How does your Mediterranean Garden grow?
Tips and tricks from my Mini Food Forest learnings so far...
Mid-August I am so happy with the Mini Food Forests that I planted in March & April this year. See blogs: How to Create a Mini Food Forest and Planted.
There has been an incredible bounty of veg that we’ve been enjoying all summer. Not without many learnings however - and still learning…
In this blog I share my experience so far with my Mini Food Forests. What’s doing well; what is not doing well; and what I want to try.
SUMMER HARVEST
The first harvest from my food forests was so exciting.
First to mature were the zucchini and Padrón peppers, then the tomatoes.
Next a seemingly endless supply of cucumbers - and my first broccoli.
The zucchini (and zucchini flowers) were productive in May and June and then died off in July. The zucchini were delicious while they lasted - I will plant more next year - or in the fall…
The Padrón peppers were also early to mature, and are still productive. However, I learned the hard way that Padrón peppers are hot peppers, too hot for my palate - so I have been distributing them to my lovely neighbours. On this realisation I planted a few sweet bell pepper plants in June.
I created two tomato patches in areas of my garden with full sun, and next to a stone wall to be able to grow vertically. I have managed a steady supply of tomatoes from these patches since early-June. However the production has been more of a slow drip of 5-6 small tomatoes a week vs. the baskets of tomatoes I was hoping for. I will have to research growing tomatoes a little more…I hear brown sugar water helps tomatoes grow…
My broccoli started to mature in mid-July. I learned that you have to harvest the broccoli while the floret is round, like you see in the grocery store. There is a narrow window before they start to “run” or bolt when the floret starts to grow into stalks. I learned this with my 2nd broccoli, and so watched the others carefully to harvest when big enough for a meal, and before they bolt.
I love broccoli! I learned that you have to wait quite a long time for it, and it produces just one head per plant. I will try a continuous planting schedule in the fall for more of a steady supply :)
The cucumbers were my biggest surprise. Just a few plants are enormously productive. In July I had an ocean of cucumbers that I was harvesting almost everyday! I had to get creative with my cucumber recipes to use them all. My neighbours also benefited from my cucumber production. In addition, the cucumber plants spread, creating a nice blanket across the floors of my food forests, keeping the soil moist.
Finally, the herbs I planted to keep away pests are equally plentiful: oregano, sage, and thyme. They seem to have worked well to keep away pests as well. I had some leaf eating pests in May, and so I planted more herbs, which seems to have worked wonders.
STILL TO COME
Onions, Leek, and Sweet Potato.
As these veg grow underground, it is harder to see when they are ready for harvest.
I planted the onions and leek amongst my tomato patches. I will start to harvest them daily now, as I need onions for my recipes.
The sweet potato I planted later, in late June - so I expect to harvest them in September-October. I didn’t find sweet potato seedling plants my nursery originally, and so I was delighted when one of my neighbours provided me with a few cuttings in exchange for my cucumbers :)
FAILED TO LAUNCH
Pineapple and Lentils.
While overall I have had a very good production of veg from my first planting this year, there were two experiments that didn’t work out as well.
I got excited by the exotic prospect of pineapple fresh from my garden. However, this one sadly didn’t seem to be happy in my Mini Food Forest. He didn’t really grow and then dried out. I will have to research growing pineapple a little more…
For the lentils, I had scattered handfuls of lentil seeds throughout my food forests to serve as soil cover and a nutrient enhancer for my fruit trees. They started out well, but as the heat turned up in July and August, they dried out. I will have to consult my food forest experts on this one…
THE MYSTERY OF FRUIT TREES
I chose the sites for my mini food forests with the objective to regenerate the soil around some fruit trees that I had planted last year - that unfortunately were suffering in the poor soil in my garden (that sits on a mountain of rock).
Following the Biggest Mini Forest approach, I prepared my soil with a 50cm deep mix of rich organic compost and organic horse manure hoping for a more hospitable environment for my existing fruit trees. In addition, I added more fruit trees to create the density advised by the Biggest Mini Forest & Orchard of Flavours experts.
I added 2 new avocado trees, 4 different types of orange tress, 3 lime trees, and 4 Brazilian cherry cuttings to the centre of my mini food forests.
My new fruit trees seem to be growing, albeit slowly (and in some cases sadly), and they were attacked by pests in May. They have also had to endure heavier than usual wind this year, which may be part of their struggle.
The result is that I have no new fruit buds on my new fruit trees in my Mini Food Forests - except one lonely orange fruit bud, giving me hope…
Interestingly, I planted two Limequat trees in pots - and they are fruiting brilliantly!
I will endeavour to attend a fruit tree care workshop this fall at the Orchard of Flavours botanical garden to grow my mastery of fruit trees…
LEARNINGS SO FAR
My biggest learning so far with my Mini Food Forest experiments, is that you really need to make sure that your veg cover the entire surface of the soil.
More veg is better!
I achieved this, quite by accident, in my Mini Food Forest 1.
The effect has been that this full veg cover has kept the soil moist, and has helped my fruit tree cuttings to grow faster to reach above the veg.
If you can see the soil, it is unproductive, and probably drying out.
This is what happened in my Mini Food Forest 2. I didn’t plant enough veg, and I have many patches of exposed soil. The fruit trees are struggling more, and overall it looks dry - despite the same watering schedule as Mini Food Forest 1.
Another learning has been the feeding schedule. Fruit trees are hungry for constant nutrients. I have tried to apply the organic fertiliser suggested by the Biggest Mini Forest experts every 2 weeks.
So what happens when the summer veg harvest is over?
This is my next adventure for September:
Chop and drop the harvested veg
Apply a fresh layer of organic compost and organic horse manure soil cocktail
Plant winter veg! I am now dreaming of an abundance of winter veg: more broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkin, and kale.
WANT TO TRY
I am already planning another Mini Food Forest for next spring.
I am keen on being able to make my own Mexican corn tortillas from scratch for my love of tacos - Read my recipe blog for Sopa Tortilla. I will seek out blue corn and sweet corn seeds from Mexico this winter to create a corn field. I am thinking about it also as a wind barrier for my Mini Food Forests.
Plus, a banana circle. At the back of my garden there is a natural forest which may be good protection for a banana circle. As bananas like to grow up against a wall, I am thinking of re-purposing the large Bambu tarp I recovered from my old pergola to construct a wall. Bananas are a key ingredient for my protein smoothies! Read my wellness blog.
Finally, Moringa. It is said to be the miracle tree of Africa, that grows anywhere, and its leaves are edible and nutrient abundant, even more than spinach.
Share your veg garden tips in the comments below!
Taking my summer harvest to the BBQ for a fresh veg grill tonight…
Jade
Lewon
Med
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