The garden areas around our house are somewhat divided up. Adjacent to the driveway as you enter the yard, there is an area that was once our front lawn. When I got serious about gardening beginning with my decision to grow 1000kg of vegetables in 2013, I dug up three strips in that lawn and planted sweetcorn. The area was, however, low lying and prone to flooding, so not much good for growing except in summer. The following season, my kids laid down cardboard all over the area, and spread 18 trailer loads of used sawdust and manure from local horse stables there. I grew some pumpkins in it, and a few other subsequent crops. But over time, the couch, buttercup and other weeds took over again, and I always struggled to keep it under control, especially as most of my attention and energy went into my "main garden area," a 300sqm area fenced off behind the house and developed into various beds etc. 

The last couple of years have included a number of life events that have made any gardening at all a challenge, and I was getting very sick of the front garden patch always being waist high in weeds and grass. I cut it down with a weed eater every now and then, and kept meaning to just start mowing it regularly and letting it become lawn again, but didn't actually do it. Feeling frustrated and overwhelmed with my current inability to keep on top of everything, I decided I would simply cover the whole area (about 50 square meters) in black plastic over winter, and let it kill off all the grass and weeds, and then lift the plastic and plant for summer. But I was behind in doing that too.

On 27th October 2017, after weedeatering down the weeds once again, I finally laid the plastic. Too late to actually kill everything off before summer planting. So instead, I decided to plant with the plastic in place, and this is what I did:

I decided I was going to grow 5 types of "winter squash" (ie pumpkins and squash that are picked fully mature and which store well through winter and beyond - I can usually store them for up to a year, until the next crop is ready). I would grow: pink banana jumbo squash, buttercup squash, crown pumpkins, butternut squash and spaghetti squash. I started them all from seed in my greenhouse (also on 27th Oct), but the buttercups were very slow to get going and so were kept in the greenhouse for longer.

When most of the seedlings were ready to plant out, I cut big squares/rectangles out of the black plastic, one for each variety of squash, suitably spaced out. Into each square, I poured 1-2 wheelbarrows of compost, and spread it over the space in a mound. I then laid weedmat over the compost, and pinned it down, making sure that the plastic underlapped the weedmat in such a way that any rain on the surface would run into the compost, hopefully. 

I then planted out 4 crown pumpkins in one patch, cutting holes in the weedmat, 3 pink banana jumbos in another, 4 butternut squash in another, and 6 spaghetti squash in a long row at the leading edge of the area. A patch was ready for the buttercups too, but they went in two weeks later. Most of the seedlings were planted on December 3rd; the 5 buttercups were planted on the 14th.

December was BLAZING hot - the hottest summer weather we've had in years. The plastic heated up to the point that you could not walk on it. I watered the seedlings at the base of each every day for a couple of weeks - twice a day the first few days - and then every other day for another week or so. Then we had a some rain. I went over the patch after that, and any spots were water was pooling on the plastic, I stabbed holes with a pair of scissors, so water could drain through into the soil. I didn't want it to sit on the surface later and cause the squash to rot. After those first few weeks of watering, I did not water the plants again, or do anything else to them, except to take the occasional photo, and to try and dissuade the spaghetti squash from invading the driveway.

They all grew super fast! The heat was obviously a contributor. The grass rotting down under the plastic would have provided plenty of extra food also. Here are some progress pics, with dates captioned below. Further down, I will itemize the harvest totals.

I brought all the squash inside, and laid them out in my dining room, letting them sit for a couple of days for any surface moisture to evaporate. Then I weighed and recorded each one, and wiped them down with a weak vinegar solution to kill any surface fungi that might promote rot. This also caused me to examine each one more carefully. Any that need using up soon I marked with an X, and any with some stem rot I want to keep an eye on, I marked with an S. That way, I know which ones to check most often and use up first. Below are the results for each variety. 

The buttercup squash seedlings were slow to grow, and the plants were very quickly overrun by the other much more vigorous squash. So I wasn't suprised by the small yield. These are Burgess Buttercup, which have quite a blocky shape. It's the first time I've grown from this particular pack of seeds - it's not looking good for a re-run! 

