Composting

With the lawn mowers still cluttering away and the summer veggies coming to an end, I thought now might be a good time to discuss composting and the various options.

Before I start though, there are more ways to skin a rabbit here, so I am letting you know what I do which gives me all the compost I use on my kitchen garden. I'm not saying it is the right way, or the best way; but I know it works for me and for my clients (and for their gardens!)

I'm a big fan of building your own compost bins as they have character and are easy to access. There are pre-made ones on the market which are fine for smaller areas, but in order to make a reasonable quantity of compost, home-made bins are the go.

Now I say "bins" because generally it is good to have a minimum of two - ideally three. The reason behind this is....

You fill the first bin with your composting materials and when that is full, you turn it into the second bin and start filling the first bin again. Once the first bin is full again, you turn the second bin into the third bin, the first bin into the second bin and start filling the first bin again! And once the first bin is full again, you empty the third bin onto your veggie patch and keep going with the same process! Hard work I know but who said gardens are easy!

There are so many things you can put into your bins to create wonderful, rich, dark compost. This list below gives you an idea of just what can be composted:

Good to Compost			Bad to Compost
·      Lawn clippings ·      Veggie peelings ·      Prunings ·      Teabags ·      Leaves ideally mown or shredded ·      Twigs ·      Old veggie plants ·      Old cut flowers ·      Garden flowers ·      Ash from fire place ·      Straw / sawdust ·      Manure (minimal)	·      Shredded news-paper & paper ·      Cardboard ·      Junk mail ·      Crushed eggshells ·      100% cotton or wool clothing ·      Old raw veggies ·      Lint from tumble dryer ·      Hair ·      Plants		·      Meat ·      Fish ·      Dairy products ·      Oil & fat ·      Used cat litter ·      Plastic card (ie juice container) ·      Cooked food ·      Diseased plants ·      Weeds & seeds ·      Citrus (minimal) ·      Onion (minimal)



Adding a bit of lime or dolomite at the early stages helps with the breaking down process and then I like to add some Organic Life fertiliser or Blood & Bone when the compost is nearly ready to use.

Apart from the ingredients that go in to making the compost, the two most important elements are water and air. If you have an irrigation system near by, it is not a bad idea to rig up a bit of additional tubing so the compost is watered at the same time as the garden (you should isolate it so it can be turned off if the bin is too wet or empty.



My bins at home... wire backs and sides with timber slats at front.
As you can see, grass clippings make up a good amount of my compost
during the summer. Beautiful in a rustic way and very functional!

Regarding the air... the more you turn your compost, thus incorporating air, the faster it will break down. Leaving gaps in the timber back and sides helps too, or use wire for those areas that are not readily seen and just put on a timber front.

 
It is extremely satisfying when you get the end result and you see that a "clat" of worms (a true expression) has taken up residence... How they get there? Well that's a whole new story!!

I'm very excited about my next blog! (Such an awful word!) It will be the first of my monthly diaries, letting you know as each month goes by what you should be doing and planting in your kitchen garden!

Please feel free to ask any questions!

Caterpillars!

With all the wet weather we have been having in NSW, it has been extremely difficult to manage the kitchen garden... 'heart' forming lettuces are rotting away, tomatoes and chilis are late to ripen and the slugs and snails are having a field day. It is especially important to keep an eye out for pests in these conditions and treat them as necessary or you may find that when the rain does stop (???) there may be a few vegetables in a somewhat devoured state.



tiny caterpillar eggs on the underside of broccoli leaf


Some of you will have started planting out your first batch of brassicas - broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, etc. Although with the rain the Cabbage White Butterfly itself is not around, but you can be sure the eggs and baby caterpillars will be already in place, unless you have taken precautions. If you only have a few plants on the go, just rub the eggs off each time you notice them - the same with the caterpillars though they are sometimes hard to find... look along the plant veins!

tiny holes made by baby caterpillars

There are also other organic controls. Netting is the most effective way though not always practical. This keeps the adult butterfly away in the first place and so no eggs can be laid.



Yates have a product called Dipel which is sprayed on to the leaf. It contains a bacteria which is ingested by the caterpillar and basically gives the caterpillar stomach gripes and kills it in 3 - 5 days. It is totally safe to beneficial insects, bees and mammals.

Garlic spray can also be used as a repellent and to kill caterpillars.

Derris dust is an old favourite for controlling caterpillars and other grubs on leaves. The chemical, Rotenone, comes from roots of several plants and is classed as organic. A light dusting each week keeps all bugs and caterpillars at bay. It is not a good idea to use near ponds though as it is highly toxic to fish!



Welcome!

Welcome to the edible gardener blog page! It has been a long time coming and I hope it is something that you will all enjoy, find useful and pass on to your friends, family and colleagues!

In this day and age, more and more people seem to be growing their own produce; whether it is veggies from the kitchen garden, eggs from chooks, fruit, berries... the list is never ending!

And the taste! Just yesterday I had a home grown apple courtesy of Lynwood Farm www.bumbleathome.blogspot.com from one of their amazing espaliers! It was just SO juicy, crisp and tasty. Another client will now only eat veggies out of her garden because she thinks the taste of bought produce just cannot be compared!

Organic and chemical free.... imagine if we all did that!