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How Big Is Your Garden?

I often get asked how big our is garden. When people read about the amount of produce we grow, that is the number one question that follows. It’s one of the questions I’m most reluctant to to answer, mainly because I think it can be off putting. Ultimately, it is not how big your garden is, it is what you do with your garden that is important (insert immature giggles and double meanings here).

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If you have a little balcony, and can grow a few herbs in pots, I think that is fantastic. If you have a suburban backyard with a few tomatoes, lettuce, and some corn, that is fantastic too. Being content with what you have, and not comparing your efforts to others will be way more motivating than constantly looking at what others are doing. Also how big a garden you need really does depend on your lifestyle, and what you are hoping to produce.

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This month’s Garden Share Collective asked us to talk about the size of our garden, which as I mentioned above, makes me feel a little awkward. I really am proud of the hard work that CB puts into the garden and the produce we grow in it, but I know that it can be overwhelming for some people to see just how much garden we have. Since I’m in the business of encouraging people to grow their own produce, I don’t want to put them off.
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Having said that, here’s the low down on our garden…

We do have the luxury of a (very) large vegetable garden here on the farm. There are 80 irrigated rows, spread over three garden beds. Each row is approximately 4 meters long (that’s about 320 linear meters of planted vegetables …. eek I just did the maths for the first time). It can be a little crazy making at times, particularly during February to April which is our peak harvest time. With a big garden comes a large harvest, and all that produce needs to be either, sold, eaten, or preserved before it goes off. We do sell a small amount of our vegetables to people in our local village, however the remainder is eaten by us or preserved for later. We preserve it by blanching and freezing, as well as making jams, pickles, chutneys, and sauces for us to use  throughout the year.

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Throughout the year we grow peas, beans (green, borlotti, broad), corn, capsicum, cucumber, lettuce, rocket, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, spinach, cabbage, beetroot, artichoke, chillies, carrots, pumpkins, garlic, potatoes, onion, leek, zucchini, and squash. We like to experiment with different varieties of each of these, and will plant a few new types each year, just to see how they turn out. All these vegetables mean that we eat what is fresh and in season, and we don’t generally buy vegetables, which I guess is a pay off for having a huge garden.


IMG_2329Coming into Spring, we have been preparing the beds for summer planting, popping the chickens in the chicken tractor on each bed , and then mulching them with lots of hay. CB has the tomato seeds in a seedling tray on our warm, north facing enclosed veranda, where they are just starting to pop out. This year he is hoping to plant 32 tomato plants with lots of different varieties. He also has egg plants, capsicums, basil, and chilli seedlings just starting out. The peas went in a few weeks back, and supports for the broad beans have been put together. He will be planting rocket, parsley, and some more carrots in the next few weeks, but we will wait until the frosts have finished (usually the beginning of November) before we plant out our tomatoes etc.

Earlier in the month I wrote a guest post for Kate from Rosehips and Rhubarb where I talked more about our garden. Check it out.

How big is your garden? What do you like to grow?

Let everyone know:

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Next Post: 5 Ways To Enjoy Country Living This Spring »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Malinda (@MBPaperPackages) says

    September 10, 2015 at 7:19 pm

    This is just awesome, I must admit I am a little envious of your garden but I am happy with our small effort in our backyard.

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      September 25, 2015 at 2:10 pm

      It’s not how big it is, but how you use it (insert inappropriate giggles here).

      Reply
  2. Jan says

    September 6, 2015 at 4:58 pm

    Your tomato plants look amazing! How do you get them to grow so well?

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      September 25, 2015 at 2:09 pm

      No idea – CB does that bit! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Nerida @ Crooked Cottage says

    September 4, 2015 at 10:00 pm

    What a luxury to have so much space -and you do so much with it! Your garden looks gorgeous. You’re so right that comparing yourself to others can be a bit off putting – although my garden is tiny I have been enjoying it so much since we moved into the house. So I’ll just eat my four radishes and not be put off by others growing 4 kg!

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      September 25, 2015 at 2:08 pm

      We are lucky to have lots of space, though to be honest, I would rather not have 4 kg of radish!

      Reply
  4. myisleofserenity says

    September 2, 2015 at 8:47 pm

    Lovely photos of your amazing garden! Very inspiring! We moved about 2 years ago and are still establishing our veggie patch. So far we’ve got about four beds and peas growing on a fence. So much fun – I think I fall in love with gardening more and more every day!
    Thanks again for sharing. I’m following you on Facebook now so I’m enjoying all your updates 🙂 Good luck with all those beetroots. We only have about a kilo or two to deal with 🙂

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      September 2, 2015 at 9:12 pm

      Thanks for following along! Gardens are a never ending project, but the process is half the fun!

