The Backyard Vegetable in Heathmont, Victoria, Australia | Farm

The Backyard Vegetable

Locality: Heathmont, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 3 9893 1832

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21.01.2022 This ABC article is full of useful information and ideas - as well as having any number of links to keep you delving further into all things gardening: https://www.abc.net.au//growing-your-first-veggie/12612032

18.01.2022 October in the garden: "I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose, I would always greet it in a garden." (Ruth Stout) Spring is squeezed in the space between the chill of winter and the heat of summer, a lovely time in the garden, and a busy time: time to get summer vegies started.... Here are some of the things to be doing: Sow these vegies now: Asian greens, beans*, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, carrot (check the seed packet), celery, corn*, cucumbers*, leeks, lettuces, melons* (check the seed packet), mustards, parsnip, peas, pumpkin*, silverbeet, tomatoes*, zucchinis* * These warm climate plants will still need to be started in a greenhouse or equivalent. The others will germinate quicker too with warmth. Sow these herbs now: coriander, chervil, chives, parsley, dill, fennel, basil (in a greenhouse) Plant these vegies: potatoes, seedlings of tomatoes, capsicums, eggplants and chilli can be potted up and kept in a greenhouse to grow until the weather really warms up - in November. Watch out for snails and slugs around young seedlings - go out with a torch at night on search and destroy missions for the most efficient way of reducing their numbers and convincing your neighbours that you are more than a tad eccentric. Earwigs can be a problem too. They come out to feed at night and can be shaken off your vegie leaves into a container of soapy water. Spring, with rain and warmth is also peak weed time. If they are not seeding throw them to the chooks or the compost heap. If they have seeds, runners or bulbs, soak them in a container of water for a couple of months then add to the compost. Can't resist another quote here! "If you water it and it dies, it's a plant. If you pull it out and it grows back, it's a weed." (Gerry Daly) Enjoy a spring flower show:

17.01.2022 Some helpful advice on looking after your fruit trees.

17.01.2022 As well as selling off plants The Backyard Vegetable has the following online workshop coming up: https://www.crccinc.org.au//who-s-who-in-the-garden-cultiv A( new experience: zooming a class instead of the more familiar face to face which of course is nicer, but in these covid times not yet recommended!)

17.01.2022 PLANT SALE The Backyard Vegetable is a compulsive propagator, and now has quite a few plants for sale including: + berries + figs... + rhubarb + herbs +flowering plants for beauty and the bees $2-$5 Pick up from Heathmont (if I have understood the current covid restrictions properly I think one person per day can come here to choose plants). Delivery $5 within Maroondah; $10 other eastern suburbs

13.01.2022 Edited: thanks to all the folk who have ordered plants! Greens, herbs and butterfly collections have all gone at this stage. Once they have been collected I'll check remaining stock and there may be enough for another bag or two. Spring plantings coming up! Our plant collections are almost ready to go. We have:... + Herb Patch - assorted herbs + Eat Your Greens - assorted easy to grow green vegies + Bee Bag - plants to attract bees + Butterfly Bag - food plants for butterflies and their caterpillars + Perfumed and Pungent - aromatic plants for pleasure and pest control Each bag contains 8 plants, seeds, cultivation instructions and (where applicable) recipes. Later in the season we will have a collection of summer vegies as well. $15 per bag. Contact-free pick up from Heathmont or contact-free delivery within the local area - $5 within Maroondah; $10 further afield. Please message The Backyard Vegetable if you would like to order (Note - this is a small backyard operation, so we have limited numbers of each collection.)

12.01.2022 September: stuff to do in the food garden this month. Spring is a busy time for seed-sowing. Most of the summer vegies can be sown now, although the ones that really need warmth - tomatoes, zucchinis, cucumbers, pumpkins, melons, capsicums, eggplant, chillies - will need to be grown in a greenhouse or on a sunny window sill. Sow these vegies now: Asian greens, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, chillies, cucumbers, lettuce, melons, mustards, peas, pumpkin, radish, silverb...eet, spinach, tomatoes, turnips, zucchinis The cucurbits (zucchinis, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins) don't like root disturbance so they are best planted out into individual pots, in a greenhouse of some kind, so they can be transplanted later with minimal root disturbance. Newspaper pots or bottomless milk bottle pots work well for this. See here for more information: http://www.thebackyardvegetable.com.au/success-with-seeds-a Sow these herbs now: parsley, coriander, chervil Plant out now: potatoes, rhubarb Fruit: plant out any new fruit trees asap,pruning them back by up to two-thirds to compensate for any root damage. Plant out new berry plants too. Watering plants in with seaweed solution helps reduce transplant shock and encourages root growth. Established fruit trees can be given a sprinkling of an organic fertiliser, and a layer of compost and/or well-rotted manure. Provide some potassium for good fruit-set and flavour - use potassium sulphate, or if you have a fire, some wood ash (not too much though as it is very alkaline). Harvesting now: citrus fruits, broccoli, kale, salad greens including mustards and rocket, parsley, coriander, silverbeet, the first carrots, potatoes, chives, fennel fronds, kiwi fruit (picked before the birds could demolish them and stored), peas, flowers for indoor beauty.