Me looking extremely perplexed about what to plant!
I remember reading my first ever Eden seeds catalogue. I think I had ever second seed variety highlighted. We were going to grow five different types of beans … I hate beans... I think I thought if I grew them, I’d eat them!
What I ended up with was a seed draw full of seeds, an over grown vegetable patch and too much produce all at once.
I’m a little bit wiser now, little bit!
I thought I’d share some of my vegetable gardening experiences with you so hopefully you don't make the same mistakes as me.
My first piece of advice is realising I am not Annette McFarlane, Claire Bickle, Jerry Colby-Williams or Jamie Oliver. Yes, I want to plant all the edibles but really am I going to cook, preserve and then eat all the edibles. Do I even have the space, time or know how?
Realisation, I do not enjoy cooking or preserving. Nor do I have the capacity to store a lot of those things.
I need to make sure I plant mainly what I can eat and cook with and maybe one different thing every season to broaden my horizons
Some of you think you want to cook and preserve but just make sure you’ve attempted this before or at least know what’s involved. Thinking you are going to be that person that makes a huge batch of tomato sauce or chutney, is a lot different to the person who is in a kitchen doing it all day long. I did this as a child with my grandmother and I hated it, as an adult I gave it another go and hated it.
I realised my passion was in eating not cooking! I now surround myself with a lot of happy chefs in my life that willing take the food I grow and magically turn it into yummy things in jars for me to eat!
I need to successive plant. Planting 12 lettuces isn't the best way forward for me. I’m not even sure I know 12 people to share 12 lettuces with. It’s better if I plant four lots of lettuce. Sowing some seeds every month so I have a continuous supply and not everything all at once. Unless you like lettuce soup!
To work out what to plant, I first work out what I eat a lot of. I then work what is really cheap at the stores when in season. For example we eat a lot of broccoli but by the time I get a good crop of broccoli, it's readily available at the shops and it’s a good price. Broccoli takes up a lot of space in the garden and can be hard to get a good crop so I leave that one for the professionals. On the other hand we eat a lot of tomatoes and they are never cheap, nor do they taste any good so that something I will definitely grow. Once I work out my basic favourite things to eat and grow I always like to throw something a little different into the mix. Maybe we love Silverbeet but instead of growing green silverbeet we grow rainbow silverbeet.
I always love to choose a vegetable that sounds yummy but I haven’t incorporated into my food before and grow that too just to see what it’s like.
Buy good quality non hybrid seeds or good quality established plants from known growers. Try really hard not to grow things from scraps.
If I’m really struggling with what to plant one season, I grow herbs. I can always use herbs, herbs are easy to grow and herbs are easy to share with friends.
Start small, then go big. Unless you have the time, energy and skills start small. There is nothing wrong with planting three edibles. There is nothing wrong with planting ten edibles. It doesn't matter. What matters is that you are doing it.
Finally my biggest piece of advice is don’t scrimp on soil. Soil is the key to a healthy garden. Buy the good soil, make the good soil. Have organic fertiliser on hand and use it. Healthy soils make plants thrive not just survive. Growing your own food can be so rewarding but follow the steps and get good advice.
Always remember There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments. – Janet Kilburn Phillips!