How to Grow Backyard Vegetables in Western Australia
If you live in West Australia and you dream of homegrown vegetables in the summer, you may find the warm temperatures and bright sun work with you to make your vegetable garden dreams come true. You can't rely entirely on the pleasant weather of West Australia to nurture your garden, though; your backyard vegetable garden will still require love and care from you. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Scout for the proper location in which to start your garden. Choose a place that receives direct sunlight throughout the day with minimal shadows. This may be particularly difficult in the south region of West Australia because the sun will cast long shadows in the wintertime.
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2
Test the pH level of your soil. You can purchase a pH testing kit at your local hardware and garden store. According to the Western Australia Department of Agriculture, you should mix lime into the soil if the pH balance is 5.5 or below. Most vegetables will enjoy a soil with a pH balance between 6.5 and 6.8 (see reference 1).
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Test the texture of your soil my grabbing a damp handful and squeezing it (this is the "squeeze test"). If the soil retains its shape, the clay content may be a little too high. In that case, add some sand to the plot so water can sink deeper into the ground.
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4
Add clay to the soil if you are working with a particularly sandy soil. If you live close to the coast of West Australia, you may find your garden full of red sand (Spearwood sand) or light yellow sand (Karrakatta sand), which may drain water too quickly for your plants to absorb it.
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Smell a handful of your soil. Most vegetables require a high amount of organic materials in their soil in order to nourish them as they grow. If the soil has a sweet smell, it is a good sign that the soil has a high content of naturally decaying minerals. If the soil does not smell sweet, mix some loamy (nutrient rich) soil into your garden plot.
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Research the specific needs of the vegetables you intend to plant in your garden. Every plant is different, so take the time to know how deep you should plant them, how much water they require and how much sunlight they need. If you treat every vegetable in your garden the same way (i.e. sprinkling some water on them every day and not much else), your vegetable garden will fail.
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Store your vegetable seeds in a cold place like your fridge before you use them. Some seeds can even survive a whopping two years inside your fridge before you choose to use them.
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Pull weeds from your garden on a regular basis. Try to catch them as they first sprout out of the ground. This practice prevents them from establishing strong roots and posing any real threat to your vegetables.
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References
- Photo Credit vegetables image by dinostock from Fotolia.com
