My Garden ~ winter vegetables
Yesterday, I decided it was time to start planting early winter vegetables. I’m utilising an area in a sunny paddock where over the years, we’ve burned tree prunings, other organic and garden rubbish. Because of the regional summer fire-ban, we’d left the bonfire patch lie. By chance in January, I discovered lettuces, cocktail tomatoes, coriander, parsley and silverbeet had self-sown and thrived among the weedy overgrowth and charred debris. How could I have missed this bonanza? As I cleared around the vegetables I was inspired by the depth, richness and friability of the soil enlivened by worms, humus, wood ash and animal manure (from livestock that grazed in the paddock). I added some seedlings of sweet-corn under-planted with climber beans, courgettes and a late crop of potatoes. I usually have to contend with clay that gets soggy in the wet and wintery months and rock hard in the heat of the summer. This weekend, I visualised gardening possibilities as I shifted and further cleared the bonfire site – an area of about 2m x 1.5m – in order to plant cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, peas, more lettuces and beetroot. A similar area is yet to be cleared - a garden bonus. In March, I’ll plant more seedlings for the winter garden and begin harvesting the potatoes.
Himself was not quite so inspired as he visualised the probability of fencing the area to keep the livestock out. Over the years, he has, mostly using recycled materials we have on hand, constructed boxed raised garden beds, devised watering systems, fenced off newly planted trees and other gardening enhancing developments.
Tonight as I write this, it’s been raining heavily. That is so good. The ground developed surface cracks because of the long dry season we’ve had. Our rainwater storage tanks will be filled and the fruit trees will get a really good deep drink. The branches of the Captain Kidd and Red Delicious apple trees are hanging heavily with the weight of the fruit. These trees have proven to be amazingly tough given vagaries of the climate conditions we’ve experienced and the quantity of fruit borne.
