After a reasonably encouraging result from a few broccoli plants last year, we filled a 2x1 metre bed with some healthy little plants earlier this year towards the end of summer. We didn't get a chance to check on them for several days and when we did so, this is what we found :
Hmmm - looks like it's home-sweet-home for white butterflies. This photo was taken at the beginning of April
Now as we knew this was tasty fodder, we became more vigilant in inspecting these little what were, healthy wee plants. We had a couple of severe frosts at the end of April, and then thought that that would be the end of the white butterfly caterpillar carnage. Silly us! Now that we are well into July and have already started harvesting broccoli heads, amazingly, we are STILL also harvesting plump green caterpillars, after recent gales, storms, heavy rain and stiff frosts. The plants are sturdy enough now to give each a jolly good shake which throws these little blighters onto the soil, from where they are picked up. A weekly 'shake' is still producing 10-15 caterpillars which are then gathered up and speedily disposed of by the chooks
We also tried growing corn and sunflowers directly into cow patties in the spaces of our north shelter belt but again - too many gale force storms and not enough sunny days to produce any harvests. We had reasonable success with zucchini and scallopine - again - had the weather been kinder we would have had better results. A so-so crop of peas; reasonable bean crops. We also grew celeriac and kohl rabi for the first time. Celeriac grew well and the kohl rabi not too bad. A great crop of yams and jerusalem artichokes. Greens grew well. Peppers and chilli plants were swamped by the sprawling tomato plants, and for the second year, basil failed to grow satisfactorily. Having discovered the joys (and cheapness) of producing your own pesto, we will give basil one more try this year with a little bed all of its own.
In a week or two we will have completed all our raised vege beds, which will total 13 in number, varying in sizes of 1x1 metres, 2x1 metres and 3x1 metres. And that will be it. Filling them takes time as well - trips with the wheelbarrow into the paddocks to gather manure, sifting topsoil, carting and shovelling mushroom compost. We live quite near a local mushroom factory, so it's not far to take the ute to get a scoop of mushroom compost on the tray. Oh, we do have a 2x1 metre (woefully overgrown) asparagus bed as well, but on the south east side of the garden near the berries (also woefully overgrown and awaiting pruning and weeding).
We do try to be as organic as possible and refrain from using commercial sprays and chemicals. Slugs are gathered with old leaves and beer traps and a hot garlicky spray is made up to deter snails and slugs (but obviously caterpillars are not phased!) from snacking on our greens. Our plants are fed regularly with manure tea made by soaking a sack full of manure in a drum of water; comfrey tea, and a recent trip to the coast provided a good sackful of seaweed which is now also soaking in a drum of water to make a foliar spray/fertilizer. We also have a large compost bin on the go. Let's hope this summer will be a lot warmer than our last - we never once had the urge to beat the heat and head for the river last summer!
View of the raised vege beds from the kitchen. Beds 11-12-13 are still under construction in the back row. Kohl rabi and celery remain in the 1st bed LHS; frost cloth over a hoop frame covers baby spinach and rocket in bed 2; garlic planted in 3rd bed with pea straw covering. Straggling remains of silver beet and mesclun behind this bed, and broccoli in the far back left bed. All the remaining beds are being 'fed up' for spring and summer planting. It is hoped that the beds will be completed this year as a winter project, painted and surrounded by tidy little gravel paths, but with other emergencies (usually involving animals) always cropping up, as usual, we will have to wait and see if and when it happens
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