Capsicums grow well in Sydney’s temperate zone and love the sunny spots in your garden. They need a long growing season so if you want to harvest your own sweet, tender fruits there is still just enough time to plant out some capsicum seedlings. Growth habits and planting needs Capsicums like a sunny position in full sun. The best way to propagate them is from … Continue reading Growing Capsicums
Carrots grown in the home garden are so sweet and tender and there are many varieties suitable for any sized garden or even for growing in pots. Many colours are now available too so be adventurous and try a delicious purple carrot, the ancestor of the modern orange carrot that we all know. You can read more about the history of carrots at this … Continue reading Growing Carrots
Eggplant has been cultivated in Asia since prehistory and introduced to the Mediterranean in the middle ages. It is a very versatile fruit that can be cooked in many ways. Growth habits and planting needs Eggplant like a sunny position and a soil pH below 6.0, so acidic. Test the soil and amend with lime if over this. Because eggplants are susceptible to soil born … Continue reading Growing Eggplant
Cucumbers are now growing well and can be planted for succession cropping of this cool summer vegetable. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need. One cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc. Growth habits and planting needs Sow in the garden from September to February in temperate zones. To grow cucumbers well they … Continue reading Growing Cucumbers
Now is the time to plant beetroot. They are easy to grow and deliciously sweet when home grown. Growth habits and planting needs Chose a sunny position. While beetroot can grow in part shade they do best in full sun. As beetroot need potassium but not much nitrogen so they should ideally follow the fruit group in the crop rotation system, because by this time … Continue reading Growing Beetroot
There is nothing more exciting than carefully wandering though the pumpkin patch that has grown to occupy half the backyard looking for evermore pumpkins at various stages of growth. If you have the space or the time to train the plant into a more manageable growth trajectory then the harvest will yield a bounty of pumpkins that you can cook in so many ways. If … Continue reading Growing Pumpkins
Silverbeet, or Chard, as it is sometimes called, is one of those cut and come again vegetables that keep on giving over a long period of time. It is related to Beetroot and is a native of the Mediterranean, hence why it grows so well in the temperate climate of Sydney. It also doesn’t easily go to seed over summer making it a dependable source … Continue reading Growing Silverbeet
Peanuts are the fruit of a legume and are not nuts at all. The peanut is actually an annual herbaceous plant (Arachis hypogaea, ‘hypongaea’ meaning ‘under the soil’). The oldest known pods were found in Peru and have been dated to 7,600 years old but they are thought to be older than this. Growth habits and planting needs Spring to early Summer is the time to … Continue reading Grow your own peanuts
This article will be the first in a series that will look at practices that we can use in our garden to use scarce resources in the most efficient way to benefit both the soil and the environment and give us a bounty of fresh produce. Crop rotation is essential to continuity and fertility of our garden. Farmers have been rotating crops over the ages … Continue reading Crop rotation made easy
The Grantham Gardener 