A garden is one of those things that provides you with peace, tranquillity and relaxation, whilst simultaneously providing you with a never-ending pipeline of hard work to keep it in a state that provides you with said peace and tranquillity. It sounds almost like the hard work would cancel out any peace, tranquillity or relaxation you might get out of having a garden, but I think the net effect is overall very positive.

I love that my children have a place where they can explore and learn, pick and eat fruits and vegetables straight from the garden, watch birds and insects that visit the garden, and understand what is involved in producing some of the food that we eat. Eating produce from your own garden is also very satisfying.

Prior to getting my own place, I would stare out of the window of the train on my way to work, and marvel at the number of empty (apart from grass) backyards. Where there were plants or trees, very few (if any) were food producing varieties.

To me, it never made any sense. If you have the space and ability to grow your own food, why wouldn’t you?

As soon as I got my own place, I proceeded to plant as many edible plants as I possibly could in the space I had available. In our garden, if you can eat it or it produces something you can eat, I planted it. If it’s inedible, pretty and/or smells nice, then my wife planted it! It actually works very well, as the various flower varieties my wife has planted attract a lot of bees and other beneficial insects to our garden, and they help to pollinate the edible plants.

Many people have told me that I plant my fruit trees too close together. This could well be true. I guess I’ll need to wait a number of years to find out if it will be a problem. My feeling is that trees, like mangos and avocados will get huge… if you let them. My plan is to keep the trees pruned to a manageable height, and where they are planted close together, cut away any branches that grow where I don’t want them (like where I want to walk between the trees), and let the trees grow only where I want them to. Hopefully this is not a fool-hardy approach and I will be able to manage it well enough to get the effect I want, which is a dense canopy of fruit-producing branches above, with pathways cut out between the trees so that you can easily walk between the trees and under the canopy. Time will tell if it will work out or not.

I have seen videos and read articles saying that you can get improved yields when planting mango orchards, through high-density planting (more trees planted closer together) and regular pruning/canopy management. Larger trees will produce more fruit, no question, but harvesting fruit from a 10m tall tree is very difficult, so you end up losing most of the fruit growing higher up on the tree. For trees like Macadamia, this is not an issue, as the nuts fall to the ground and you harvest them from there, but something soft, like a mango or avocado is a different story.

My hope is that the high-density planting method will also apply to multiple varieties planted close together, and that this method does not only apply to orchards with a single type of tree.

Fruiting Plants and Trees

Trees

  • 1 x Washington Navel Orange
  • 1 x Tahitian Lime
  • 1 x Eureka Lemon
  • 1 x Lemonade (sweet lemon)
  • 1 x Dwarf Meyer Lemon
  • 2 x Macadamia
  • 1 x Feijoa
  • 2 x Kensington Pride/Bowen Mango
  • 1 x Nam Doc Mai Mango
  • 2 x Black Fig
  • 1 x White Fig
  • 1 x Imperial Mandarin
  • 1 x Satsuma Mandarin
  • 1 x Hawaiian Guava
  • 1 x Jaboticaba
  • 1 x Hass Avocado
  • 1 x Fuerte Avocado
  • 1 x Wurtz Avocado
  • 1 x Pinkerton Avocado
  • 2 x Sheppard Avocado
Right up at the back of the garden is where the majority of the fruit trees are planted. This was 14-NOV-2010.
Right up at the back of the garden is where the majority of the fruit trees are planted. This was 14-NOV-2010.
This is roughly the same spot, almost 7 years later, 27-AUG-2017. I got rid of all the non-edible shrubs at the back corners. I now have a mango (behind the lemon tree) and a white fig at the corners, two macadamia trees, feijoa, orange, lime, lemon, lemonade, black fig, jaboticaba (the tiny shrub in the middle) and the guava (bottom right).
This is roughly the same spot, almost 7 years later, 27-AUG-2017. I got rid of all the non-edible shrubs at the back corners. I now have a mango (behind the lemon tree) and a white fig at the corners, two macadamia trees, feijoa, orange, lime, lemon, lemonade, black fig, jaboticaba (the tiny shrub in the middle) and the guava (bottom right).

