Welcome to Our Farm

The Glorious Autumn Garden - Part 3 by RinaJoy
What I’ve realised over the last few days is that you can spend a very happy life time learning all the little habits and preferences of plants. BUT if you have just bought a fistful of veggie seed packets, this is the short list of what you need to know.
1. Storing your seeds in the fridge in a dry, sealed container, will double the length of its viability time (the beer fridge in the man-cave will do ;-)). BUT remember to let the container warm up to room temperature before opening it to prevent condensation forming and mould.
2. Different veggies grow better in different seasons. We’ve attached a ‘Planting guide for the Mid West coastal strip of Western Australia’ to show you which month to plant.
3. Some seeds can be raised as seedlings to ensure their germination and get a head start on the season. These are usually the smaller seeded veggies; with the exception of the carrot family (umbelliferae) which should be direct seeded.
Big seeded veggies like beans and pumpkins hate being transplanted as this can stunt them. These are best directly planted in the garden. See the attached guide.

Next time we’ll show you how we raise our seedlings. ... See MoreSee Less

April 4th, 10:01 pm

The Glorious Autumn Garden - Part 2b by RinaJoy
Following yesterday’s post, below are more details of how to create good veggie garden soil.
We recommend layering new soil ingredients on top of the existing soil (ensure no kikuyu or couch roots underneath) or use them to fill or top up raised garden beds.
Avoid mixing the ingredients into existing sandy soil because this dilutes the nutrient and water holding capacity of the loam.
If growing in pots, substitute potting mix for the loam for good drainage.

Recommended Rates
If you have purchased a product, use as instructed. For homemade materials, following are some rules of thumb…
1. Red Loam; 300 to 600 mm.
2. Worm castings or compost; add 2 to 3 handfuls per square metre as an inoculant. If you have worm tea add a few cupful’s to a watering can of RAINWATER and use to water in your plants (with the seaweed fertilizer). Chlorinated town water can kill good soil microbes.
3. The quantity of well composted animal manure used, depends on the type. eg. poultry based compost is likely to be very high in nitrogen (especially if fresh) and can easily burn your plants if over applied. Only use 1-2 handfuls per square metre. Composted horse manure contains far less nitrogen, so you could add ten times as much.
4. Seaweed fertiliser; use as per label.
5. Biochar; add 2 to 3 handfuls per square metre.
See the diagram in the attached photos for how to layer the ingredients.
Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about mulch… but that gets a post all of its own!
‘til next time… ... See MoreSee Less

April 3rd, 7:50 pm