Magic
Harvest
provide natural shade protection to other
crops underneath. Corn and raspberries
provide similar benefits.
•
Placing umbrellas in the ground to cover
low growing plants.
Grow Your Own
Food Course
Session 4
•
Laundry basket turned upside down to
cover plants.
•
Branches stuck in the ground with old
bed sheets or net curtains hung between
them to provide shade.
City of Salisbury
Healthy Communities Initiative
•
Poly pipe looped over the plants with
shade cloth/net curtain/bed sheets
placed over top.
Notes prepared by Shannan Davis
Home Support Services
Garden Program Coordinator
Summer gardening
Shelter
During the long days of summer you may need
to provide your plants with extra shelter
depending on where they are growing. This is
essential in days of extreme heat or if there is a
hot north wind –both increase evaporation rates.
By sheltering the plants you will prevent heat
stress and burning of foliage and fruit, which
could quickly put an end to your months of hard
work.
Img:http://gardeningnaturallywithclaudia.blogspot.com.a
u/2012/03/companion-plants-good-neighbors-in.html
Young seedling may need more shelter because
of longer hours of day light, and some plants
species, like particular lettuce varieties and
chard, will bolt to seed in the heat.
Protection from late afternoon sun throughout
summer may also be necessary for some
garden beds to survive. Even sun loving
tomatoes prefer protection from the afternoon
sun.
Shelter can be provided through temporary or
more permanent structures. Any shelter
structure should not touch the foliage; therefore
future growth will need to be considered to avoid
redoing the shelter as the plant grows.
Img:http://www.veggiepatch.com.au/
Temporary shelter structures include:
•
Shelter from other plants.
Grow plants such as runner beans,
cucumbers and melons vertically can
Be careful to secure your shelter from high
winds.
Put post for shelter in early so as not to disturb
the plant roots.
What types of shelter could I use in
my garden?
Img:http://www.veggiepatch.com.au/
Permanent shelter structures include:
•
Making a frame from sturdy stakes,
wooden or metal posts to support shade
cloth which can be removed in winter.
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What resources would I need?
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How would this be safe from high
winds?
Shading Tips
50% shade cloth is adequate for most gardens.
Have the shelter at least 5 cm above the plants
so bees and beneficial predators can still fly
around. If the cloth is too close it can trap heat
and cook the plants.
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2
Sketch your shelter options
Plants with roots 1 metre deep usually have
access to double the amount of water that plants
with roots ½ metre down do.
Different soils have different water holding
abilities; therefore varying amounts of water is
available to plants.
Improving Clay Soil
These soils can be difficult to dig and can
remain waterlogged for extended periods in the
rainy season –effectively drowning the plants.
To improve the conditions for vegetable growing
add 60%, or more, of sand (depending on how
fine the clay particles are) to the soil with 15 - 20
cm of organic matter and mix thoroughly
rainfall/irrigation
flows down through
large holes, cracks,
worm burrows & old
root channels
somes soaks through
these holes into the
surrounding soil
through smaller
channels between the
larger holes
Infiltration is slow if there
are few or no large holes
in the soil.
Good soil crumbles and has spaces
Crumbling of soil means that the humus and
mineral particles are grouped together.
The spaces in soil allow root penetration which
enables plants to gain access to water, nutrients
and oxygen in the soil.
In the long term build up your soils water holding
capacity by increasing the organic matter
content. Generally this can be done by adding
compost and green manure.
Improving soil to increase its
water holding capacity
The soil is a water reservoir that is filled by rain,
or irrigation (including hand watering), and
emptied by plants, evaporation and leaking
through the bottom. The size of the reservoir
depends on the depth of the soil wetted by rain/
irrigation.
Improving Sandy Soil
These soils drain well and don’t hold nutrients
for long. Improve the top 20 cm by adding 20 40 kg of crushed clay per square metre and a 10
cm layer of organic matter and mix thoroughly.
Source: Kevin Handreck, Good Gardens with
Less Water, CSIRO Publishing, 2008
Water conservation
Nutrients for plants are dissolved in water and
held in the soil. Plants a need regular supply of
water during summer to provide nutrients,
reduce plant stress and produce the leaves,
stems and fruits we are growing them for.
Watering plants enough and not wasting water
will require you to regularly check your garden in
summer.
Saving water can be achieved through the
following measures.
•
Check whether the soil is moist before
watering by placing your index finger in
the soil to its full depth. If it is moist (the
soil will look dark and stick to your finger)
then no need to water yet.
•
From when you plant them as seedlings,
give plants a thorough soaking once a
week. In heat waves you may have to
give them subsequent watering if the soil
is dry. This will encourage their roots to
grow deeply to seek water, which will
form stronger plants that are able to
withstand wind stress.
3
•
When you think you have watered
enough, check whether that has been a
deep soak by sticking your finger, or
trowel, in the soil to determine how far
the water has penetrated.
•
Soaker hoses or drip irrigation systems
on a timer reduce the amount of time you
will spend hand watering, and can be
especially useful in larger gardens
•
Protect your plants from the heat and
wind by providing some type of cover to
reduce water lose.
•
Mulching around the plants will keep the
roots cool and reduce water lose. Don’t
mulch too thickly, as this will attract
pests. Keep the mulch away from the
stems to prevent rotting the stems.
•
Don’t water in the
heat of the day.
•
Water in the evening
or early morning
when it is cooler
•
Water the soil, not
the leaves.
•
Watch what you are
doing!
•
Use a timer.
Img:http://www.waterfortomor
row.ca/en/athome/maint.asp
Timers can be simple
Installing a soaker hose in your garden
1 Soaker hoses are typically made from recycled
rubber and they work best at a length of
approximately 15m (50 feet or less), any longer
and uneven water distribution will occur towards
the end of the hose. Your soaker hose should be
laid out on a flat level service.
