Spinifex garden pictorial - regular updates

I have to admit that when I hear of a food plant that grows out of control, my first thoughts are that if I plant it once I might have it forever - so a good source if food long term. (But also to be careful of course and put it somewhere contained so it doesn’t cause problems.)

I know someone who complains that she can’t get rid of her artichokes - she planted them many years ago and tried to pull them all up every year, but every year gets a beautiful crop. They sound worthwhile to plant from my point of view!

Where I am water spinach can never get invasive. Far, far too dry. I grow mine in a big plastic tub just so I can keep the soil nice and wet, not to stop it spreading.

I do have asparagus as a weed and used to have mint as a weed too. Tomatoes and potatoes are garden weeds at my place too.

Tomatoes: I planted mine from seed, 6 in a high sided recycling tub (I think there are pictures in this thread).  It grows well in summer if you do these things:

Keep the soil very moist and periodically flood.  I apply a 3-4 cm layer of water in the tub every 2-3 days.
I sprinkle in a handful of urea once a fortnight - it needs heaps of nitrogen and if you don't supply it the plants grow much slower, go paler green and lose their softness.  
Once a month during the growing season I give it soluable trace elements and some SOA for the sulphur + nitrogen.  Any plant that uses lots of nitrogen also needs a good supply of sulphur so it can use that nitrogen to make growth. Without it, it will still show nitrogen deficiency symptoms.

Our mains water naturally has a fair bit of calcium and magnesium dissolved in it ... but in other places a sprinkling of epsom salts mixed with gypsum at the start of the growing season will supply these nutrients: Which it will also use a lot of.

I would avoid growing in tubs using potting mix bought from shops ... that stuff is composted organic matter mixed with sand and it will leach nutrients like crazy.  9 parts fine sand to 1 part Bentonite Kitty litter might work quite well.  I only use drift soil in my containers.  Perhaps you could find away to get hold of some river silt? 

New greenhouse we built at the farm we rent.  
each side panel is a seperate component and the whole thing can be reduced to panels by removing 8 bolts and the roof sheets.  Makes it easy to move to a new place when I get around to buying a property again.

I'm growing plants in square 20l drums with the tops cut off that I get for free.  
The soil I put in the drums is really nice drift soil mined from along paddock fence lines.  Great combination of water and nutrient holding capacity and still drains well and doesn't hard set.  

Setting up irrigation for it this week.  

Looks good but i would pitch that roof slightly if it not already, doesn't look like it from photo.

Its been a while ... time for an update.
Click on images to enlarge.
The first image is green beans grown in pots.  They did ok ... but I wouldn't do it again.
Next (moving right) is the greenhouse and pots moved 50km from where it started out. And I've figured out how to get a lot more productivity out of the system.
Species that do well in pots in a greenhouse in my location (Eyre Peninsula) and are econimically useful are: Asian eggplants, bullhorn capsicums, cherry tomatoes, lebanese cucumbers, thai basil, sweet basil, lemon thyme and snake beans.  I suspect blue lake climbing beans would also be good ... but I had real trouble with my attempt which I put down to the soil I used not suiting them at all.
3rd image is a Rouge de Marmand tomato that I grew from seed.  (still at the old location) It went very well in the greenhouse.  After the move it lived on the front porch (3rd image from last) propped against the railings for support.  It has already produced about a dozen big, delicious fruit and there is a steady stream of green fruit developing size and colour.  This one plant produces enough fruit to satisfy all our needs for slicing and dicing (2-3 fruit per week).
4th image is the young snake beans.  They are like triffids.  I sowed 5 beans in the pot, all came up and took off like rockets.  I discovered I had to give them LOTS of fertiliser once they started pod set.  Otherwise they show deficiencies.  This pot has produced a couple of kilo of beans already.  The original growth is dying back, but additions of fertiliser have enabled it to re-shoot vigorously from the lower parts,  and it is again setting a new flush of pods.  
5th image is one of my tiawanese eggplants.  They do Very Well in pots in a greenhouse.  Have harvested a few kilo of fruit from them and they just keep setting more.  
6th image is cherry tomatoes. They started life in my loungeroom.  put them in the greenhouse after the move.  The first growth has produced a couple of kilo of fruit and is dying back.  New growth and flowers and fruit are being generated from the lower parts so looks like they will produce consistently into Autumn.
7th image is Thai eggplant.  Another good performer but not as good a yield as the long purple.
8th image is bullhorn capsicums.  These are Very productive.
9th image is a lebanese cucumber.  The originals I planted did not do well.  I changed the soil in the pot to a lovely red drift soil, mixed lucerne chaff, super and trace elements through it and planted these from seed about a month ago.  They are now also trifids.  flowering and fruiting like crazy.  
10th image is the rouge de Marmande mentioned earlier.  Its a winner.
11th image is the Asian water spinach which started out in the greenhouse but left it outside after the move.  I harvest a big bunch (400g) every week.  
The final image is selection of harvested product.  Less than a typical days pickings. We eat a lot of asian food so its good to grow our own ingredients ... we never have these varieties in the shops around these parts.

Also, the heat treated honey left over from processing the wax, is great for the garden. Dilute with water and just pour on. The bees will eventually p.ss off when they realize there is nothing edible there, just a smell of honey.






The word camera comes from the term camera obscura which means dark room.

Looks great but I can't see a door so how do you get in?   Or do you take a panel off when you need to get in?

Well ... At my new long-term home I'm having my A$$ handed to me by a new set of growing conditions. I've had really good growth of snow pea plants but the pods are being constantly damaged by light frosts. The frosts are perfectly spaced to damage every new flush of flowers and pod set.

I've installed overhead sprinklers that go off 4 times every night from 2am to 6am but the frosts are still getting to the plants.

I'm now puzzling out a new solution to the winter/early spring conditions here by making frames out of 3/4 inch pvc pipe with clear plastic stretched over them. Basically giant cloches.