Veggie Patch Planting

If you're tired of battling for a car park at the supermarket only to find underripe bananas and avocados you can't devour for a week, then it might be time to have a go at a vegie patch. By Jennifer Chapman

Not only will you be saving yourself the weekly slog at your local grocery store, you'll also cut your food miles and reduce your stress. And if that's not enough inspiration, think about how much juicier your tomatoes will taste picked from your own backyard and how much healthier your apples will be without a coat of white pesticide.

It all sounds great but I hear you asking where to start.

Mat Pember, founder of littleveggiepatchco.com.au, has some helpful tips on how you can start your first vegetable garden.

1. POSITIONING

When it comes to positioning your vegie patch Melbourne-based Pember says the first consideration should be sunlight. But he adds almost just as important is how accessible the fruit and veg is to your home.

People should choose somewhere close to the kitchen, he says. "It draws people into using (the garden) a lot more and being a bit more interactive with it."

2. KEEPING PESTS AWAY

If you want to keep your garden as environmentally-friendly as possible and avoid using pesticides, Pember says there are plenty of organic options.

"Eggshells and sawdust and mulch are things to keep snails and slugs away from the vegie garden; it makes their travelling across the garden just a little bit more difficult," he says.

"There's a number of concoctions to try and keep possums at bay, which is a big problem in Melbourne." He recommends using chilli or garlic sprays in the hope the scent will perturb them. But he warns it's inevitable that possums, birds and pests will develop immunities to such treatment.

"I think using physical barriers to prevent the main pests from striking is the most important thing; setting up netting to stop birds and possums."

3. POLLINATORS

"Incorporating flowers and herbs in the garden is really important," says Pember, who started The Little Veggie Patch Company in 2007.

"A lot of people use herbs mainly in their vegie patches to stop them from going to the supermarket and spending $5 on a pack of herbs to use once and throw away."

He explains that pollinators are needed for fruit to set (to be fertilised). The pollinators, mainly bees but also other insects, carry the pollin from the female flower into the male flower.

"With a lot of fruit trees you need one species of both sex..." Pember says. An example is the passionfruit, which has male and female varieties.

Pember says there are also grafted plants, in which two plants are grafted to make one that is asexual. He advises asking your local nursery whether a plant is a self-pollinating variety or not.

4. SOIL

When starting your very first vegie patch you need to use the correct type of soil.

"The idea is to try and get something that resembles a sandy loam," says Pember, who explains that sandy loam is a mix between clay and sandy soil. "The idea is that you need to retain moisture but at the same time you need it to be free-flowing. A lot of problems with vegetables comes from either water-logged ground where they develop diseases with too much water, or not enough water, so there's no water retention, and (plants) get thirsty and die."

5. MULCHING

Mulching helps plants to grow and makes soil `healthy'. Pember suggests using materials that will add nutritional benefits to the soil such as pea straw, lucerne hay and sugar-cane mulch.

"When they break down they provide a lot of nitrogen for the plants, which they enjoy and feed from. But most of the garden soils that you go through will have a garden blend that will incorporate all these things and try to mimic sandy loam."

6. WHAT VEGIES TO CHOOSE

When starting out Pember says it's best to stick with vegies that are easy to grow. He suggests growing herbs because they're hardy and most of them will keep your patch green all year round, meaning your garden won't be bare in between seasons.

Leafy greens are also a good option.

"All the lettuce varieties are really easy to grow and they're also very quick to harvest, so within about four weeks to six weeks you'll be picking and using them in your cooking," he says.

"Try and stick to the basic things first and you'll have success... if you're trying to grow very difficult varieties... you'll get deterred."

Difficult varieties include autumn brassica crops, such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts, which Pember says are susceptible to pests. He says it also takes a long time to grow asparagus.

At the other end of the spectrum however, are easy-to-grow tomatoes: "There's nothing like picking a tomato off your tomato plant. I'd definitely encourage everyone to grow a tomato plant."

7. COMPANION PLANTING

If you're not sure where to position your plants in the garden then it's best to read up on companion planting.

Pember says there are benefits in growing plants near each other, including attracting pollinators, using the scents of certain plants to deter pests and changing the soil condition to include, for example, more nitrogen.

8. WHERE TO GROW

Whether you live on a farm or in the city, you're sure to be able to grow vegies.

"People get turned off the idea (thinking) it's very difficult and it's really scientific but if you get your set up right and you're diligent about watering (the garden), it pretty much takes care of itself," Pember says.

There are various products on the market, he says, that cater for balcony, wall and rooftop gardens.

"I don't think it matters where you live, especially in Australia, you're always going to find a small spot of sun that is going to be perfect for growing vegetables."

9. HOW TO BUILD A VEGIE PATCH

When building your garden, Pember also suggests using timber crates as they are an affordable entry point. He says they're at a good height for tending the garden and allow for soil drainage.

"Also, building your vegie garden up allows you to chase sunlight if sunlight is a bit of an issue."
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