With property at a premium right now, why would your little patch of dirt be any different?
Tired of looking at your neighbour’s garden in envy? Determined to find a new way of making your garden more fruitful (no pun intended)?
Here are a few tips for getting the most out of your garden:
- Start with the soil. Healthy soil = healthy plants = healthy people. You cannot have a thriving crop without a thriving soil! One of the best ways to improve the quality of your soil is with compost, whether store-bought or made by you.
- Plant things you struggle to buy or eat regularly. If you’re a lover of silver beet but find it difficult to source in your local shop, then why not plant your own? The same goes for herbs, why often make great companion plants for fruit and veg!
- Look to the sky! In order to maximise your space, choose plants that can be grown vertically. Plants such as tomatoes and beans are very happy to be grown up a frame or trellis, leaving more space on the ground.
- Try succession planting. This means planting more than one thing in close succession – think of it like staggering. You plant things at different times so you avoid gluts and the pressure that can come from a crop failing. No gluts, no ruts. This can also work by planting fast growing crops beside ones that take longer to mature. This means you’re able to utilise almost the exact same section of soil for two things simultaneously. This theory can also work for shallow and deep-rooted crops.
- Choose seedlings. Rather than planting seeds, plant seedlings in order to fast track the yield.
- Be a daredevil when it comes to conforming to spacing estimates. More often than not, plants can be grown in closer proximity that the packet suggests. But do your research as this is certainly not the case for some plants such as zucchini.
- Use cut and come again varieties. These types of crops take the pressure off trying to consume, for example, a whole lettuce in a few short days with the option of taking a few leaves here and there for many weeks.
- Grow in containers. Containers are easily moved which is beneficial if you’re planning to move or unsure about what conditions best suit the crop. You can move the container into a more sunny or more shaded position accordingly.
For more information on organic gardening, be sure to check out our free gardening resources here.
