How to grow veggies with limited space
I’m really excited about what we’ve been able to achieve in a small area. Although our garden is a standard suburban size, the vegetable growing area is very limited due to being surrounded by lots of tall trees and palms – so there’s not a lot of area that gets enough sun.
My clever husband installed a raised garden bed over the top of our in-ground spa (which didn’t work anyway cause the pipes were strangled by tree roots) and we’ve got an abundant ongoing crop of gorgeous veggies and herbs.
There’s tomatoes, zucchini, snow peas, parsley, bok choy, thai basil, chives . . . yum! It’s much better this season than last, as we prepared the soil with lots of horse manure a month before planting, and the lack of rain in Brisbane means we’ve not experienced diseases like last year . . . We regularly feed with juice from our worm farm too…
And when it does rain – the nutrient rich water drips through to the spa underneath. We then put a hose into the “well” underneath (through the spa steps opening at the front) and attach it to a cheap pump we bought on ebay and spray the gorgeous black water back over all our garden beds. Recycling at it’s best!
Here’s a couple of close ups
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| I keep picking these beautiful snow peas and munching them before they get to our salads. I’m sure my poor husband thinks the possums are getting them! The nutrients in snow peas are fiber, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, healthy fats, iron, potassium, magnesium, folic acid and antioxidants. These nutrients have the ability to relieve and prevent inflammation, cancers, eye diseases, scurvies and digestive issues. | Look at these wonderful zucchinis (courgettes) in our raised bed. They taste so much better and fresher than anything you buy in a supermarket. Notice the little meter – that’s a soil tester and helps us keep track of the soil pH so it’s just right. One cup of zucchini has 36 calories and 10% of the RDA of dietary fiber, which aids in digestion, prevents constipation, maintains low blood sugar and curbs overeating. |
Annette Welsford has a partial degree in Horticulture and a Post Graduate Certificate in marketing. Having lived in the cold, temperate and hot parts of Australia and the UK, she has gained experience over the years with gardening in a variety of climates. Annette also worked for a fertilizer company where she was responsible for developing, editing and publishing a range of technical manuals on nutrition and fungal diseases for a wide range of horticultural crops including tomatoes. Annette is Managing Director of Commonsense Marketing Pty Ltd, a publishing and marketing company, responsible for the editing, design and worldwide marketing of the How to Grow books, and other products. Commonsense Marketing also provides expert offline and online marketing consulting and design services to a variety of small to medium sized businesses.
Tags: organic gardening, raised garden beds, soil treatment, summer vegetables, Tomatoes, vegetable gardening
