PREPARING FOR AUTUMN AND WINTER
At the end of summer and going into autumn, it's a good time to take stock of what's growing in your garden and plan for the cooler months ahead. Living in subtropical Brisbane, Australia, our goal is to become self-sufficient in growing a variety of herbs and vegetables. We've already achieved self-sufficiency in several items each season, which you can read about in our previous post.
@blingit/urban-garden-what-are-we-self-sufficient-in-come-and-see
Mostly these are herbs, and vegetables really only zucchini, chili and perhaps ginger.. WE struggled with vegetables in the heat here this year. Hoping that over winter we will have more luck.
Here is the garden today at the end of march (end of summer)
as you can see i have started pulling stuff out of the back gardens yesterday
the front gardens many of you have NOT seen... i wonder why...lol They are next to be "vegefied" lol
What do we want to grow
As we transition into autumn and winter, there are many cool-season vegetables that we can plant and enjoy. Here are some ideas that we're planning to grow:
Broccoli- Broccoli is a cool-season crop that can be planted in autumn and enjoyed throughout the winter here in QLD. It requires well-drained soil and plenty of sun to thrive. We planted this last year, and the bees loved the flowers when we let it go to seed. Basically we got no broccoli and we are hoping to change this this year now i have a CRACKING recipe for broccoli soup.
Carrots - Carrots are a root vegetable that can be planted in autumn and enjoyed throughout the winter. They require well-drained soil and plenty of sun to thrive. However, im not sure if we will try these, as they are so cheep in the shops???
Snow peas - Snow peas are a type of pea that can be planted in autumn and enjoyed throughout the winter. They're easy to grow and can be used in a variety of dishes. The kids just LOVE THESE PEAS, like they hide in the garden and scoff the lot. THEY LOVE THEM
Peas - Peas also grow awesome here and can be planted in autumn and enjoyed throughout the winter. They require well-drained soil and plenty of sun to thrive. Again the kids love them. so these are high on the list for sure
Radishes - Radishes are quick-growing and easy to plant, They can be planted in the cooler months and harvested in as little as 4-6 weeks. We loved these last year, but we had gluts of them when we had too many at once and then none.
Turnips - Turnips are something i might try this year? never know see how we go
Chard and Mustard greens - Chard and mustard greens are both leafy greens that can be planted in autumn and enjoyed throughout the winter. They're rich in vitamins and minerals and can be used in a variety of dishes. Mustard greens, in particular, are a huge family favorite. My husband LOVES THESE... we use them a lot. IF the catepillars don't eat them. These are actually popping up EVERYWHERE in the garden at the moment. random mustard in the citrus the herbs, the chili pots... everywhere... lol
Garlic - I would like to plant garlic in the autumn for a summer harvest. I'll make sure to plant it in well-drained soil and we will see how we go. I have a friend that plants garlic so will ask her for advice.. or worst case ill steal her garlic lol.
onions - again this is something that we eat an awful lot of. I am keen to see if we can grow them as we eat so many, but this is tricky as they are quite cheep in the shops so i'm not sure about this one yet.
Kale - I'm a huge fan of leafy greens, and kale is one of my favorites. I'm planning to plant it in autumn and enjoy it throughout the winter. Last year though we struggled with bugs and things so see how we go this year.
Parsley - I use a lot of parsley in my cooking, so I'd like to plant some in my garden. It can be grown all year round in Brisbane, but I think it will be especially useful in the cooler months when i need "green stuff".
As we wind down some of our summer vegetable pots, it's important to remember that getting the compost going for one last hot burst before winter chill can help us prepare for the next growing season. While we hate to say goodbye to some of our summer favorites, we're excited to try out some new cool-season vegetables and work towards our goal of self-sufficiency.
lets see what of these we can add to the "self sufficent" list.
WORK I NEED TO DO
So basically fromt he above i need to clear out these pots, its a job i hate to do as i hate "throwing out" plants... but many of these just wont survive winter and we need the space for winter things.
so it has to happen. They need a refresh anyway. see how we go.
its just a big job
the back gardens
I need to pull out most of the stuff in these beds and top up about 50cm of soil in each bed. That will be expensive and we don't have enough compost to cover this at all. so will need to get the compost pile cracking for sure. Although i'm not sure if it will be ready for planting in winter as it will need a couple of months to "cook" but still.. see how we go.
THE FRONT GARDENS... omg..joke... what garden...?
THIS IS a winter project.... i NEED to do this THIS winter. Its been on the hit list for two years. this has to happen... lol
we have ONE and i mean ONE productive plant here and it is a whopper. The Rosemary i planted 2 years ago. it is something that we are 100% self sufficient in. and we could give away 5 families 100% self sufficent in easily. such a good plant here in QLD as long as no wet feet.
we need to extend the bed with the rosemary along the fence and i want to plant onions or something here. whatever it needs to be something productive and some scattered pretty plants too. there are one or two spring onions around the rosemary (and some in the garden paths too)
NEXT
we need to pull out these beds and replace the soil and then plant with something productive and ornamental. Not yet sure what we are going to do here at all... it remains to be seen.
it is a BIG bed really but can't to tooooo much due to the retaining wall there (that needs to be fixed)
view from the front
CONCLUDING MESSAGES
Just another very busy week all in all. I will now sign off and start the next video.. lol... as its already late as well
talk later
happy gardening
Sarah
So for those of you that know this... skip to the June Update section.
We have been in this house for 6 years now and it is a concrete wastleland of concrete and grass with a pool. we decided that this needs to change and are creating a little urban farm in.
We had a very GREEN back garden but it was just yukka plants. AND they planted this big rooted trees right on top of retaining walls. They are huge and are pushing on the walls. They needed to come out. Roots and all down into the earth we had to go...
You can see here the view when we moved in.,... green... but not "pretty and productive.."
Certainly no biodiversity. Not good for bees. Just green yick.
WHAT ARE WE CREATING?
We are trying to create a little mini urban farm.
- Fruit and vegetables
- Chickens Worms and Mealworms
- flowers
- Bee haven and maybe bees
- biodiversity
- pesticide free where possible
- native plants as well. So not JUST food but also food for the insects that will live in the garden.
So i would love it if you would follow along
Anyway thanks so much for stopping along and reading my posts I am just loving my HIVE experience so far. Such a fun platform for sure.
For those that don't know my i'm currently focusing on Daily painting and somewhat amusing my self and my family with Acrylic pouring.. lol.. i wish i had a separate studio for that as it is so messy.
My other HIVE interests are:
- cooking
sunset photography (i take photos of the sky every night)
Art
Graphic Design
Gardening (just a smidgion)
Ballet
Sewing - I make Tutus and ballet costumes too...
Here are a couple of snaps of some of the stuff i do outside what you see up in the posts above.
