For the past twelve years or so all I've wanted is to escape into the countryside, live in my own little secluded cottage away from the world, and grow my own fruits and vegetables.
It was just a little dream, for I've never been in a position to actually be able to afford my own land or cottage, nor have I, in this time, been able to really grow anything except for a trusty basil plant in a pot. There hasn't been enough space, and when I finally decided to utilise the shared courtyard of my old unit block, it was time to move a couple of months later.
Now that I've moved into my partner's house, and the people who recently bought the place asked us to stay on as long-term tenants, I finally have the space necessary to begin a watered-down version of my dream; to at least grow my own fruits and vegetables! 😊
Starting with vegies and herbs.
My partner is a woodworking hobbyist who hasn't had any projects to do lately, so leapt at the chance to get back into it when I said I was looking at planter boxes.
There's also a garden area in the backyard that I'm planning on utilising, once I free it of grass and dandelions.
That's going to be a pain in the butt, I know it. But worth it. This will be where most of the vegies will be going.
At this point in time I'm planning on growing roma tomatoes, large-leaf basil, garlic chives, and spring onion. 🌱 That's for the planters. I also have some brocolli, carrot, silverbeet, and onion seeds waiting! Planning on getting a couple more herbs also at some point.
I live in zone 10b-11a, Queensland Australia, I've only ever grown basil in my life, and I really hope I don't inadvertently kill my first lot of vegetables. 🙃
According to everything I've read for my region, it's better to start sowing in Autumn due to less pests... and it just so happens to be the start of Autumn right now! (southern hemisphere)
I'm only a newbie, so I've read a lot and have very little real-world experience when it comes to planting and growing, so I'm trusting things that I've read and am prepared to learn from my own inevitable errors.
I will update as my plants grow and things happen. Wish me luck! 😅
Cover that garden in a tarp and starve the dandelions and grass to death. Then till in their plant bodies as fertilizer to conquer your garden!
Love the raised planter beds. My wife was doing them back when we were in the south and I don't think she'll ever have a traditional garden again. Her knees don't like all the bending, so being able to pull up a chair beside a planter and do the weeding without being on her hands and knees was great.
Apparently beneath all the grass and dandelions lies a horrible soil full of clay and rocks... I'm not looking forward to meeting them! xD
My knees aren't really a fan of bending either and thanks to your comment I just realised that I need more raised planters, haha. Sitting on a chair while doing all the things sounds amazing and my knees are now screaming in advance at my future garden bed.
This is great!
I've been following permaculture youtube blogs for a while and I remember someone mentioning it's extremely hard to get yard lands in Australia, specially if you want to grow veggies and fruits. Glad that you're finally on the verge to make it happen.
The preparations already looks quite cool, not half-assed at all. I'm sure it will go well. Unlike people, plants usually live up to expectations with the help of mother nature and their own tenacity.
Let's see how you grow your garden!
Thank you for your positive words! May mother nature be kind to my upcoming garden. 🌿😁
In my experience it's usually easy to find a place in Australia with a yard -- we're a culture big on smaller houses and larger yards rather than the reverse common in other western countries. However, a lot of our population are in the city areas where it's mostly apartment blocks and very small allotments. Also, a lot of properties are rentals where tenants don't feel comfortable starting up their own gardens under fear of being uprooted at the end of their leases.
I've always lived regionally and have grown up with yards all of my life, in several areas across the country. It's only in the last place that I lived I had to make do with no yard or space. 🙁 Of course that was during the time I mentally and emotionally grew up and actually wanted to get my hands dirty! 😅 But didn't quite have a real reason to move on from my living situation at the time so just kept on dreaming instead.
Really cool project. Best of luck with it. There is something very special about growing your own food. It is like a watering can for the soul.
Peace out,
@Ablaze
Good luck @kaelci :)
I am so glad for you! Getting your hands dirty apart from the obvious benefit of producing real food for your family is a deeply healing and comforting procedure. And if in the beginning your plants don't fill your expectations, don't be discouraged. It would only get better :)
Thank you! 🙂
At the moment I'm a bit worried because I sowed direct, then nearly 200mm of rain fell within a 2 hour time-span. The first proper rain this town has had in several years; it was very unexpected.
But, it looks like my planters have good drainage! They didn't flood and overflow! So I'm pleased with that. Just hoping the defenceless, newly-planted seeds didn't get knocked around too much. 🙂
Great project! Growing your own food is a noble endeavor that modern mankind has foolishly abandoned.