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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
Coming 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?
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.
It’s not how big it is, but how you use it (insert inappropriate giggles here).
Your tomato plants look amazing! How do you get them to grow so well?
No idea – CB does that bit! 🙂
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!
We are lucky to have lots of space, though to be honest, I would rather not have 4 kg of radish!
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 🙂
Thanks for following along! Gardens are a never ending project, but the process is half the fun!
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.
Thanks Lizzie – I was kind of blown away when I did the maths.
Fantastic post! There is no shame in loving your big garden, but I love that you encourage growing your own, no matter what size!
Beautifully written Jo,
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.
Thanks Kyrstie!
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. 🙂
Smart thinking about the fences. We should probably do something similar – our chickens get in from time to time!
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?
We made lots of caramelised onions!
Enjoyed your post, thanks 🙂