Featured

How to maximise your vegetable gardens produce year-round | Gardening 101 | Gardening Australia



Published
Josh shares his tips to maximise year-round productivity in the veggie patch. Subscribe ???? http://ab.co/GA-subscribe
His garden has covered the basics: it is located in an area that gets full sun and is sheltered from strong winds. Compost systems nearby are used to continually build up the soil.

Today he is covering some of the higher levels of thinking that allow him to maximise productivity and plant health in this relatively small vegetable garden. ‘Crop rotation, efficient watering systems, and creating a healthy garden ecology are all practices that will get you on your way to really cranking out veggie production at your place. And they are ideas as old as gardening itself.’

Crop rotation— don’t plant the same type of veggies in the same bed from season to season. Leafy crops are typically the hungriest plants, so plant them followed by fruiting crops, and then root crops in that order. Planting legumes at the end of this rotation helps to build up the soil nitrogen before moving back into a crop of leafy vegetables.

Watering— you want a good quality and properly installed irrigation system to sustain your crops during dry weather. Drip irrigation is the most efficient way to water established plants as the water is applied directly to the roots. However, this isn’t ideal for newly planted seedlings or germinating seed, so Josh also has sprinklers in his veggie beds as well as the drip irrigation in each bed.

Companion planting—growing plants other than veggies for the purpose of creating a diverse and healthy growing environment. It is particularly important to choose plants that attract beneficial insects. Josh plants up the border around the garden with a range of flowering plants to attract insects that will act as pollinators or predators that eat pests.

Featured Plants:
BROAD BEAN  - Vicia faba cv. 
SPRING ONION ‘RED LEGS’  - Allium fistulosum cv. 
MEXICAN BUSH SAGE  - Salvia leucantha 
SANTOLINA  - Santolina chamaecyparissus 
TANSY - Tanacetum vulgare 
(Check before planting: this may be an environmental weed in your area) 
SWEET ALYSSUM  - Lobularia maritima 
YARROW  - Achillea cv. 
PINEAPPLE SAGE  - Salvia elegans 
___________________________________________

Gardening Australia is an ABC TV program providing gardening know-how and inspiration. Presented by Australia's leading horticultural experts, Gardening Australia is a valuable resource to all gardeners through the television program, the magazine, books, DVDs and extensive online content.

Watch more: http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/gardening-australia
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gardeningaustralia
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/gardeningaustralia
Web: http://www.abc.net.au/gardening

___________________________________________

This is an official Australian Broadcasting Corporation YouTube channel. Contributions may be removed if they violate ABC's Online Conditions of Use http://www.abc.net.au/conditions.htm (Section 3).
Category
Vegetable garden
Be the first to comment