​Total plants: 5
Average fruit per plant: less than one
Total weight: 8.53kg
Average weight per fruit: 1.42kg
​Average yield per plant: 1.71kg

Number of plants: 6
Average fruit per plant: 9.17
Total weight: 96.88kg
Average per fruit: 1.79kg
Average yield per plant: 16.15kg

The plastic mulch controversy: There are those who will say that laying down plastic over the soil is a bad idea, because it can sour (kill) the soil so no subsequent crops will grow. This will only happen in certain conditions, and only after more than about 6-7 months on the ground. As a short term solution to killing persistent grasses and weeds (solarising), especially for gardeners who are less able to dig for one reason or another, it has it's place. Furthermore, studies have shown that the use of plastic mulch can increase the bioavailability of a number of nutrients, as well as water retention etc. It's still not my preferred way to garden, but as I said, it has it's place. 

Just how good a yield was it? Just out of interest, I decided to work out what the yield per acre would have been if I'd been growing the same way on a larger scale, with the same results. Answer: 30.6 tons per acre. I looked for commercial crop yield figures, and it would appear that this rate of yield is 2-3 times higher than most commercial crops! 

Dollar value if I were buying the squash? Again, just for fun, I decided to put an approximate dollar value on the squash if I were purchasing them from the supermarket. I used prices seen locally (where some of them are on special), or in the case of the spaghetti squash, what others have told me they are paying: 
Spaghetti squash $4.99 each x 54 = $269.46
Buttercup squash $2 each x 6 = $12
Crown pumpkin $4.99 each x 24 = $119.76
Butternut squash $4.99 each x 23 = $114.77
Pink banana jumbos it's harder to put a price on, but using the crown at $4.99 each with an average weight of, lets say 3kg, then the price per kg would be $1.66. Mutiplying that out to the total jumbo squash (167.2 kg) then total value = $278.12
Total squash price to buy: $794.11
Of course, there are huge variables - what is available locally, what they are charging etc. 
But still, a fun exercise. 

Well, I got to thinking....if I can grow 378kg of pumpkins in 50 square metres, how much total food can I grow there in a year? So, I'm turning over the ground bit by bit, adding compost etc, and planting winter crops, with the aim to see how much food this one patch can yield in 12 months, starting from when I planted the squash back on Dec 3rd. Updates to come!

I do love sunflowers - and so do the bees. This one stands like a beacon above everything else in the garden, yelling "Beees! Over heeeere!" They're flocking to it. Sadly, after all that hard work growing, a sunflower only lasts a few days before it's pollinated and the petals droop. But then there are the seeds. 

In the future, I'd like to grow some more giant sunflowers in front of the tallest part of the house, secured to a purpose-yet-to-be-built trellis (waiting for my husband to finish renovating and painting the outside of the house before I tell him about that little project. ;-)). But in the main garden, I'd love to grow lots of sunflowers with large, multiple heads about 2m tall (so I can easily tie them, and cover the seed heads from the birds). Now to find that perfect variety......

Above: Yacon patch, with a dahlia in the front corner, and a row of polyanthus which need to be dug up and divided. I've planted cornflowers along the edge of the yacon a short time ago, after digging out the old edging on that side and adding a shallower version of the root barrier and wooden edging to it, like I'm using around the main garden beds. 
I've also planted a couple of rows of cosmos seedlings along the back of the yacon, in front of the marshmellow plants which are now supertall and flowering. These were first planted last year. One is supposed to wait 3 years before harvesting the roots. To the right of the yacon are the carrots, planted nearly a year ago, which I have left to flower for seed. 

Below - a view of this part of the garden back towards the house. Out of shot to the right are a damson plum, a pile of woodchip waiting to be used, and a couple of massive peppermint and lemon geranium plants.

Adjacent to the yacon patch, and right in front of anyone entering the garden through the gate, is my sunflowers - the tallest now 2.6m and gaining about 15cm/day! I've added bamboo to the top of the trellis to tie them up - hopefully they will survive the storm. Some boysenberries underneath, climbing beans going up the trellis (and sunflowers) and various flowers around the edge. 

