-March when the weather is a little cooler.

AUTUMN

March & April

Mid-March and April are the peak planting times for the year in Brisbane, as the heat of the summer is over and the humidity is less, meaning there are less pests and diseases and less sun scorching and wilting. This is when the broccoli and cauliflower seedlings should go into the garden, in a well fertilized spot (following the chicken tractor is best).

It’s also a good time to plant another round of tomatoes and capsicums. In summer tomato pests are everywhere (particularly fruit fly), but by autumn there is a better chance of getting to eat the crop. Zucchinis are also worth trying; in humid summers they succumb quickly to powdery mildew but may fare better over autumn and winter.

Potatoes can also go into the ground. Don’t plant them in the same place as last year to lessen the risk of disease.

Vegies that prefer cooler temperates now go into the garden in April. Celery, onions, turnips, peas, leeks, garlic, beetroot, and less hardy greens like lettuces, spinach and Chinese greens.

Plant strawberry runners.

May

Continue planting the same veggies as in April, progressively to ensure that the crop is spread over weeks rather than harvesting a huge glut at the same time.

WINTER

June

More potatoes can go in, as can more peas (it’s hard to have a crop of too many peas over winter – they usually don’t even make it inside for meals), and winter greens like spinach. More turnips can be planted, they prefer cold weather but will be finished by September.

July & August

Maintain the growing garden and harvest the faster growing winter crops: lettuces, greens, radishes, beetroot, kohl rabi. Harvest potatoes, and in August begin to harvest the broccolis and cauliflowers.

SPRING

September

Spring is here and it’s the time to plant asparagus. Choose a spot that won’t be in the way as it’s a perennial – it will be in the same spot for years.

In go the crops for summer. Plant pumpkins, rockmelon, watermelon, button squash (and zucchini, if you have a breezy spot for it and plenty of room for it to spread out without crowding, to reduce the chance of powdery mildew).

October

Progressively plant more summer crops

November

Plant hot season crops like snake beans and Ceylon spinach.

BEGINNING OF SUMMER

December

Progressively plant hot season crops. Shade plants that need it and keep water up to fruiting veggies like watermelons and pumpkins.