Lesson 5 - Producing plants
Our final lesson looks out how to produce plants for that amazing food garden that you are about to build.
When planning a planting schedule match your location, what season the crop grows best in. Is it a spring, summer, autumn or winter crop? And how long the crop you are planting will take to mature. Also take a look at what your neighbours or local community garden are planting and when. All factors combined will assist you to create a season timeline which will indicate what seed to sow when and then, when to put your seedlings into your food garden.
Your location will determine the best time to propagate for your area. For example, in the Northern Territory, tomatoes are best planted in the dry season from late April to July. In the southern states gardeners start their tomatoes in late August and often don't plant them in the garden until after Melbourne Cup Day in November, which we hope is after the last frost. The Diggers Club developed five seed sowing areas across Australia and used that information to create the Diggers Vegetable Seed Sowing guide of over fifty vegetables and herbs to help our members get started on their propagation journey. Select your zone from cool, warm, hot, subtropical and tropical to determine what grows in your area and check the month to see when the best time is to propagate.
All our seeds include information on the back of the packet about the germination rate of the seed which we have determined through our seed trials. Other information includes: if the seed is best sown in a tray or punnet before planting in the ground and how many weeks it will take for the plant to mature. We have included how much water the crop needs, how much sunlight the crop needs which will inform you of what position it is best planted in. How high the crop grows and how far apart it should be placed.
Once you have decided on your season's vegetables and herbs, you have managed to raise the seed into strong seedlings don't forget to allow some time for hardening off.
When planting out, you may like to keep some seedlings back to plant a week later and a week after that to create a sequential planting, growing and harvesting timeline in your garden. This helps avoid the glut of produce all being ready for harvest at the same time. Alternatively, when propagating your seed, you may choose to sow a line of each crop a week for four weeks to stagger the maturing of seedlings.
When your seedlings are ready to plant, there are a few techniques to planting to ensure best plant growth. Softwood-wooded plants benefit from being planted deeply. Plant them below the level they were planted in the pot. An example of this is planting tomatoes, remove the lower leaves and bury the stem in the ground. Roots will form along the stem and a stronger deeper root system will develop which will stabilise your tomato plant and increase the amount of water and nutrients available to the plant.
Potatoes are also better planted deeply to allow for room for many potato tubers to form. If growing potatoes in potato towers, be sure to top up with compost as the potatoes grow.
Take care when planting grafted fruit trees, never bury the graft as this may compromise the union of the root stock and tree. Make sure to create a well around the base of the tree to enable water to slowly soak into the root area.
In your first year of growing food, we recommend that you buy seedlings and seeds from a reputable plant and seed supplier. The Diggers Club have been in operation for nearly fifty years, so we do have some experience with trailing our heirloom seeds to ensure that we provide you with the best seed possible. You can search our website for seed suitable to grow in your area. There are other reputable seed suppliers around Australia. A little online research goes a long way. However, we recommend you start with suppliers of heirloom and open pollinated seed.
If you are interested in planting heritage varieties of fruit trees, the Diggers also supply a range. There are specialist heritage fruit tree growers who provide excellent stock. Do your research to find the right fruit trees for your garden as they are an investment and will needs to produce fruit for a few decades.
Perhaps, the most exciting way to guarantee the success of growing food plants is to use your own seed.
After the glory of growing and harvesting your own food has faded, what's next you ask? Well seed saving! Keep an eye on your crops and let some of each variety literally go to seed.
Be ready for when bean and seed pods ripen at the end of the season, the pods will dry out and if you rattle them you might hear them jiggling in the pod, if the weather is getting colder or there is rain forecast, bring the pods inside and dry them on the window sill, shuck them from their pods and store them in either paper bags or glass jars. Make sure you label them.
The same applies for seed heads of parsley. The seed heads will brown off and you can pop brown paper bags over them to catch any seed as you cut the seed heads off. You may like to collect the seed in the garden and scatter on the beds where you would like your parsley to grow.
Seed from chillies and capsicums are easy to harvest because when the fruit is ready, so too is the seed! Eat your produce and save your seed at the same time. Spread your seed on paper towel in a warm place to dry. Put in a paper bag, label and store in a cool dark place.
Tomatoes need to be perfectly ripe. Remove as much pulp as possible from around the seeds, as these can sometimes inhibit germination. Then put the seeds in a glass of water for a week, stirring the solution every few days. The pulp will separate from the seeds. Place the seeds in a sieve and wash any remaining pulp off. Separate your seeds out on a plate and place in a warm spot with good air flow. Once the seeds have tried, store them in a paper bag and label them.
Further learning
- Growing Fruit and Vegetables at Home - Northern Territory Government
- The Seed Savers Handbook by Michel and Jude Fanton
- Seed Saving Secrets - Gardening Australia
- How to select and save seeds for the best crops every year - Gardening Australia