Behind the sunflowers is what was my raspberry bed, but is currently a rough combo of sweet-leafed fennel - I've saved enough seed the last couple of years, so will cut most of this for compost materials, a nice patch of wild flowers (can't see in these pics), and a lot of weeds with a lemon verbena at the other end. I plan to rip most of this out soon and plant with...dwarf beans I think - want lots of beans for eating green and as dried beans for winter. The (empty) bee boxes are holding up a birdbath for birds and bugs to drink, under a dwarf double pear.

Second redeveloped bed row - lemon bergamot at the front, then 8 plants in two varieties of watermelon, then a zucchini. Behind the zucchini are two, recently planted, and three banana melon plants, also new seedlings.Sick of the birds digging in the mulch, I have laid fleece from our sheep over the bed, and bamboo along the side. That keeps them out.

My greenhouse - kumara in bathtubs outside. One half inside is mostly seedlings and pots - currently mostly swan plant and a few other things. I have pepinos in pots, as well as kiwifruit. Three tomatoes in the ground on trellises, some basil, 2 cucumbers, and the back half is planted in kale, broccoli and red cabbage, which produced all through winter and are still going strong. Some caterpillars, but the beneficials are keeping on top of them enough that they're not a major problem. 

Heavy rain has just begun as I finish typing this. Hope you enjoyed this look at my garden - always more work to be done!! 

Once they'd calmed down, I continued weeding, avoiding getting close to that particular clump (fortunately at one end of the patch), meanwhile keeping an eye on it to see what I could observe. Every now and then a wasp would come or go, seemingly crawling into the dirt under a particular yacon tuber, or behind it in the middle of the clump. I figured there must be a small nest being developed there under the plant - small based upon the limited number of wasps in evidence.

Now, I don't normally rush about killing things in the garden - every creature has it's place in a balanced ecosystem, and the odd wasp helping itself to any caterpillars on my plants is not unwelcome. I do, however, draw the line at paper, German or common wasps building nests in my garden - allowing it would encourage their proliferation (they pose a risk to native species), and also greatly increases the risk of myself or one of the other females of the family (all allergic, though the guys aren't) being stung.  

This evening I asked my boarder (only other person home) whether he's allergic (no) and how brave he was feeling. After considering a number of options, I had decided to try the boiling, soapy water method - I didn't mind killing that one plant, but did not want to pour any poisons into the soil of my edible garden, and could not source the bait you can put on meat and have the wasps take back to their nest and feed their young, killing them all. He was happy to help, but not quite convinced there was a nest there, he poked around a bit, then pulled up part of the plant, which exposed the top of the, as expected, fairly new nest - about softball sized at the top. Needless to say, the wasps were not happy! <Both exit stage right!>

I put a large pot of water on to boil, then added a generous amount of dish soap. He took the pot and poured it carefully but rapidly over the nest. It completely dissolved the nest instantly, killing everything. No live wasps came out. A half hour or so later I saw one late returner buzzing about looking for the nest, without success. This pic is the hole under the plant where the nest was:

So, no more wasp nest. Now I can continue tidying up that patch, install a new side as the old one has rotted through it's stakes, given them a dressing of some compost and mulch, and plant a flower border along the side. Hmmmm...what shall it be? Cornflowers? Dahlias? Calendula? Zinnias? Cosmos? Choices, choices!

The section you see covered in newspapers was the ONLY part of the garden where I actually did what I meant to do to the whole garden area last autumn - I had piled up lots of decompostable materials under the young apple tree, then covered the areas with black plastic and left everything to rot down. Now, I removed the plastic, lightly worked the surface to remove the couch roots that were still present (most of them directly under the plastic), and then decided to cover it in 5-6 sheets of newpaper, presoaked and overlapped, as I cannot dig this part over fully due to the roots of the apple tree. This is to prevent weeds coming back through. 

Next to that, I dug over the space that formerly had one wooden-sided bed in it, and the adjacent path area etc. This took a lot less time than I expected. I removed every bit of couch, buttercup etc I could as I went. I think scooped out the centre of this area to create a pathway, piling the extra dirt on the adjacent parts, which are the first sections of the new soon-to-be long beds. After a bit of raking and shaping, I spread a couple of inches of compost over both. 

