Verandah Garden

Aliantha • Oct 22, 2007 12:22 am
I've spoken about my pots with herbs etc a number of times on this forum, so I thought I'd take a picture (or two) and show you what I'm talking about.

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Chilli tree and Shallots


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Basil, Rosemary, Oregano and Lettuce
Aliantha • Oct 22, 2007 12:23 am
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Mint, Basil and Thyme



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More Basil, Parsely and Chives
Aliantha • Oct 22, 2007 12:27 am
These are shots of my back verandah where I've decided to start growing a few salad veges for summer salads.

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Aliantha • Oct 22, 2007 12:28 am
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Zucchini - I only planted the seedling for this plant about 3 weeks ago.


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These are two of the pots I planted out on the weekend. There's cucumber, lettuce, bok choy, capsicum, eggplant, more lettuce, more tomatoes, squash and some more zucchini.
ZenGum • Oct 22, 2007 12:36 am
Are .... you going .... to Scar---borough fair?
monster • Oct 22, 2007 12:38 am
:jealous:

and lovely to hear/read the word verandah/veranda again ...last used by my grandparents in the UK in the 80s. I loved their veranda -attached to their loggia -another word I haven't heard in forever. :)
monster • Oct 22, 2007 12:39 am
ZenGum;397864 wrote:
Are .... you going .... to Scar---borough fair?


Ha! This year, I arranged my herbs according to the order in that song. :D
Aliantha • Oct 22, 2007 1:02 am
I like my verandah. On the front one I have a small couch, and on the back one there's a rocking chair.
ZenGum • Oct 22, 2007 1:27 am
Aliantha;397874 wrote:
I like my verandah. On the front one I have a small couch, and on the back one there's a rocking chair.


Oh give me a home amongst the gum trees...
Cloud • Oct 22, 2007 1:38 am
good for you!
rkzenrage • Oct 22, 2007 1:44 am
I miss gardening...
Aliantha • Oct 22, 2007 1:53 am
Are you having fun Zen? lol
Aliantha • Oct 22, 2007 1:54 am
rkzenrage;397888 wrote:
I miss gardening...


Gardening is something I never used to like doing, but I find as I'm growing up it's something I really enjoy. Maybe you could try the pot thing rkz? at least the garden is then at about the right height for you to reach without too much trouble.
ZenGum • Oct 22, 2007 9:57 am
Aliantha;397891 wrote:
Gardening is something I never used to like doing, but I find as I'm growing up it's something I really enjoy. Maybe you could try the pot thing rkz? at least the garden is then at about the right height for you to reach without too much trouble.


I believe RK has indeed "tried the pot thing", thank you very much.

Yes I am having fun getting all folk-musical today. I wonder how many non-Aussies got the second one?
Aliantha • Oct 22, 2007 5:50 pm
I dunno...but I did...thankyou very much! ;)
Spexxvet • Oct 22, 2007 5:56 pm
The only thing I've been successful growing in the ground is grape tomatoes, which I love. It seems like nothing else does well. I have pots like yours for my herbs, and they do just fine. My soil has red clay about 14 inches below the surface - not good for drainage or root growth. :sniff:
Aliantha • Oct 22, 2007 6:02 pm
A lot of quick growing veges don't need much root growth spexx. Things like lettuce and bok choy for example. You should also be able to grow other salad type veges such as capsicum (you guys call them peppers I think). Also brocoli and cabbage etc would do fine too.

Just try turning the soil over with some fertilizers high in phosphate. If you can get hold of some kind of chook poo and water it down then sprinkle it on the soil during this process that'd be helpfull too. Let it sit and mulch down for a week or two (which is quite necessary if you use chook poo because otherwise it can burn the seedlings when you put them in) then away you go.

You can also get stuff to break up clay soil if you want to increase the depth, but the best thing really is to build up what you've got and put a frame around the outside for your garden bed.
Spexxvet • Oct 22, 2007 6:14 pm
I had a frame, and roto-tilled in peat moss, manure, and compost every spring, covered the soil with "no weed" cloth and heeped mulch on top, but it didn't seem to help. Peppers and tomatoes were small, broccoli didn't work, and zucchini died after producing 3 or 4 zucs.

What is chook poo?
Aliantha • Oct 22, 2007 7:53 pm
poultry shit is chook poo.

Have you thought about getting your soil tested? Perhaps it's either too acid or too alkaline. Either way you can fix that. Zucchini like good drainage or their roots rot. Same with most other salad type veges. It's probably because of the clay basin (which I've had to deal with before) so you need to get the stuff to break it down. I'm having a mental blank on what the stuff is you need, but you can buy it in large bags and it's white powdery stuff. I'll remember the name later and come back and post it.
Aliantha • Oct 22, 2007 7:56 pm
Gypsum is the stuff. You sow it into the soil as you would your dry fertilizer and manure but you put it in before the fertilizer and manure.
Urbane Guerrilla • Oct 23, 2007 2:49 am
Frankly, anybody who watched Steve Irwin's memorial service got that reference. However, Aussie folk hasn't yet scored a huge audience in the States. Folk aficionados are no doubt importing their discs from online dealers these days.
Aliantha • Oct 23, 2007 3:24 am
I didn't watch the memorial service, so I've no idea what was on it.