Backyard veggie patches have grown so much more popular over the past decade. While backyard gardens growing fruit and vegetables have been around for ages, the intention behind growing them has changed.
Many house-owners grow veggie patches for several reasons—they contribute to climate action, but they also avail you of fresh, organic food. You can increase your savings on grocery shopping and improve your backyard aesthetics.
The winter season can be particularly challenging for growers as the extreme conditions. But you can make resilient backyard veggie patches in your home.
Here, we’ll show you how to start a veggie patch and the best vegetables to consider.
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What is a veggie patch?
A veggie patch is a potion of your garden dedicated to growing various vegetables. The success of one depends on the conditions of your home area. Particular vegetables will do well and thrive. More of this is coming up later!
How do you make good veggie patches?
Several qualities determine a good veggie patch, top of which is healthy produce. Gardening is both an art and a skill. It brings the best of both worlds as it takes creativity in alignment and organization. But, as a skill, gardening will need knowledge of soil types, vegetable types, and their specific needs.
What do you need for a veggie patch?
Space
For your veggie patch, you first require some space in your garden. You can work with what is available, either in a large or small area. This takes into consideration the size of your lot.
What you need to consider as a gardener is the placement of the space. Your vegetables need access to sunshine and protection from the elements. Don’t expose them to strong sunlight and heavy rain.
The space should generally be level to avoid nutrient wash-off. It should also be near a fence, garden wall, shrubs, or a raised garden bed. Thorough research on the type of vegetables you intend to grow is mandatory. Different vegetables need different conditions to thrive.
Soil preparation
You first need to ensure that you have the correct soil type, guaranteeing healthy growth. Veggie patches need soil with good drainage, soil rich in nutrients, and earth with good aeration. Once you have sourced for this, the next step would be to prepare it for your vegetables.
After placement in a veggie patch box, ensure that there are no weeds. There should be no existing plants and root systems. This creates a competitive environment for water and nutrients.
As good practice, take some time to test your soil in a laboratory. Identify what nutrients are missing to supplement them for your veggies.
Adding organic matter such as mulch is also particularly important. It serves as a cheaper supplement to the use of fertilisers.
Veggie patch boxes
It would help if you considered constructing one of these to house your veggies. There are several veggie patch designs and veggie patch ideas. Peruse the online spaces to find inspiration for you. You can also customise veggie patches to your liking and achieve exceptional designs.
Raised boxes serve as great aesthetic additions to your backyard. They save you the need to bend over during harvesting and weeding. For those who are not open to constructing their own, pre-made boxes are available. Head over to your nearest various hardware store.
Starting your vegetable garden
It is vital to add a surface mulch of close to 80mm to the prepared soil when planting. The mulch keeps weeds away, protects the soil from rain compaction, and controls temperature. It also preserves nutrients in the ground.
You should ensure that the soil is deep enough, especially when growing deep-rooted vegetables. It is essential to be aware of the months and their prevailing weather conditions depending on where you live. Producing should occur in wet times of the year as the soil is loose and easy to till.
Which vegetables should you grow in the winter?
Now to the meat of the matter. You have prepared your veggie patch and are ready to plant. What vegetables and herbs can you can grow in the winter season?
Cool climate winter vegetables
These vegetables do well in cool climate regions. So, if you’re planting vegetables in Melbourne this could work for you. Cool climate veggies should be grown indoors. Some of these include herbs such as chives, coriander, garlic, lemongrass, and marjoram. Also, consider mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, shallots, tarragon, and thyme.
One can grow beetroots, carrots, cabbages, potatoes, and turnips for vegetables. Leeks, onions, broad beans, broccoli, and cauliflower also do well.
Winter vegetables for temperate regions
If you live in a temperate region, winter-resilient vegetables are highly recommended. You can grow to include broad beans, English spinach, peas, and green beans. You can also grow herbs such as marjoram, oregano, parsley, and thyme.
Winter vegetables in the drier parts of Australia
In the drier parts of Australia, gardening is possible during the winter seasons. By ensuring that you preserve water, various vegetables do well. Our recommendations include broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, peas, tomatoes, turnips, and spinach.
Winter vegetables for tropical areas
Do you live in regions such as the Northern territories, Northern Queensland, or parts of Western Australia? The warm and tropical climate allows for several vegetables to thrive. These include zucchini, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, cauliflower, and carrots.
Some of the general tips to grow vegetables in the winter season include:
- Ensuring that they are located to receive as much sunlight as possible
- Incorporating companion planting to avert the need for pesticides
- Making a compost heap for fertiliser, using recycled materials
- Setting up drip irrigation. This ensures that your vegetables are always watered, minimising water loss.
Backyard veggie patch maintenance
To ensure that your vegetables are doing well, ensure that you maintain your veggie patch. They must be adequately watered and receive the amount of sunshine they need. This is typically an issue during the winter seasons. Consider supplementing any nutrients lacking in your soil.
Ensure that the boxes you choose for your backyard veggie patch are in good shape, and should any holes appear, they should be fixed to prevent soil loss. Watching out for pests and using plant-safe products is an integral part of the process.
Additionally, develop routine checks to monitor progress. And should pests or diseases infest some vegetables, it is easy to control the damage.
Like our gardening tips?
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