Organic no dig edible garden bed

[mich1972]

Stage One of our NO DIG Edible Garden Bed.

I removed a couple of inches more of our dreadful hydrophobic sand from this bed. Cultivated the sand and removed the remaining weed clumps and old dead roots from previous plants.

Our first priority is to add a Wetting Agent to this sandy soil to help with retaining water and also nutrients.

I have applied a product called Charlie Charcoal, it’s a crushed fine Charcoal ( Biochar )

The Charcoal is porous with tiny holes that helps water holding in the sand. Also as I add nutrients to the soil, the Charcoal will help hold nutrients close to the plants root system and will also encourage healthy Microbial soil activity.

I added a light layer to the sand and watered in , instantly you can see the water absorbing into the sand and not running off.

 

 

ta

[mich1972]

Thanks mate. Will share again with heaps of Chilli’s 😆 

[mich1972]

Good afternoon Workshop Community Friends !! Here’s an update on our No dig Edible Garden- Summer Edibles. Everything is taking off beautifully. 
I have added extra Lupin Mulch yesterday as we are about to heat up here in Perth this week and I want to make sure that the bed is well mulched. 
I absolutely LOVE Lupin Mulch and Triple C ( I like to alternate ) Not only is it a mulch , it also breaks down into a nourishing healthy compost that will encourage more Earthworms and healthy Soil Microbes activity. Absolutely love it !!!! I have added another application of Wetting Agent which is extremely important for our gardens here in Perth. I have also been liquid feeding with Charlie Carp and Molasses. Here are some photos from yesterday . I hope this will inspire you to have a go at growing your own edibles 😃😃

 

 

 Lupin Mulch 

Absolutely love it !!!

 

 

[MitchellMc]

Everything is looking wonderful, @mich1972! Many thanks for your update and your recommendation on Lupin mulch.

I'll be looking forward to seeing how things progress.

Mitchell

[mich1972]

Thanks Mitch 😊 

[mich1972]

Good morning Workshop Community Friends 😊 Can’t believe it’s nearly February already and heading into our hottest month ! Here in our Perth garden I’m adding more Lupin Mulch to our No Dig Edibles Garden Bed. It’s important to be Waterwise in our Garden In Perth as the heat can do a lot of damage to our plants. Adding extra layers of Lupin mulch has helped retain moisture for the plants root system. 
Thankfully we have not had a massive heatwave with consecutive 40’s like we did last December / January.

Harvesting plenty of delicious Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Chilli’s. 
Here’s a few photos to share with you guys. Something I always do with our edibles is plant a mix of different seasonal herbs and also really good Pollinator Attractor flowers to help increase pollination and also feeding the foraging Bees and beneficial insects with Nectar. I find Perennial Basil, Sweet Basil and Borage are certainly the best for producing plenty of Nectar. We have plenty of Bees in our garden. Companion planting certainly works well in your Edibles garden. 

We all know how expensive Cucumbers are in the supermarkets and yet they are so easy to grow in your own garden. 
Happy Edible Gardening everyone 🌿😃

Lebanese Cucumbers

 

Chilli Anaheim  

 

 

 Slim Jim Chilli  

 

 

 

 

 

[MitchellMc]

Beautiful crop, @mich1972! Everything looks stunning! I'm actually quite amazed at how perfect and blemish free your harvest is. Typically home-grown veggies/fruits exhibit some degree of perfectly normal defects and damage, but not yours. A sign of a truly great gardener!

As always, many thanks for the update and for continually inspiring our members to give growing their own food a crack.

Mitchell

[mich1972]

Thanks @MitchellMc , been good so far. Not always great as I did have a problem with some of my mini Roma Tomatoes with Blossom End Rot and I had to remove them all. That’s why I’m always using Dolomite Lime when planting to prevent that happening again. As Gardeners we are always learning by our mistakes. 
Also I’m battling the heat here in Perth, so I have ramped up my Waterwise practices with Mulching and Soil Wetting Agents. 
I have added more Companion plants with our edibles to help deter insects attacking, it’s not been too bad , I don’t use any kind of chemicals in the garden, I let the beneficial insects do the work. 
I just love to share and inspire everyone to have a go at growing their own food and enjoying their own produce. 😊🌿