Herbs

  • 2 stands of Dwarf Cavendish Banana - yes, bananas are a herb, not a tree
  • Oregano
  • Basil
  • Parsley
  • Sage (deceased) - need to plant more
  • Rosemary
  • Rhubarb
  • Thyme
  • Chives
  • Mint
  • Asparagus
The two stands of bananas when they first went in. This was 31-MAR-2015.
The two stands of bananas when they first went in. This was 31-MAR-2015.
The bananas with the chicken coop. This was 10-DEC-2017, just before harvesting the first bunch.
The bananas with the chicken coop. This was 10-DEC-2017, just before harvesting the first bunch.
First bunch of bananas. I'm not angry with them, they're just really heavy to hold with one hand. I hung them up in the garage to let them ripen, however we ended up with a string of 40+ degree days and they basically cooked in their skins. They tasted good, but were quite squishy. We peeled and froze most of them to use in smoothies, which worked very nicely. Hopefully the next bunch will ripen properly.
First bunch of bananas. I'm not angry with them, they're just really heavy to hold with one hand. I hung them up in the garage to let them ripen, however we ended up with a string of 40+ degree days and they basically cooked in their skins. They tasted good, but were quite squishy. We peeled and froze most of them to use in smoothies, which worked very nicely. Hopefully the next bunch will ripen properly.
Herb bed in the foreground with 3 rhubarb plants, oregano, parsley, basil, thyme, chives and a silverbeet. In the background is the succulent garden, a Bowen mango, Nam Doc Mai mango, a pulled over and partially eaten sunflower (thanks Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos!), some strawberries and various flowering plants.
Herb bed in the foreground with 3 rhubarb plants, oregano, parsley, basil, thyme, chives and a silverbeet. In the background is the succulent garden, a Bowen mango, Nam Doc Mai mango, a pulled over and partially eaten sunflower (thanks Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos!), some strawberries and various flowering plants.

Berries, vines and bushes

  • 10 x Sunshine Blue Blueberries (planted in a row to form a hedge eventually)
  • 1 x Northland Blueberry
  • 1 x Reveille Blueberry
  • 1 x Brigitta Blueberry
  • 1 x Burst Blueberry
  • 1 x Thornless Blackberry
  • 1 x Thornless Loganberry
  • 5 x Passionfruit
  • Strawberries.
Strawberries have been planted in the corners of the vegetable garden beds. The plan is to let them run and make new plants all around the edge of the garden beds.
Strawberries have been planted in the corners of the vegetable garden beds. The plan is to let them run and make new plants all around the edge of the garden beds.
It doesn't look like much now, but down the middle of this bed is the blueberry hedge, with some strawberries near the front, and there a couple of new passionfruits along the fence that will go in shortly. I'll be putting up another trellis, similar to behind the veggie beds on this fence and will train the passionfruit along it. Blueberry plants can get to between 1-2 meters tall, so I'm hoping for a solid hedge of blueberries one day. I've also planted some more wheat between the blueberries and the fence.
It doesn't look like much now, but down the middle of this bed is the blueberry hedge, with some strawberries near the front, and there a couple of new passionfruits along the fence that will go in shortly. I'll be putting up another trellis, similar to behind the veggie beds on this fence and will train the passionfruit along it. Blueberry plants can get to between 1-2 meters tall, so I'm hoping for a solid hedge of blueberries one day. I've also planted some more wheat between the blueberries and the fence.
Blueberries! When the blueberries get large enough to form a hedge, I hope to get so many blueberries that I have to think what I will do with all of them. I want to discover if there is such a thing as too many blueberries. I doubt it.
Blueberries! When the blueberries get large enough to form a hedge, I hope to get so many blueberries that I have to think what I will do with all of them. I want to discover if there is such a thing as too many blueberries. I doubt it.

Vegetables, grains and annuals

I have a range of these growing at different times of the year in the raised veggie beds and have recently started experimenting with growing grains as well. Here is a list of some of the things I have successfully grown:

Alliums

  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Leeks
Brown Onions
Brown Onions
O-nions
O-nions
Onions and Garlic
Onions and Garlic

Solanums

  • Chili (Jalapeno, Bishops Crown, Long red)
  • Capsicum
  • Tomato
  • Cherry tomato
  • Potato
  • Eggplant
Jalapenos
Jalapenos
Sliced Jalapenos
Sliced Jalapenos
Pickled Jalapenos
Pickled Jalapenos

Brassicas

I’ve had limited success with brassicas. I almost always end up with cabbage moth caterpillars, aphids and other creepy-crawly critters that seem to mess up most of the plants. This probably has to do with my dislike for using any sort of insecticide pest control in my garden. I need to experiment with some home-made, natural sprays to deter these pests and hopefully prevent them from destroying my brassicas.

