I am so excited! “It’s Autumn”.
Autumn in the Whitsundays means temperatures drop into the high twenties instead of low thirties, the humidity drops, rainfall decreases (so ready for that!) and Veggie Gardens get started. What isn’t there to love about Autumn in the Whitsundays?
March is still a transition month, so not quite time to get planting every imaginable tropical kitchen garden food, that’s the April celebration. March is all about preparation in my vegetable garden.
Vegetables are hungry feeders, so your soil preparation is essential for good, strong, healthy growth throughout your entire growing season. With the best months to start planting out your vegetable garden in the Whitsundays being April and May, soil preparation starts now.
Right now. Today!
Adding aged compost and manure to your garden beds now will improve your veggie growing success tenfold. Dig it into your soil and then cover it with mulch (my go to is cut sugar cane mulch) to keep weeds at bay, regulate soil temperature and keep in moisture (yes I know, it’s hard to believe but before long that will be an issue).
You’ll want to leave this to sit for a good two to three weeks before you start planting.
COMPOST OPTIONS
In a perfect world you would make your own compost. However, in a time poor world this is not something everyone prioritises. Whitpro has numerous bagged compost options you can improve your soil with, it’s a very important part of your vegie growing process, so get started today and reap the rewards in the coming months.
MANURE OPTIONS
Poultry manure is my go-to, but you don’t want to burn your new seedlings, so be careful if you have your own chooks and you are transferring it into your garden. Make sure it has been aged and use this sparingly. Alternatively, if you don’t have chooks then Whitpro has bagged manure ready to go straight into your garden beds. Worm castings are another bagged option and being new to Whitpro supplies, it will be something I’ll be playing with this season.
TOP TIP
Just starting on your veggie growing adventure, want to involve the children or wanting to expand your veggie growing space?
How about investing in landscape rings, they are easy to put in place and then simply fill with soil, they are raised, they look good, and you can simply remove them once the growing season is done if you have other future plans for the space. Whitpro has different sizes available, I’ve added five to my growing space this year. Watch this space.
