Welcome to Robin's Sustainable Gardens Blog

Hi Everyone

This is just the start of my blog so that everyone who knows me can get quick tips and advice on sustainable gardening on the Internet.




My first topic is my favourite topic and that is of composting (many more topics to come, just RSS my blog and you will get regular updates in your email).

There are just 4 quick tips today about composting, they are:

1. Makes sure your material for composting is diverse e.g.. green and brown
2. Add water and keep wet
3. Add air by turning daily
4. Add blood and bone

 

Many more details in my book: Your Sustainable Garden

March  is autumn in my garden,  in the Blue Mountains, we have plenty of rain, misty cool mountain mornings,with warm afternoons, perfect for vegetable growing.

Turing compost and adding moisture is  so vital to making good compost. I do 15 minutes each morning.( turning compost mixes together all the raw ingredients and provides the heap with air)(, I add water at this stage. , and     

Today I have been planting lettuce,( approx. 50 ). ( This planting method ensures a succession of mature vegetables ) 50 are planted every two weeks from now on.

This is lettuce seed that i have grown, pricked out, into 10cms pots, hardened off, and now garden ready. 

vegetables in back garden
Lettuce 2 weeks from maturity,poly tunnel  for rain protection

From seed to planting out takes 8weeks. So I have to a lot of planning. !! I am sowing now for May - June planting .   

  My lettuce is all raised from seed in my  polythene greenhouse (igloo) in my back garden. Then as small seedlings are pricked out  and planted directly into my raised organic beds.  ( from the compost heap).

3 times weekly I am cutting silver beet, First lettuce 3-4 weeks away. 

  Cheers More later 

With the rain this summer  thank goodness i  used the compost to raise up all the vegetable planting areas. All my vegetable gardens i have been raised up at least 50 cms . Raising them up ensures that the rain drains away quickly. With all  short term veg  crops , drainage  in a vegetable garden is vital.Need sunshine now for the vegetable to mature, and tomatoes to ripen!!

No  ,Tomatoes are n't even ripening in my poly  tunnel . The poly tunnel is also used for seed sowing.  Now is the time to think about what  is to be grown  in the garden late autumn and winter. I always consider 3 months ahead all the time! Specially for seed sowing.

For the vegetable garden i  recently sowed   Broad bean ,Parsley, Silver beet. For the flower garden : Asters .

Under the shade of the growing area , the constant wet weather is slowing down the maturity of all vegetables.   Yes i grow everything under shade. The  shade cloth is supported by steel posts up 2m above the ground. Stops  heavy rain damaging  the leaf crops,lettuce, spinach, silver beet.

More later  cheers Robin