With only 13.4mm of rain this year and none at all this month (so far!) the growth in these beds is amazing...I hardly water them (about every 10 days once the seedlings are established).
With the curtains up there are no bug problems except for the occasional tiny grasshoppers that seem to find their way in.
I have never grown vegetables to compare with these with any other method or in any other garden around Australia...and I've gardened in NSW, Vic and Nth Qld!
I've never seen brassicas grow so fast and clean!
The shadecloth covers have been removed now and I was hoping to remove the curtains soon but with the news this week of a locust plague heading our way I shall be leaving them up a while longer.
The mixed Brassicas are thriving, putting on great growth for the coming cold weather.
Top Left Red Drumhead Cabbage Top Right Mini Cauliflower
Mid Left Violet Sicilian Cauliflower Mid Right Romanesco Broccoli
Bottom Sugarloaf Cabbage
Please click on the photos to see them better
Top Left Red Drumhead Cabbage Top Right Mini Cauliflower
Mid Left Violet Sicilian Cauliflower Mid Right Romanesco Broccoli
Bottom Sugarloaf Cabbage
Please click on the photos to see them better
The Turnip, Swede and Beetroot in Bed 2
is providing many greens for eating already
and the Peas on the edges are flowering and setting pods!
is providing many greens for eating already
and the Peas on the edges are flowering and setting pods!
Only planted two weeks ago Bed 1
now has Broccoli, Soup Celery, a Greens Picking corner
and Broad Beans planted
with a lonely Silverbeet left from a summer planting.
now has Broccoli, Soup Celery, a Greens Picking corner
and Broad Beans planted
with a lonely Silverbeet left from a summer planting.
Other Wicking beds around the garden are being cleared as crops finish. These are topped up with mushroom compost, soaked coir, old sheep manure and a mixture of Fecondo (crushed mineral rich rock, organic slow release fertiliser) blood and bone and dolomite (depending on the next crop). Topped off with a good layer of mulch, either chopped Lucerne or Organic Sugar Cane mulch.
your wicking beds have been such a great success,the veges look so healthy,
ReplyDeleteI need to move a bed soon, I'm thinking of giving this method a try
cheers
spring
Hi Spring
ReplyDeleteGive it a go or you could try a wicking box to start with!
Either way good luck with it!
A plague of locusts! Gosh I hope they don't come your way, that must be the worst thought for any veggie grower. But if they do come your way...I'd love to see a photo!
ReplyDeleteHi Scare crow, thanks so much for sharing your vast knowledge with us . Wicking beds are so amazing I just took a photo of lettuce grown in my wicking bed as opposed to the same size and age seedlings planted in the garden on the same day. Wicking bed wins the race, the lettuce is 3 times the size in WB, even though it is a well watered and composted garden. Cheers, Merri Bee
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Merri Bee
ReplyDeleteAround here it's "grow it in a wicking bed or watch the plants just sit in the soil doing nothing!"
Keep adding compost and feeding those worms and the beds just keep on producing.