The untidyness of the rest of that half of the garden area was annoying me, so I decided to get the weedeater out and just level it. While I was at it, I removed the wooden sides from that last bed on that side, and the first two beds on the other side, and weedeatered that too. 

I've since planted 3x Russian Silvery Fir tomatoes under the mesh, with tomato cages around them, a clump of Miner's Lettuce, and interplanted the brassicas with a tray of beetroot seedlings. And later added four more kohl rabi seedlings which were started later (for staggered harvesting). The covered bed is now full. 

At this point I still needed to remove the wooden frame from and dig over one small garden patch at the far end (where the fork is stuck in the ground), but my ribs have prevented me doing so. Today I'm finally feeling mostly pain-free, so it will be on the agenda soon! 

I spent quite a lot of time pondering last season as to how I was going to change this. I had also observed that the more or less north-south lay out of these beds made tall things growing in them particularly vulnerable to the gale force westerlies we have here on and off most of the year, and thought it would be better to relay the beds east-west when or if I change them. Added to which, these wooden beds, built in late 2012, were made from untreated timber, and while they have lasted way longer than I expected, are definitely on their last legs (and the cost of replacing them with the same is prohibitive - I paid $1/m for the timber then, and the cheapest I can get now is over $5/m). 

Naturally, I had all sorts of wonderful plans to overhaul this part of the garden over winter, so it would be all ready for spring planting. Suffice it to say, it never happened! In fact, with one thing and another, I basically had no time in the garden over winter. Even my intention to simply mow everything flat and cover it with black plastic to kill off the weeds until I could work on it didn't come to pass, except in one small corner. 

​So, when spring rolled around, these garden beds looked like this (pic taken 9th Oct 2017):

There are some silverbeet, leeks and chives in there, but otherwise, mostly just weeds. After the usual self-kicking for not having gotten it at least mulched or covered over winter, I did a bit more pondering and finally came up with a plan that just might work!

Key points:

• All the current wooden frames need to come out as they're falling apart. 
• Remove all the hoops, stakes and other miscellany still in there from last season. 
• Re-orientate the direction of beds. 
• Minimise "edge"
• Create a barrier around the new edge that will keep out my three nemesis weeds. 
• Make a "once off" major effort to clear these weeds from within the newly edged area, and thereafter minimise digging. 

After much looking, pondering, walking around, and imagining, I finally came up with, what if I:

• Dig a 30-40cm trench around the outside edge of the garden area. This is deeper than I find roots of these plants. Yes, I know they can theoretically go deeper if so inclined, but I'm hoping to keep them disinclined. 
• Line the trench with root barrier, a flexible, UV stablised plastic product that comes in a 60cm tall roll, 5m long. It's designed specifically to keep out roots. 
• Curve the bottom of the root barrier up, away from the garden - the theory being that if a, say, couch root hits the barrier and then heads down looking for a way through, it will hit the curve and be turned back away from the garden. 
• Use treated timber to create 30cm high edges above ground, with the upper part of the root barrier being behind the timber, between it and the soil. This allows me to use timber that will last longer, but to effectively line it so that any contaminates aren't leeching directly into the soil of the garden beds. 
• Use stakes to secure barrier and edging, and screws to hold them all together. 
• Work on the edging bit by bit - tackle one long side, then turn over the soil adjacent to it to create the first bed or two (so I can get them planted) before working around the next side and so on. Because the season is already under way and I have things needing planting! Make sure to overlap the root barrier at any joins between sections. 

So, this is what I have started to do. Pics below of the first long side being installed. It was a bit of a learning curve figuring how to make the theory actually work. But not overly difficult once one got going. 

I'll be repeating this around the other two open sides of this section of the garden, and just placing root barrier along the outside edge of the fence that makes up the fourth side. 

Next post: the digging and prep of the first half of the garden area, to eliminate weeds and create the first beds for planting. 

Brassicas (including broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, radishes and much more) are winter favourites in many gardens, especially as their major pests - white butterfly and diamondback moths - are absent during that time. However, to get good winter production from brassicas, the timing of planting is key, especially in colder areas. 

