The lazy gardener: winter harvest


It really is super easy to grow your own food.

I confess to being a lazy gardener.

I'm always growing at least one edible plant. But I don't fertilise, I don't deter bugs, I don't test the soil pH - jeez I don't even get the sun-to-shade ratio right a lot of the time!

But still, things thrive. And sometimes they don't. I've killed mint and succulents before - notoriously hard-to-kill plants.

Potatoes sprouted in the pantry, so I buried them in an old coffee sack.
Thanks Black Sheep Coffee!

It was time to dig up the veggie patch on the weekend so I wanted to share the haul - let's just say we're set for pumpkins and sweet potatoes for months to come yet!

These guys must be the easiest crops to grow at home. They both crawl along the ground, so having space is a plus - but they are just not discouraged by anything. Not by too much rain, not by the huge grasshoppers eating their leaves.

Seeds in the compost = 20+ pumpkins

The pumpkins originally sprouted from our compost - clearly didn't kill the seeds before spreading it over the veggie patch!

I told you: lazy.

Compost is the best thing about the garden. I started the compost bin as a solution to kitchen scrap waste (everything from fruit and veg to egg shells, dog fur and vacuum cleaner dust goes in it), and the bonus has been nutrient-rich soil that now feeds our veggies.

Weekend winter harvest: big mumma sweet potato

It breaks down quickly if you get the balance right. I'm not going to teach you that here coz I'm not even sure I've got it right! Highly recommend a good Google.

What do you grow? What can you simply not kill, and what has gone horribly wrong?

Pumpkins, lemons, sweet potatoes and leafy greens - all great for
the lazy gardener!

It's all a trial and error process - and it doesn't take much time to get something going.

Start with a backyard or patio compost bin or worm farm, and the garden's your oyster.




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