Community garden plot all planted up for the summer

 

I am extremely excited to have taken procession of a plot in a community garden. I got my poor hubby to dig it over and we've prepared it with compost, horse manure and mulch, and are all ready to go with growing stuff.

We've planted:

• tomato plants grown from seeds and 2 tomato plants that we've bought from a nursery;
•  2 cucumbers;
• 2 chilli plants we've bought, and 1 plant I've grown from seed;
• 2 egg plants;
• 2 melons;
• 2 capsicums; and
• a lavender bush to attract bees.

The plot gets a lot of sun so will need lots of watering in the summer months. But we're noticing that we have a lot of worms in the soil which is a good thing, and the chilies and capsicums are already thriving.

Do you have any tips on how to maintain a small, raised garden bed?

Experimenting with an inground compost

One of the disadvantages of living in a flat, as opposed to a house with a garden, is that I cannot do anything useful with my food scraps. Now I have my little plot in the Kingston community garden, I can go back to saving food scraps for compost.

 One of the gardeners in Kingston has recommended that I try to develop an in-ground compost system. This requires "planting" a plastic container in the plot, with its bottom removed, like this upside down ice cream container. It needs a lid that can be removed. Waste food then goes into the container. Hopefully, worms make their way to the food  and break it down, and then the material is placed around plants to nourish them. 

You can buy the containers from places like Bunnings. I am using an ice cream container but I think it is going to be too small and I might need to progress to a larger container.

Have you ever used an in-ground compost system, or worm farm? How did you get on? 

Got me a plot in a community garden!

I moved to Canberra three years ago, and have recently bought a flat that is currently being built on the edge of Lake Burley. Whilst I am looking forward to moving in, I am very sad that I will no longer have a garden. So, luckily for me, I recently found a community garden nearby in Kingston, and I have been fortunate enough to have been allocated a plot that I can use for as long as I wish.

The plot isn't too large - big enough for me to potter about and keep me out of mischief. I am a lazy gardener - I like to grow plants but not so keen on weeding and all the maintenance work that a garden needs. So I was grateful to my hubby who came down and fixed the plot frame which had started to come apart, and readied the plot for planting.

The garden has a strict organic policy so I am having to find out what makes the best organic fertilizer. And another challenge is to work out how best to compost my waste food and utlise the power of worms. I have been introduced to the concept of the in-ground worm farm, which I hope to introduce to the plot.

My hubby bought me a plastic green house which I have been making use of on my flat balcony to get chilli and tomato seeds started. I think I'll grow from seeds, getting started in the greenhouse and then moving the seedlings down to the plot when they are ready. Hopefully, I'll be able to grow vegetables all year round.

As for this summer, I am going to try tomatoes, chilies, cucumber and capsicum. I am also going to try to grow some herbs, parsley, basil and coriander, because I haven't had any luck so far growing them in pots.

I have been learning about companion planting so am going to mix in some french marigolds. I also want to attract bees to the garden, so will either plant a lavender bush or sage - I haven't made up my mind what to try. What other flowers could I plant that are pretty and also good for attracting bees and butterflies?

The big challenge will be keeping the plot well watered, especially in the depth of the hot Canberra summer. So the next thing I want to do is investigate watering systems.