Nirvana Biodynamics

I am amazed at some of the things called ‘RAISED BEDS’ I see advertised or in articles, whether for sale new or plans for do it yourself, these are NOT raised beds but CONTAINERS. They are filled with all sorts of growing medium and people think they are growing healthily vegetables. Please think again. Healthy food comes from healthy soil. I know, I’ve heard it all before ‘ my soils no good’ Well the essential art of gardening is to enhance the cycle of life by finding ways to restore humus to the soil . All g ardeners find their own way to achieve this. All Soil can be improved, sure it may take time but quality produce only comes from quality soil. As you observe your soil .like any other living thing  it is always changing and telling its own story. There is more life beneath the soil than above therefore you need to encourage and cultivate its existence. Understanding your soil is a basic requirement for the success of your veggie garden . You can build tremendous satisfac...

Awoke to large piles of icy hail around the place , 43.5 mm  in the rain gauge for the past 24 hours and more rain,hail and wind on the way I headed to the polyhouse to get things done.Normally in winter polyhouse there are daily harvests of greens for us and the chooks. Our flock require a large basket  full of greens to be blended into their mash daily and the outside gardens never grow fast enough in winter to keep up.   This year has been quite different as I was out of action from Spring to Autumn with firstly with a broken leg (Thanks to neighbours goat, which is still managing to climb the fence to my vegies garden.) Then a new knee! Over this time the polyhouse became covered in lovegrass whose seeds latch on to your clothes and was proberly responsible for the invention of Velcro. To remove this weed required me to wear a polyester type bee suit,and long gumboots and still some seeds ended up on my socks.Once removed the beds where dug over to remove invadi...

The first thing you notice about my home vegetable garden is that it is well fenced to keep poultry and dogs out. The large banana passionfruit vine is a good deterrent as they can’t see through and see what they are missing. As you enter there is always a vast array of vegies, some growing, some ready for the table and some going to seed to ensure future crops. Established in 1983 the annual  garden is 10 x 18 m and includes a tool shed (in need of new door!) propagation area, cold frames and its own compost area. THIS VEGETABLE GARDEN IS DESIGNED TO PRODUCE A STEADY SUPPLY OF TOP QUALITY PRODUCE WITH MINIMUM WORK. THE BASIC FEATURES ARE : *PERMANENT RAISED BEDS. The soil from pathways was used to build beds. Each bed is enclosed to keep soil in. The width of the bed ensures easy reach. GARDEN BEDS SHOULD NEVER BE WALKED ON!!!! *VEGETABLES ARE GROWN IN SOIL ENRICHED WITH OUR OWN BIO DYNAMIC COMPOST. * EAC...

The winter garden excels in quality and taste . The winter chill produces sweet crunchy carrots, parsnips, turnips, beetroot and salsify all planted in February and March ,all perfect for winter stews, soups and roasts. The range of greens is equally impressive but the cold has slowed their growth to the extent that they are not growing as fast as we (and the chooks) consume them. Crunchy salads are part of most meals even in winter.To ensure a continual supply of crisp greens I move some seedling from the garden into the polyhouse. It is amazing how a thin piece of plastic can change the growing conditions. Wind chill and cold temperatures outside, inside toasty warm.The polyhouse is 7 x 4 metres and contains around 15 square metres of in ground growing space and a propagating area. The beds are 80cm wide –one goes around the edge and then there are 2 beds in the centre.Between the beds are narrow 30 cm paths made from tiles and pavers. These help define the beds and add some therm...

March here at Heathfield is the time our tomatoes finally reach their peak. It may be a long wait for some but its how our season goes. The seeds are planted with under heat in the polly house in August, transplanted into the garden in October, start to ripen mid January but reach their best by the end of February –beginning of March. This year has been a good season and the flavour is exceptional. Despite all the gardening advice ,I grow the tomatoes I raise from seed in the same bed every year – well for the last 5 in their current bed. They are watered via drip once a week. The bed is prepared each September when winter crop allocated to the bed is finished by digging in my biodynamic compost. The whole vegie garden receives applications of biodynamic 500, Firstly tomorrow as it has rained 36.5mm today so far (First since I can’t remember , maybe October last year.) then again in April, September and December. Over the early growing season it also receives some ccp & nettle spr...

The challenge in the vegetable garden as the seasons change is to continue to get the last of the summer bounty harvests while at the same time continue planting to ensure harvest in the months to come. At present I’m still harvesting the last of the tomatoes, zucchinis, capsicums, basil, beans and about to harvest my cardoon. The pumpkins will be harvested in the next couple of weeks meanwhile carrots, chard, chicory, lettuce, endive, nasturtiums, augula, spring onions, kale, red cabbage, celery, parsnips, turnips, beetroot and self sown garlic as a salad green are all being enjoyed. Veggies planted previously for future harvests include cabbage, cauliflowers, brussels sprouts, leeks, fennel, carrots, parsnips, Swedes, turnips, kohlrabi, spinach & an array of salad greens. The garlic, planted last month into warm soils, followed by gentle rain look wonderful already over 25 cm tall. The romanesco broccoli Kate gave me as seedlings in spring may be just getting around to setting a ...