EDITOR’S LETTER
Robbers in the night
W
hen I saw the price of broccoli at the green grocers, I realised just how rich a taste the pest who ate my seedlings had. I’m not actually sure if it was snails, a bandicoot, cutworm (see ‘Action’ on page 61) or some other culprit, but I’m very upset with them. Partly I’m to blame. I rarely bother with pest deterrents, apart from vegie net to keep white cabbage moths off my broccoli and kale, so when my first planting of broccoli disappeared in the night I didn’t fuss too much. But when my second planting, this time of nursery-bought sprouting broccoli seedlings also started being eaten, I was definitely miffed. It’s always a good time to plant your own vegies and herbs, but right now there is the extra incentive (and for some, necessity) to produce our own food given the skyrocketing price of fresh produce. That garden bed of eight seedlings was worth a fortune! I’m going to have a third attempt, but this time I’ll enact a range of preventative measures, from polypipe seedling protectors with copper around them, to natural snail deterrents and the vegie net. Back in Issue 99 of OG, Paul West wrote an article, ‘Getting Pragmatic’,* which looked at the true costs of growing your own food. As to whether it was worth the time, effort and cost, his answer was an emphatic YES, although he did emphasise simple ways to save on costs (growing from seed) and maximise benefits (grow what you love to eat). At the time, Paul said that based on the recommended intake of vegies, a family of four buying organic produce would spend $50 or more a week or around $2600 a year. This cost would be much, much higher now. And looking at the costs for setting up a modest veg and herb patch of 12sqm (which can supply a family of four with vegies for a year), annual expenses were around $500. Taking into account some crop failures (and
pests eating your crops!), that’s a whopping saving of around $2000! Probably more like $3000 now. And that’s not to mention the benefits of being outdoors, the satisfaction of growing your own food without sprays, and the freshness of produce picked just before eating. One fantastic crop to grow yourself is potatoes. You just need to get some certified disease-free seed potatoes and prepare a garden bed or even a grow bag, and away you go. By chance it is Paul West again who tells you how to get started with potatoes and all the best varieties for use in the kitchen, whether for salads, mashing or baking. We also have a follow-up citrus article to last issue. This time Helen McKerral is looking at how to set your citrus up for success – starting with preparing the planting hole well, and general care. Also, Helen has drawn up a comprehensive citrus problem-solver chart with all the problems and solutions. And Jian Liu is back with firsthand know-how on growing crops in greenhouses that will see cool climate gardeners in particular expanding the growing season of many vegies.
*Read Paul’s article at: organicgardener.com.au/ articles/true-cost-of-growing-your-own-food
organicgardener.com.au
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