      Reply
  5. Lizzie {Strayed Table} says

    September 1, 2015 at 6:52 pm

    I always dreamed of irrigation when we were at the farm, now I am on town water, I can go nuts. It is funny when you actually do the figures of how big your garden really is and you get that thought of really is it that big. I am loving your pumpkins in the wheelbarrow shot it’s stunning.

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      September 2, 2015 at 9:14 pm

      Thanks Lizzie – I was kind of blown away when I did the maths.

      Reply
  6. novascotiaroots says

    September 1, 2015 at 9:30 am

    Fantastic post! There is no shame in loving your big garden, but I love that you encourage growing your own, no matter what size!

    Reply
  7. Kyrstie says

    September 1, 2015 at 7:56 am

    Beautifully written Jo,

    Reply
    • Kyrstie says

      September 1, 2015 at 8:00 am

      Oops also….I agree it doesnt matter how much you grow, just grow something in the space that you have. Lovely to see some more images of your gorgeous garden.

      Reply
      • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

        September 2, 2015 at 9:16 pm

        Thanks Kyrstie!

        Reply
  8. ramblingtart says

    September 1, 2015 at 6:51 am

    My Mum always had a huge garden in Canada when I was a little girl. I remember one year she had twenty rows just for peas!!! 🙂 I have five fenced gardens on our property. Since we raise goats, it’s the safest way to ensure that even if they break into one garden, I’ve still got the others to keep us going. 🙂

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      September 2, 2015 at 9:18 pm

      Smart thinking about the fences. We should probably do something similar – our chickens get in from time to time!

      Reply
  9. Kate says

    August 31, 2015 at 10:44 pm

    I love that you have the space to have proper rows that you can walk between instead of having to cram everything in as close together as possible.

    Whatever did you do with that gigantic onion?

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      September 2, 2015 at 9:15 pm

      We made lots of caramelised onions!

      Reply
  10. gardeninghands says

    August 31, 2015 at 9:08 pm

    Enjoyed your post, thanks 🙂

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Jo

I'm a city girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a few presents, an afternoon swim and dinner on the veranda as the sun set. Time to stop and be thankful for the many blessings of the year. I hope you had a lovely Christmas too!
We have been mulling over how to fix up the drivew We have been mulling over how to fix up the driveway and lead up to our house for a while. Currently it’s just a dumping ground for old bits of metal and a big pile of mulch, but C would like to create a turning area and put in a garden. First up though, there’s a huge old stump that needs to go. What better excuse is there to have a fire on Sunday afternoon? C and the kids jumped on the quad bike and trailer, and hauled back a big pile of sticks and logs to help the stump burn. Once the fire was going, marshmallows were found and roasted. No better way to spend time together.
Team work makes the dream work. We were asked rec Team work makes the dream work. 
We were asked recently whether we “make” our kids work on the farm. The answer is of course not. Having said that, all three love to help out whenever they can. They all work hard because they want to; because they take pride in working hard and contributing in a meaningful way to our family life; because they love living on our farm and don’t remember life before we moved here. Whether it be planting trees or doing sheep work or feeding animals, they all want to be involved. As a parent, nothing is better than watching them grow in skill and confidence as they work along side you. We’re so glad that we get to spend time with our three, working together.
We’ve had an unexpected addition to the family ☘️🐑. She is a lot easier to look after than the other family members but she does try to escape her yard and head butt people. Poddy lambs are super cute but they tend to think they are a human. Clover the lamb is sure that Meg is her mum. Can’t think why… 🤔🤣
The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: toge The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: together, cooking damper around the remains of the bonfire.
It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got through shearing without a hitch (thankfully 🙏) but we’ve had a run of the flu followed by Covid run through the family since then. The kids and I have tested positive (this is my second time getting it 🦠) though so far C has managed to avoid it. There has been a lot of lying on the couch feeling pretty ordinary. Han had to reschedule her driving test for a 4th time due to Covid, which is disappointing for her because she wants her freedom and for us because it would be so much more convenient if she could drive herself places. Just to add in to the mix, our hot water system has chosen now as a good time to die so we’re on cold showers until we’re all out of iso. This is not meant to be a whinging post but sometimes life just sucks a bit and it’s good to be real. Fortunately, the sight of the fire going with a stack of wood next to it cheers us up. Things will improve soon. Onwards we go…

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Hi, I’m Jo

City girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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