Also, are there any avid gardeners here? I'm sure the answer is yes but next question is, any advice for a beginner? https://imgur.com/a/H6JFNtH This is what I'm moving into come December, landlord is very easy about what I plant and what I stir up to make it pretty. It looks dreary but come summertime it'll be very bright and pleasant. But I have no idea what to do, I am expecting to fail with things - I've only grown spuds before. First photo there are five plots I can use running along the fence to the left, and the second photo has a corner plot but I may install a compost box for that whole area to make things easier. Along the back fence is a strip of dirt between the path and the fence that I could definitely use. Any basic tips for someone entering the fun and exciting world of trying not to kill plants? Am hoping to plant some spuds, some herbs, and whatever else feels like surviving a southern NZ weather system. Apparently capsicums handle it fine! Which would be awesome.
Step 1 is to figure out how much sun you are going to get. The house, fence and trees may block a lot may block almost none. Step 2 is to order a truck worth of compost 3-4 yards aught to do. Btw don’t order the stuff that the uses organic matter from the city waste bins, that stuff sucks has glass and plastic in it and drys out if you look at it for too long. Step 3 order a couple yards of mulch ideally with manure mixed in for cover. Step 4 figure out irrigation. Drip irrigation doesn’t work well unless the plants are mature use spray systems and a timer. Step 5 figure out what you want to plant and how to manage pests, but the supplies ahead of time. You won’t have time to contain the problem otherwise
Awesome thanks heaps! I checked the sun calculator for our city, in the spring/summer, the backyard gets sun until the evening, but the winter/autumn the sun rises into the valley and drifts on a low angle so it'll get considerably less direct light. The fences would hide quite a bit I think, until midday. I actually once lived in this house (2012) and I know the garden worked when I was there, I just didn't know anything about it so didn't get involved - so there's some positive evidence that it can operate at the very least. Am looking into mulch, our landlord also offered to get that arranged as well, will converse with her to see what works out. Appreciate the advice! I'm wanting to fix the boundaries of each plot, it's old wood at the moment and I'm thinking about raising the edges up a bit more. I'll have to figure that out before I do anything else so will crack on before we move in.
rased beds are in my experience are a bit of a Nussance in the summer. They trend to dry out faster and require more constant watering. Also the edges 6” near the wood become unusable. Mulch is great you need I think around 2” to be effective. There are myths about it sucking up nitrogen- fake news, based loosely on fact. That being said if you Mix a nitrogen source in it will break down into useful stuff faster. In case you don’t already notice the internet is a wasteland of information on gardening and all the content is a mirage , but there are a few oasis of information. https://www.gardenmyths.com/ Is fantastic The university extension information is interesting but hard to consume at a small scale. The rusted gardener YouTube is ok. There are a few other sites I found that’ we updated mid 2000s, but there is just an ocean of crap out there. If you find any gems let me know.