  • Cabbage
  • Romanesco broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Brussels Sprout
  • Bok choy
  • Choy sum
  • Chinese broccoli
  • Kale
Romanesco Broccoli. I love how this plant looks with its pointy spires of fractal patterns, and it tastes great. Flavour and texture is a cross between broccoli and cauliflower.
Romanesco Broccoli. I love how this plant looks with its pointy spires of fractal patterns, and it tastes great. Flavour and texture is a cross between broccoli and cauliflower.
WTF is this thing!? It was meant to be a Kale. Looking online, it might be a Mangelwurzel, but doesn't look quite the same. The leaves and stems look very brassica like. We didn't end up eating it as weren't quite sure what to do with it. If anyone knows what it is, please let me know.
WTF is this thing!? It was meant to be a Kale. Looking online, it might be a Mangelwurzel, but doesn't look quite the same. The leaves and stems look very brassica like. We didn't end up eating it as weren't quite sure what to do with it. If anyone knows what it is, please let me know.

Leafy greens

  • Lettuce (Iceberg, Butter Crunch)
  • Spinach
  • Silverbeet
  • Celery

Cucurbits, Melon and Corn

  • Cucumber (Lebanese, Continental, Muncher)
  • Pumpkin (Butternut, Kent, Whangaparaoa Crown)
  • Watermelon (Sugar Baby, Stars and Stripes)
  • Sweet Corn (F1 Hybrid, True Gold)
  • Zucchini
Sweet corn
Sweet corn
Watermelon
Watermelon
Sliced Watermelon
Sliced Watermelon
Two rather large zucchinis
Two rather large zucchinis
I left this zucchini a bit long and it got huge! Almost 2kg!
I left this zucchini a bit long and it got huge! Almost 2kg!
Lots of Kent pumpkins! These ones came up from seeds in the compost that was used in the veggie beds.
Lots of Kent pumpkins! These ones came up from seeds in the compost that was used in the veggie beds.
Kent pumpkins on the tin roof to finish ripening and to protect them from rats or other creatures than might eat them if left on the vine on the ground. They can stay up on the roof for months, especially if the weather is not too hot. Keeps them out the way and out of harm's way.
Kent pumpkins on the tin roof to finish ripening and to protect them from rats or other creatures than might eat them if left on the vine on the ground. They can stay up on the roof for months, especially if the weather is not too hot. Keeps them out the way and out of harm's way.
Butternut and Whangaparaoa Crown pumpkins on the tin roof. The Butternut came up from seeds in the compost and I planted the Whangaparaoa Crown from seed.
Butternut and Whangaparaoa Crown pumpkins on the tin roof. The Butternut came up from seeds in the compost and I planted the Whangaparaoa Crown from seed.
Whangaparaoa Crown and Butternut pumpkins on the tin roof
Whangaparaoa Crown and Butternut pumpkins on the tin roof

Legumes

  • Peas (Snow, Sugar Snap)
  • Beans (Scarlett runner, Purple King, Borlotti, Red Kidney)
  • Broad Beans
  • Peanuts (growing now for the first time, haven’t harvested yet)
  • Chick peas (didn’t work very well, might try again some time)
Broad Beans
Broad Beans
Borlotti Beans and Beetroots
Borlotti Beans and Beetroots
Purple King Beans
Purple King Beans
These are peanuts. Peanuts are weird. Those purple tendrils form under the flower, then shoot down underground where they form the peanut. I have this branch staked down low with a forked twig. Coming up around the peanut are my first oats.
These are peanuts. Peanuts are weird. Those purple tendrils form under the flower, then shoot down underground where they form the peanut. I have this branch staked down low with a forked twig. Coming up around the peanut are my first oats.

Grains and seeds

  • Wheat (Khorasan)
  • Oats (growing now for first time)
  • Sunflower
This was my first crop of wheat! It is an ancient variety called Khorasan wheat. I'll put up a more detailed post about the wheat soon.
This was my first crop of wheat! It is an ancient variety called Khorasan wheat. I'll put up a more detailed post about the wheat soon.
Harvested ears of wheat
Harvested ears of wheat
An Australian native stingless bee collecting pollen from a sunflower. This was taken with a 100mm macro lens.
An Australian native stingless bee collecting pollen from a sunflower. This was taken with a 100mm macro lens.
This shows the size of the native bees in comparison to the size of a regular European honey bee. They are very small!
This shows the size of the native bees in comparison to the size of a regular European honey bee. They are very small!

