when and where to plant what how?

[makehumusnotwar]

can anyone point me in the direction of a good planting calendar? specifically for sub-tropical climates as i'm se qld.
got my beds almost finished but don't know what to put where and when.

at least empty beds require zero watering and pests don't seem to be a problem. they've all starved to death.

also, who uses direct sowing, and who prefers planting seedlings? why? how is direct sowing achieved in a raised-bed well-mulched garden?

[muttabuttasaurus]

I think Green Harvest probably carry a poster with a yearly guide to planting in the subtropics, or they may know who has one. But I would tend to ignore conventional wisdom as far as this goes and try to plant to microclimate. Especially if frost isn't much of a problem. Maybe don't go overboard on things like tomatoes in sumer where fruitflies will be a problem, but no harm in throwing out a few seeds is there?
As for zero watering, remember the microorganisms that make healthy soil won't want to dry out completely. But then you live in a place where it rains probably. Lucky you.

[Mont]

Humus, you can get a good planting calendar from this bloke in your area. The 2002 price was $7.50 including postage:
Thomas Zimmer, Mt Cougal Rd, Tallebudgera Valley, 4228.
It's detailed and looks attractive on the wall.

Mont

[Chook Nut]

Hi Humus,

Let me congratulate you for living in a great climate such as ours

Seriously, to answer your Q's i should be able to help you here a bit. Djanbung Gardens Permaculture Education Centre in Nimbin NSW has a planting calender that i use for the Subtropics.(a nice poster with Celtic decorations which you can get laminated and stick on the wall of your study or shed) What i like about this one is that it takes into account fruit and bushfoods at the same time.

I think one of the things we are soo lucky with here in Qld is the fruit we can produce all year round. This calender can help with species that can provide a harvest for each month of the year; which i feel Permaculture helps teaches us to think about.(at least thats what my Permie teacher taught me). :p

I like your Q on direct sowing. I do a mix of both direct sowing and planting of seedlings. Direct sowing is dead cheap! full stop. Seedlings are great for taking 4 weeks of work out of the equation when youre busy doing other things.(or the seeds you have sown didnt germinate!) I feel as though i am still learning with direct sowing. What i do is try to simplify what works best. eg. Amaranth (for the chooks) and Basil are dead easy to self sow and seed, and you can get a virtual year round harvest depending on where you sow them in your garden. I have been here 6mths now and am on my 2nd lot of both of these which are self sown and which i spread out to other parts of my garden just by rubbing the seed heads between my hands and doing nothing else. This way you know what ever comes up has done so b/c it can handle the place and soil youve sowed it in!

With your empty beds you have excellent opportunity. Most of my vegies are done in raised beds just b/c its easy and means you dont have to do much digging. I also grow a mix of grains in raised beds in my chook runs(you can sow a green manure)these have only received rain once in the last 6 weeks(2mm!) and just got some more today(bout 5mm but havent checked the gauge). I havent watered any of these and now heads of Sorghum, Corn and Rye are going nuts!(the seeds germinated in the 40+ degree heat we had). The hardest decision i made in doing this was to decide not to do anything and just see what happens; after all outback districts dont get that much rain yet still produce harvests of wheat etc!

So, to finish off this..... go for it.... just see what works and doesnt. Your local produce store has pretty cheat seed, so experiment and see what works and what doesnt.

I made this a bit long winded to give a bit of detail to prove that things that we havent tried b4 can work, and successfully. My chooks cant reach the heads of the grain now so the barrier is removed and they can all but drool for their future feed :p

Good luck.... Dave

[makehumusnotwar]

thanx again dave, and everyone else. yes i agree, the subtropics do have a lot going for them. much better than the moody melbourne weather i just came from.

i'm starting off planting with trying to get perennials and pest-deterrent plants established first, such as loads of diverse herbs. this should offer better survival rates for everything else planted later. i have found a few different calenders, and picked up one from brisbane organic growers the other day. though, like mutta said, microclimates vary significantly and can go against general rules for an area - to differing degrees. for instance, our block is on a ridge, in a large ampitheatre shape facing northwest. we're not quite on the coast and not quite in the hinterland. completely protected from southerly and coastal wind, not prone to frost. so, our microclimate is rather different from our neighbours on the other side of the ridge.

at the end of the day, i think it comes down to observation, research, design, then trial and error.

[Tezza]

:O Hello I must agree with prev post,Also adding that if you dont put any seads into or onto the ground youll never find out anything.Every single area is totally different from the next place ...Just look over my 3 back suburban fences Over 30 fruit/nut species in my garden 1/4 acre just Old rundown natives all sides except my neighber who inherited fruit trees,but is moving soon to his own acreage if you dont sow seads you dont get any thing growing.Nature has its own way of deciding what/when is germination time etc etc.
To change an often quoted quote (the grass is greener on the other side of the fence),to my saying "The Grass is allways deader on the other side of the fence" NOT that im advocating grass growing!!!!
bye Tezza
:cool:

[Chook Nut]

Hi humus,

You will like Brisbane Organic Growers, its just too far for me to go now. The president, Rita, is a cracker and good to talk to. I think its Peter who is the fruit and veg expert, if youre new to our climate he has excellent advise and can give great advise when to plant things that wont be susceptible to temperature and disease(thats what i found).

If you join, they have a good library to borrow books from, and the newsletter is pretty good too. They also have a stand at the Northey Street markets also.

The only problem i found with them was that if they had 2 speakers on the same night it could drag on!

Cheers.... Dave

[John]

Fly High and Be!!!!!!!!!