Growing Gardens

with Anita Morton

Baled up

I've just started preparing a new garden bed for my autumn tomato crop. Not in the ground, as my soil is riddled with tomato viruses, but on top of it. All you'll need for virus-free tomato growing is a bale of straw. Don't cut the ties, but leave it compressed throughout. In a sunny spot, lay down several layers of newspaper (to prevent roots from growing down into virus-infested soil), and put the straw on top. Don't put the bale on paving or concrete, which could be stained by water draining from the straw.

Give the bale a good soaking with the hose several times over a day or two to be sure it's thoroughly wet. Next, sprinkle the top of the bale with about 200g of high-nitrogen fertiliser, such as blood and bone, and water it in well. Cover the straw with plastic, as it needs to be kept damp. After four days, check that the bale is getting hot - this shows that composting is under way. Add another 150g of fertiliser, water it in, and cover the straw once more. After another four days, sprinkle the bale with 350g of pelleted chook manure and water again. Leave it, covered, for two weeks.

Now you're ready to plant. Discard the plastic and spread a bucketful of potting mix over the top of the bale. Scoop out small hollows in which to plant your tomato seedlings - two or three per bale. Drive stakes in behind the bale to support the growing plants, and keep the whole thing well watered. Give tomatoes a liquid feed every second week.

As the straw rots down, it provides extra heat to keep the plants growing strongly. Once you've harvested all the fruit and pulled out the old plants, you're left with a lovely pile of semi-rotted organic matter, ideal for mulching the vegie garden.

Lismore Garden Club News

The next meeting/social outing of the Lismore Garden Club will be held in the beautiful garden of Charlie and Dot Cox at Boorie Creek on Thursday, April 7, at 1.30pm. Visitors are most welcome. For further details phone Charlie and Dot on 6621 4100.

This time of the year the sweet pea growers among us should be taking some action in preparation for planting. St Patrick's Day (March 17) is a timely reminder each autumn.

For the tall growing sweet peas you will need some sort of support for them to cling to, as they will grow to around 2m tall. You can make a permanent trellis of treated pine posts and wire mesh. This kind of effort would be worthwhile (but not essential) as you can use the same trellis to train runner beans or cucumbers in spring. Alternatively, you can simply attach some wire mesh to a tall paling fence, so long as it's a sunny location.

Prepare the soil with a dressing of lime or dolomite, at the rate of ½ cup per linear metre. Also, turn in some compost or rotted animal manure and water deeply. Then leave it to rest for a week or two before planting. Water the soil again the day before planting, then water lightly after planting. Don't water again until seedlings appear. Then water with a half strength liquid fertiliser.

If you want to put up a trellis, plant a dwarf variety that grows about one metre tall.

Happy gardening
Ron Burns