Root Vegetables

  • Potato
  • Sweet Potato (growing now for first time)
  • Beetroot
  • Fennel
  • Celeriac
  • Carrot
Beetroot
Beetroot
Giant beetroots! Again, left these a bit long. One of them weighed almost 1kg by itself.
Giant beetroots! Again, left these a bit long. One of them weighed almost 1kg by itself.
Kipfler potatoes
Kipfler potatoes
A fine carrot
A fine carrot
I laughed when I pulled this carrot out of the ground!
I laughed when I pulled this carrot out of the ground!
A vegetable bake with carrots, beetroot and fennel from the garden. A bit of salt, pepper and olive oil and it made a tasty accompaniment. The fennel could have been picked a little earlier as the inner core had gone a bit woody and some of the outer stems were a bit tough, but overall it was a success.
A vegetable bake with carrots, beetroot and fennel from the garden. A bit of salt, pepper and olive oil and it made a tasty accompaniment. The fennel could have been picked a little earlier as the inner core had gone a bit woody and some of the outer stems were a bit tough, but overall it was a success.

Raised Vegetable Garden Beds

The raised vegetable garden beds are made from retaining wall blocks. The blocks for the first two raised beds came from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law’s place when they rebuilt their house. They didn’t need the old retaining wall blocks, so I gladly took them and made my first two veggie beds out of them. I also made the round bed from the curved retaining wall blocks from their place.

I bought some additional blocks to make the remaining beds. They aren’t exactly the same as the original ones, but they look close enough.

The idea of the raised beds is to provide good drainage and means I don’t need to bend down as far when weeding or planting out the beds. The edges also make a nice seat to sit out in the sun and appreciate the garden on a warm autumn afternoon.

Prior to having the irrigation system in place, having great drainage was a double-edged sword, as it also meant I needed to be fastidious with my watering efforts, and sometimes, I was not. During the hot summer months, good drainage and irregular watering means dry beds and unhappy veggies.

First two raised veggie beds built and operational. The weird looking contraption on the left hand side of the picture is a home-made soil sieve, made by my father-in-law out of an old single-bed frame covered in chicken wire-mesh. Throw a shovel full of soil at it, good soil goes through, rocks and rubbish get stuck behind and roll down to the bottom, where they can be disposed of. The good soil is used back in the garden beds. I had to dig a lot of soil away to level out the area for the beds, but it was full of rocks and rubble and wouldn't have been good to use straight in the beds, hence the sieve.
First two raised veggie beds built and operational. The weird looking contraption on the left hand side of the picture is a home-made soil sieve, made by my father-in-law out of an old single-bed frame covered in chicken wire-mesh. Throw a shovel full of soil at it, good soil goes through, rocks and rubbish get stuck behind and roll down to the bottom, where they can be disposed of. The good soil is used back in the garden beds. I had to dig a lot of soil away to level out the area for the beds, but it was full of rocks and rubble and wouldn't have been good to use straight in the beds, hence the sieve.
Raised veggie beds complete! This was a while ago now, 08-JUL-2012.
Raised veggie beds complete! This was a while ago now, 08-JUL-2012.
The veggies beds fully planted for the first time, 22-SEP-2012. Carrots, potato, onions, beetroot, broad beans, eggplant.
The veggies beds fully planted for the first time, 22-SEP-2012. Carrots, potato, onions, beetroot, broad beans, eggplant.

Compost, Worms and Fertiliser

Apart from creating compost that can be used on the garden, composting serves as a good way to get rid of a lot of the organic matter produced in a garden. Stalks of plants, small branches and leaves from pruning trees and hedges, spoiled fruit and vegetables, weeds and grasses (prior to seed formation), vegetables peelings and seeds… pretty much anything other than large branches and weeds that have seeds and/or bulbs that we don’t want growing in the garden.

Putting seeds of plants like pumpkins into the compost is a great way of ensuring that when you use the compost, you end up with pumpkins coming up without having to buy pumpkin seeds or seedlings. If they come up where you don’t want them, you pull out the young plants and put them back into the compost. If they come up where you want them, great! Let them go and you get pumpkins. I’ve had lots of butternut and kent pumpkins come up in the veggie beds and they are very productive. The plants do take up a lot of room though.

I started with a worm farm and a compost bin in the back yard. You can put most things into the worm farm, but the red-worms used in worm farms are apparently not fond of citrus, onions, garlic or chilli. I don’t put any meat or table scraps into the worm farm or compost bins. Prior to getting chickens, food scraps used to go into the bin, but now pretty much only inedible, non-compostable items go into either the bin or recycling. The worms provide a liquid fertiliser, known as worm wee, which is collected from a tap at the bottom of the worm farm. They also produce worm castings, which is basically worm poo, that is a rich fertiliser and can be incorporated into the soil. I sometimes dump the worm castings into the compost bins when I don’t have anywhere else to put them, as there are worms and worm eggs among the castings, and these will thrive in the compost bin… and I will eventually use the compost on the garden anyway, so it isn’t going to waste. Just being stored for later.