Where I live, in the lower North Island, I have found that the ideal time to plant out most brassicas (except brussel sprouts, which need longer) for winter production is March. If I leave it later, the temperatures become low, and the plants go into a state of semi-dormancy (this happens below 10C), with growth slowed right down, and the size of the productive heads being much smaller, if produced at all - sometimes the plants remain very small and unproductive, and then bolt straight to small flower heads in spring when it warms again. This will depend on timing of planting and just how cold the winter is. 

On the other hand, when planting in March, I still need to protect them from white butterflies. One year I did this using micromesh, which is used to against psyllids and other pests. It also had the effect of producing a micro-climate of warmer are in the completely covered bed, and those broccoli were HUGE and fully ready for picking by early June - sooner than I had counted on. I see a similar result if I plant them earlier than March too - still warm temps cause faster maturation.

This past year, as I have written elsewhere, has not gone as intended. But between family deaths and births, I planted some late brassicas - broccoli, kohl rabi, kale and cabbage - in three different places in my garden, at different times (figuring any production better than the none that comes from not planting at all!). The results illustrate my point above, and the ones in the (unheated, open windowed) greenhouse, though planted much later, were WAY more productive, due to the warmer temperatures. Check it out:

And here's what each group looked like on 4th August:

Group 1: Some moderate growth - some nice but small heads forming on the broccoli. I went ahead and picked them, as some were bolting straight to flowers, and it was obvious the others weren't going to get much bigger. Cabbage very small, kohl rabi look ok-ish, but no sign of any decent bulbing. 

Group 2: Growth in cabbages and kohl rabi very minimal. Broccoli have gained some size, and are forming very small heads.

Group 3: excellent growth in broccoli, kale and red cabbages in the greenhouse. No sign of heads forming yet, which is good. I have two varieties of broccoli in here - a larger variety on one side, and a smaller one on the other. Red cabbages are hidden behind the kale in the 2nd  pic. Brocc underplanted with cornsalad/mache.

And then on the 24th August:

Group 1: These are looking pretty pathetic. I'm picking small shoots and heads of broccoli as they turn up. The other brassicas are pretty much a waste of space.

Group 2: Picked main heads on most of the broccoli. Reasonable size, especially for size of plants, but not very large. Certainly edible. Not holding out much hope for the cabbages and kohl rabi. Some of the brocc plants are still very, very small.

Group 3: 
Just starting to see the formation of heads in the midst of the biggest broccoli variety. Have been picking kale every day for smoothies for a while now. Cabbages looking good too.

On 5th September:

Pretty much given up on Group 1 - taking a few brocc shoots. They're now mostly just sitting there until I get around to clearing the bed and planting something else. 

Group 2: picking fairly steady amounts of side shoots from these broccoli. The purpling of the leaves is a sign of how the cold has affected these plants, stunting their growth.

Group 3: Lovely heads forming on the larger plants!

I waited a few more days, and picked these first heads on the 8th, when they had reached their maximum size (and were beginning to show the barest signs of loosening up)

14th September: I picked the last small shoots on Group 2 broccoli, and ate them raw in the garden (yum!), then picked the leaves off the kohl rabi, nicer leaves of brocc and cabbage, and used them lightly steamed for dinner, before ripping out all these plants and replacing them with strawberries. 

Today (17th September), Group 3: There are nice heads on the second variety of broccoli, as well as small side shoots forming on both varieties. The kale and red cabbages both are looking gorgeous! Loving my daily kale addition to my breakfast smoothies (along with various other greens from the garden - NZ spinach, chickweed, puha, cornsalad, miner's lettuce etc). 

Conclusions: extra warmth makes a clear, huge difference in the growth and productivity of broccoli and other brassicas! 
My intentions for 2018: Get brassicas in the ground outside by March, and also plant some in succession, including covering later ones to provide a warmer microclimate. Use the greenhouse for extra plantings when the weather gets colder. 

To recap on the broccoli:
Group 1: planted 28th April, picked some tiny heads 4th August, few small shoots there after. No decent production. 
Group 2: higher raised beds. Planted 4th May. Picked main heads 24th August, lots of side shoots 5th Sept, pulled plants 14th Sept. 
Group 3: Planted in greenhouse 5th June. Picked first group of main heads (large) on 8th Sept. As of 14th Sept, another group of main heads just about ready to pick within the next few days, and side shoots forming everywhere.

