Australian Organic Gardening, Self Sufficiency & Permaculture

Jerry's Garden Tour - Wynnum, Brisbane.

I had waited 6 months now to see Jerry's garden, having missed his open garden last year. Having followed his transformation from clay slab to plant paradise on ABC'S Gardening Australia, last Sunday was finally the day to see it in person. I was certainly able to learn a thing or two, which I will pass on in this post.

Jerry says his aim is not to be 100% self sufficient. Although he can easily grow 70% of food for 3 adults in roughly 400sq.meters, with minimal tank water too! How does he do it so easily? A lot of it has to do with something I keep preaching - choosing the right variety of plant.

WHAT VARIETIES? Choosing the right varieties of plant is everything. Time and time again I see eager first timers go down to Kmart to stock up on Yates seeds or another commercial variety. This "one type of seed fits all" approach is seldom successful. This seed also can not be saved. So people's $6 and enthusiasm goes down the drain and most then just give up.

The right type of seed is non-hybrid open pollinating varieties. These are seeds that are not patented and have withstood the test of time being past down from generation to generation. They have their own individual qualities that you get to know and work with in your local climate. I guess its the fact that they can adapt, then reproduce true to type that makes them special. So before you do anything, access the right seed and notice how they grow and adapt while continuously improving your soil. Do that much and you will do well growing vegetables organically. You will stay ahead of climate change and learn to Maximo's every square meter of your backyard. Jerry likes Portuguese cabbage, red Russian kale and Oregon sugar snap pea that has the ability to resist powdery mildew.

If you choose any African, Brazilian or South American variety of plant, it has a chance of doing well in our climate. There are many varieties to try. Local gardeners or seed savers will know some of your best local choices. The Red Russian Kale is a must in anyones vegetable garden. Jerry had 8 vegetable beds in his garden which he rotate's crops by season. This one below was the raised bed of radish with Queensland arrowroot at the front.

Sugar Cane Bale Borders In some of the photos you can see sugar cane bales or straw bales that Jerry has surrounded the vegetable beds with. This has worked very well on a number of levels. On the ground level, the worms come up to feed on the bottom of the bale and produce casting's into the soil. When someone asked Jerry why he does not have a worm farm in the garden, he replied "my whole garden is a worm farm!". On the upper level, the bales protect the plants from winds and cold. Each bed now has its own mini climate that aids growing. The bales also save water! You can view a video of Jerry and his straw bale theory at www.bellis.info/Bellis/video/Pages?Use_Your_Bale.html or on an upcoming episode of gardening australia.

Jerry's varieties of tomatoes grow through winter, not summer. In fact, he does not grow tomatoes in summer at all. Chinese celery is another favorite in his garden as well as sweet potato growing on the roads nature strip! The borders of his garden have banana(7 varieties), bamboo(shelter from the summer sun) and pineapples.

Jerry's garden and knowledge of plants is an inspiration to everyone who has seen it. I would recommend a visit as part of Australia's open garden scheme if you ever get the chance. For me, it was about finding someone who is gardening better than I am, and going and learning from them. As far as plant knowledge, energy efficient design and making use of resources, Jerry's garden is one of the best I have seen.

Some T.L.C for The Original Garden...

The back-corner at mums place was the location of my first Organic Garden. While it was never the ideal location to grow vegetables, I managed to do alright out of it. A lack of direct sunlight, sandy soils on a downward slope is not ideal! This is the corner exactly as I found it after 2-3 years of it fending for itself. While some plants did not survive, its amazing how some "perennial survivors" have kept going without any help. Jackie French talks all about her "Perennial patch" in her great gardening books. When I think of a Perennial vegetable patch I think Amaranth, Warrigal Greens (New Zealand Spinach), Radish, Beans, Garlic Chives, Rocket and Sweet Potato.

Some plants are just hanging in there (like the dwarf lemon), while some are going strong with no assistance. I have decided regardless, that this area needs some T.L.C and new life while I am in town. It will be like a before and after project. Here is what It all looked like around MARCH 15th, 2008...

Here is the Queensland Arrowroot that has propagated itself no problem. Plant this in your garden and forget about it. Apart from the nice North facing wall it sits happily in front of, there was nothing else helping it. I pulled out some roots, chopped them and soaked them in water before adding them to a salad. Crunchy like a raw sweet potato or water chestnut.

Here is the Amaranth that has done amazingly well to sprout up everywhere in this sandy soil and with no water. Of course you can see they are struggling a bit and could do with some water and mulch at least. But what a true survival food that self seeds like no other. Again, its a North facing wall, but its partial sun at best because of neighboring trees.

This is the dwarf Pomegrannet that is doing better than when I left it. The dwarf fig and grapefruit also had some good fruit setting until the birds got it. I used mostly dwarf fruit trees in this garden with good results. As I love pomegrannet trees so much, I also planted a full size one that has remained healthy though still not setting fruit. As you may know from my e-books and main website, www.freeorganicgarden.com, I recommend dwarf varieties for most small gardens.

The dwarf lemon use to be a prolific tree when it was up on the back veranda in full
sun. Though in its impoverished state, the lemons look like they have a "spotty lemon" disease or melanose disease. As they are in a pot they would be suffering from a lack of nutrients. Lemons and all citrus are heavy feeders. I use to add compost, mulch and apply seaweed solution 3 times a year at least. After some blood and bone, compost and organic sugar cane mulch I will use a seaweed solution again and try to spray the tree with some pure soapy water.

So from a garden that has had to look after itself entirely for 2-3 years, I was able to come back and still get some supplies - arrowroot, amaranth leaves (spinach substitute), Aloe Vera, A heap of lemon Verbena for herbal tea and tomato plants sprouting throughout, trying to make a late dash before the cool weather kicks in. Everyone should have these types of survival plants in their organic garden. Once they are set up, just let them provide for you.

I will report back to let you know how the project is coming along. With a few additions, I should be able to come back in another 3 years and be supplied with even more. Be sure to add some of these hardy perennial plants to your garden if you haven't already. You will be glad you did