I ended up getting two more compost bins in the front yard when I got the bananas, one under each stand of bananas, on the uphill side. My reasoning was that when a banana stem has fruited, it never creates another bunch and is usually cut down to make room for another stem to grow. The stems and leaves are usually left around the base of the stand of bananas to decompose and feed back to the trees. I usually spread my lawn clippings under the bananas, so I figured having a compost bin close by means I can just dump any leaves, stems or other garden refuse from nearby into the bins, let them decompose and when the compost is ready, spread it under the bananas. Any nutrients that leech out from under the compost bin into the ground will help to feed the roots of the bananas.

The chickens are now providing me with a regular supply of chicken manure, which is common fertiliser and very high in nitrogen. I’ve been putting this either under the bananas or into the compost bins. Chicken poo does smell a bit, so when I do put it under the bananas I cover it with lawn clippings after mowing the lawn. The irrigation under the trees helps the wood shavings and chicken manure decompose and feed the bananas.

The compost bin and worm farm. The legs of the worm farm gave way a few years ago, so I have it sitting on some cinder-blocks. It works better as I can fit a watering can underneath now to drain out the worm wee. A small portion of my wifes succulent collection is in the foreground.
The compost bin and worm farm. The legs of the worm farm gave way a few years ago, so I have it sitting on some cinder-blocks. It works better as I can fit a watering can underneath now to drain out the worm wee. A small portion of my wifes succulent collection is in the foreground.
The worm farm with the lid open.
The worm farm with the lid open.
The compost bin with the lid open. Grrrr. A sticker on a mandarin peel. I usually try to get them off before putting them in the compost. I'll need to get that one out.
The compost bin with the lid open. Grrrr. A sticker on a mandarin peel. I usually try to get them off before putting them in the compost. I'll need to get that one out.

Fence Trellis

This has already been a hugely successful add-on to the garden. It was space that was previously not utilised and is very productive. Adding a trellis to a fence opens up a whole new space to grow food. It gets good morning sun and has already provided us with black muscat grapes, blackberries and should very shortly produce passionfruit, sultana grapes and loganberries.

I decided upon stainless steel wire balustrading for the trellis, as it is strong, looks quite neat and can be easily re-tensioned if required.

I will be repeating this setup twice more along the fences on the opposite side of the property. Those are metal fences, so the setup will need to be slightly different, but should give the same effect and allow lots of passionfruit to grow in the afternoon sun.

These are the tensioning thingies for the trellis.
These are the tensioning thingies for the trellis.
The stainless steel cable running along the fence with the black muscat grape attached to it. That looks like my finger over the bottom left of the lens.
The stainless steel cable running along the fence with the black muscat grape attached to it. That looks like my finger over the bottom left of the lens.
The black muscat grape behind the beggie beds. There is also a loganberry hiding amongst the grapes. The three lower beds each have an avacado tree planted in them, and around the outside of the beds you can see the first oats coming up.
The black muscat grape behind the beggie beds. There is also a loganberry hiding amongst the grapes. The three lower beds each have an avacado tree planted in them, and around the outside of the beds you can see the first oats coming up.
The passionfruit and the thornless blackberry behind the veggie beds. I have a random assortment of veggies growing there already and have planted a lot of new seeds to fill in some of the bare patches recently.
The passionfruit and the thornless blackberry behind the veggie beds. I have a random assortment of veggies growing there already and have planted a lot of new seeds to fill in some of the bare patches recently.

Irrigation

The irrigation system was put in mainly to water the garden beds around the edge of the garden, the bananas and the raised veggie beds. The fruit trees, once established, don’t really need water very often or at all, so I haven’t made any provisions to water them. If we end up with a very long, hot, dry spell and the trees are looking in need of water, I can easily hook up a garden hose and sprinkler to water the trees. My poor lawn gets very neglected in terms of watering, but I figure I can’t eat lawn, so I’m going to focus my watering on plants that produce food.

This is getting long, I should end it here

The coming years are going to be very exciting to see how much the growth and productivity of the garden will increase, now that I have regular watering, multiple sources of compost and fertiliser and some well established fruit-producing trees, vines and bushes.