Hi I'm currently house sitting in eastbourne in Wellington. I thought I would do a bit of gardening in the vegetable garden and ended up pulling everything out as it had all gone to seed. I have dug it over and put compost that was ready from the compost bin through the garden. Because it is quite sandy dirt being near the beach I'm not sure what to now go and buy to put in the garden. They have two small children so I'm thinking things like lettuces and spinach. Never having used a garden by the beach before I would love suggestions on what else to put in.
firefly001,
Jan 26, 8:53am
I don't know about yr area but with kids radishes are good cos they don't rake long
lythande1,
Jan 26, 5:44pm
Grow what you like to eat. People put in leafy veges cause they are easy and fast but really, do you want mounds of the stuff that everyone gets sick of? Takes us ages to get through one lettuce. Peas are good - never met a kid that didn't like raw fresh picked baby peas.
tinyted,
Jan 26, 6:51pm
We live at the beach and have just put in lettuce, beetroot, celery and more beans. I already have spring onions, spinach, silver beet, parsley, mint, thyme, basil, tomatoes, peppers, a corgette, rhubarb and chilli growing. I also have some carrot seeds to plant straight into the soil as they grew well last year. Our garden sounds big but is not particularly have everything fairly close so that when they grow they don't dry out as easily. I also have planted some companion plants in and around the veges ie marigolds to keep the bugs away. I like a variety of veges for both salad use and stirfrys. Have planted garlic, red onions, and leeks successfully in the past. Hope these give you some ideas.
tinyted,
Jan 26, 6:57pm
Also meant to say dig plenty of well rotted compost into the soil before you plant and one year I had lots of mulch from cut down trees that I put in and around the plants. Kept the moisture in really well and once it broke down more proved to be the best garden nutrient as had huge veges. I also have a few pumpkins that seem to have taken over so have had to tame them somewhat and have them growing up the trellis and along the top of the hedge! Good luck with your garden.
lj1422,
Jan 27, 3:12am
Thanks for all your suggestions - now to do the work!
b-rowdy,
Jan 27, 4:20am
Also dont buy Zealandia products (sold at um, chain department DIY stores and big red stores) Try Oderings or a local place that grow their own, Zealandia products will go to seed, or be full of oxalis/botrytis or other such things you dont want or need for decent plants.
lj1422,
Jan 27, 5:36am
Thanks for that tip b-rowdy.
yjeva,
Jan 27, 5:53am
This is a really useful site that tells you what to plant in different climate areas in NZ. http://www.gardengrow.co.nz/
bluefrog2,
Aug 17, 7:49pm
Don't put carrots into freshly composted ground. You'll get lots of leaf growth and a tiny root. My favourites for this time of year are lettuce, rainbow chard (fancier form of silverbeet), spring onions, pearl onions (small bulbs), coriander, parsley, basil, mizuna, beetroot, snow peas or snap peas (need staking). Radishes bolt fast in hot weather, so there is a narrow window for harvesting. Also potatoes. Nothing quite like digging up potatoes from your own garden.
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