A common question is "How do you store your seeds?"
My flatter packets of seeds are upright, sorted alphabetically, in two hard plastic cases designed for CDs (found at the op shop). Bulkier saved seeds are kept in bags or jars, in a drawer and/or stacking plastic containers. I also freeze some. In theory, I'd freeze a supply of most seed that is important to me, as this keeps it viable for much longer, but I'm not that organised yet. 

This week I've made a start in the garden. I had lots of plans for how I was going to overhaul it over winter...didn't happen! This past year has included a lot of life events which have conspired to keep me out of the garden - within my family: two deaths, being executor of a complex estate, a marraige, and two births, and then my own health issues, and overall busyness in my other life roles. However, every day is a new beginning! So rather than worry about what I haven't done, I'm just jumping in where I am! Yes, the garden is a mess - there is grass and weeds everywhere. Yes, there is a lot of work to do. No, it doesn't look like I intended it to going in to spring. C'est la Vie! 

One day at a time - one step at a time. The good thing is, even when the gardener is unavailable, the garden still produces - the jungle out there contains plenty of silverbeet, miner's lettuce, NZ spinach, lemons, leeks, spring onions, carrots, puha, kale, broccoli, various edible greens, chickweed, calendula, mint, oregano, rosemary, chives, parsley, thyme, potatoes, and so on. 

So, over this week I have:

Weeded the bed bordering my garden area, mulched with woodchip, and planted violas on one side, and calendulas and parsley on the other. Should look good with the bright flowers behind a cascading border of parsley. The parsley should also help the rose in the middle, protecting it from black spot and aphids. 

Overhauled my blueberry bed, removing all the strawberries (it's more convenient to harvest strawberries from a low, netted bed than the big netted blueberry bed, and besides, it was easier to get all the weeds out if I removed the strawberries), and planting a gooseberry and some raspberries in the open space - they are tall plants who will do well in the netted cage. Nets are currently rolled up but will be let down once fruits are starting to ripen. I spread some sulphate of potash and sulphur-containing plant food, compost, peat moss (blueberries in particular like more acidic soil, and the peat moss and sulphur help lower the pH), watered well, then topped with aged sawdust removed from last year's raised potato beds. 

Harvested the side shoots from broccoli in two raised beds, which did not get very big over winter (more on this in another post), along with kohl rabi starting to go to seed, and cabbages which were still tiny. We ate the leaves from broccoli, kohl rabi and cabbage, lightly steamed, for dinner last night, and the broccoli shoots over a couple of nights. I then planted those beds with the strawberries I had dug up, along with some extras potted from runners in my strawberry bath. Left over strawberry plants were given away. I also added sulphate of potash to these beds, and watered in. First bed shown below - second one was planted tonight. It also has shallots growing in it, which I left in between the strawberry plants.

I dug over the third bed behind these two, pulling out spuds from last season I never harvested. Was going to plant strawberries there too, but am now thinking I might overhaul it, and plant a bed of mixed spuds, under mesh against psyllid.

I cleared the remnants of sweet peas from this trellis, added a jasmine plant to cover the trellis (and hide the bins etc behind it), at least until the Leptospermum gets big enough to act as a screen on it's own. A few violas for colour at the base. 

After weeding in front of the caravan (adjacent to the fence border above), I planted a yellow Argyranthemum daisy, sprinkled some buckwheat and white alyssum seeds around it, and lightly raked them in. On the other side of the carpet rose, in the corner, I sprinkled mixed poppy seeds. Extra colour and food for the bees and other beneficials. 

The one job I got done last week was to dig over this bed, add some compost and a trench of well rotted horse manure (left over from brewing a drum of manure tea), and mulching with pea straw, before planting a punnet each of Rainbow Chard (silverbeet) and perpetual spinach (another kind of silverbeet). 

Adjacent to it, the wee lemon tree is loaded, the garlic is doing well, though getting a bit shaded by the globe artichoke I planted last season (my first one) which is getting huge! I keep pulling leaves off and mulching with them, if they start to lay over the top of the garlic. I had literally no where else I could plant garlic at the time!

It's a start!