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When it comes growing fruit and vegetables, the experience of traditional gardeners really come into their own. We hope to provide you with insight on vegetable gardens so you too can experience the joys of flavour rich, pesticide free fruit and vegetables - just like your grandparents used to grow.
Vegetable gardening has traditionally been done in long rows. This allows machinery to cultivate the fields, increasing efficiency and output.
Over the past century new techniques have emerged such as raised bed gardening, which has increased yields from small plots of soil without the need for commercial, energy intensive fertilizers. Modern hydroponic farming also yields very high yields in greenhouses without using any soil, but expends much more energy.
Manures and fertilisers are essential for the growth of good vegetables. Since nitrogen, phosphate and potash are removed from the soil in large quantities by vegetables, they must be replaced regularly to maintain soil fertility. Generally speaking, the soil will not become deficient in these if animal manures and compost are used in conjunction with the artificial fertilisers.
Because different types of vegetables have different food requirements, it is customary to group together those which need similar soil conditions. Thus, Potatoes respond well on freshly manured soil, but fresh animal manure would cause distorted and forked roots of Carrot, Parsnip and Beet.
The legumes (Peas and Beans) require less nitrogen than brassicas (Cabbage, Cauliflower etc.) while the latter require more lime than other vegetables. In the initial preparation prior to sowing, the same complete plant food may be used for all crops. This is the type usually known as No. 5 (5 % nitrogen, 15 % phosphate, 5 % potash). Some refinements of this also contain a trace element balance. Such a mixture aids germination, good root growth and a strong plant frame.
Then for Cabbage, Cauliflower, Spinach, Silver Beet, or Lettuce (which require more nitrogen) supplementary liquid feeding at fortnightly intervals of Sulphate of Ammonia or better still complete water-soluble plant foods will supply the correct balance of nutrients.
It also helps maintain a balance of fertility to plan so that no one group of plants occupies the same piece of ground for two years in succession. This means carrying out a system of crop rotation, which also ensures that a soil pest or disease |