2 Place soaker hoses directly on top of the soil. Do
not bury them under soil. You can lay soaker hoses
out in straight lines or snake them through garden
beds; either way, space the soaker hose lines 45
cm (18 inches) apart to ensure the entire bed gets
an even amount of water. Keep the hose an inch
or two away from the base of your plants.
3 Soaker hoses come in tightly coiled packages.
When the hoses are new they have an annoying
habit of curling back up. Keep the hoses in place
and prevent kinks by pinning them to the ground
with U-shaped metal landscaping pins every 60cm
(24 inches).
4 Cover the soaker hoses with mulch after they
are in place. The mulch accomplishes two tasks by
disguising the hoses and helping your soil retain
moisture longer. Plus, it prevents weeds! Grass
clippings or straw make a great mulch in vegetable
beds, while wood chips and pine needles are a
longer- lasting choice for ornamental gardens.
5 Encourage your plants to develop deep,
drought-resistant root systems by watering deeply
but infrequently. Let the water soak 20-30cm (8 to
12 inches) down into the soil each time you water.
Figure out how long you need to keep your hose
on by watering for 30 minutes and then checking
how far down the water has seeped. Check your
watering time accordingly.
Source:http://orserlandscaping.blogspot.com.au/2012/07
/soaker-hose.html
.
Imgs:http://orserlandscaping.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/s
oaker-hose.html
Fact sheets
www.transport.wa.gov.au/mediaFiles/activetransport/AT_LS_P_install_drip_irrigation.pdf
Img:http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1183013.
htm
www.popeproducts.com.au/_files/f/10000/Drip%20Guide
.pdf
4
Mulching
A mulch layer provides a number of benefits
including:
•
Reducing the loss of water from the soil.
•
Protecting the soil from heavy rain, thus
reducing crusting on the top and erosion.
•
Slowing the flow of water across the soil
thus increasing the proportion that soaks
into the soil.
•
Changing the temperature of the
underlying soil
Img:http://www.sgaonline.org.au/meaningful-mulching/
•
Improving the soil structure as they
compose.
What water conservation methods
could I take?
Mulches hold water.
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‘The thicker the mulch layer the higher will be
the proportion of any rain that is retained. This
water does not reach plant roots in the soil
below.’
What resources would I need?
Different types of mulch include:
-
The dry upper layer of soil
-
Organic material – wood chips, pine
bark, green composts, pea/oat straw,
sugar cane, etc.
Source: Pg 97 Kevin Handreck, Good Gardens
with Less Water, CSIRO Publishing, 2008
Also the finer the mulch particles the shallower
its depth should be, as fine mulches prevent rain
from reaching the plant roots and therefore may
increase water loss from the soil below as it is
wicked up.
Fruit trees and vegetables benefit from nutrient
rich organic mulches. A method could be to
spread a shallow layer of a fine soil conditioner
(such as compost or worm casting) to cover the
soil and then top with a coarse mulch. Mulches
that break down in one growing season such as
cereal/pea straw or sugar cane can be useful for
annual crops.
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A 5 cm layer of coarse mulch is sufficient.
5
Soil for container growing
Coco peat or coir
You can make your own soil for growing in
containers. For container growing the soil
mixture needs two main components –
something to hold the water and something for
the water to flow around (space). Also
necessary is some food for the plants.
Is made from recycled coconut husks and
is used for aeration and water retention. It
is sold in compressed bricks that are
soaked in warm water to engorge them for
use. It has a pH range of 5.7 -6.8
Homemade soil for container growing
•
20 litre bucket high quality compost
•
20 litres bucket of equal portion of a
mixture of coco peat, perlite and
vermiculite.
Mix together in a wheel barrow (and wear a
mask when doing this). Moisten the ingredients,
fill your pots and you are ready to go!
Note: You may need to add some extra fertiliser
if your plants are heavy feeders. You could add
4 litres of worm castings and a 1T of rock dust to
the basic mixture.
Source: Edward C. Smith Vegetable Gardener's
Container Bible, Storey Books, 2011
Perlite
Is made from volcanic rock that has been
crushed, screened and heated at high
temperatures. It holds water on its surface
and keeps the soil light and fluffy.
Worm castings
Img:http://www.zeolitefarm.gr/en/perlitis.html
Vermiculite
Img:http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/worm
-farming-livestock-for-the-home-gardener/
Is made from a form of mica rock that is
heated to high temperature until it expands
creating spaces within it .This makes it very
light with tremendous water holding
capacity. It has a neutral pH and provides
some potassium, calcium and magnesium
Compost
Source: Edward C. Smith Vegetable Gardener's
Container Bible, Storey Books 2011
Reviving potting mix
You can revive the potting mix at the end of the
growing season to prepare it for the next crop.
Img:http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vermiculit
e1.jpg
Img:http://blog.zoysiafarms.com/tag/composting/
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Note how much the soil level has lowered, this
would be the compost that has been used up
and will need to be replaced along with some
other nutrients.
•
Once the plants have finished growing,
pull them out and empty the soil onto a
tarp or into a wheel barrow.
•
Remove all the old roots.
•
Mix in the amount of compost that had
been used, add a sprinkle of rock dust
with a few handfuls of worm castings.
Mix thoroughly, moisten and use.
Planning for summer
The following vegetables are suitable for
growing in summer
Zucchini
Tomato
Pumpkin
Potatoes
Melons
Eggplant
Cucumber
Corn
Chives
Chili
Capsicum
Beans
Basil
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