Bed preparation and growing media guide By Fiona Buining, Ainslie Urban Farm. Introduction Preparing garden beds before planting is very important. The soil is a living ecosystem that when well …

Growing Guide Series – Bed Preparation

Broccoli
Growing Broccoli Introduction Broccoli is a member of the Brassica family along with brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and rocket. It is an annual plant which can be planted as …

Potatoes
Growing Potatoes Potatoes come in two main types – determinate and indeterminate. Determinate potatoes are varieties with tubers that grow in just one layer. For this reason, the plants do not …

Tomatoes
Article: Andy Hrast (COGS Quarterly – Summer 2021) History The tomato is the edible berry (it’s technically a berry rather than fruit) of the plant Solanum lycopersicum, commonly known as …

Growing rockmelon from seed
Article and photos: Greta Nielsen (COGS Quarterly – Spring 2021) The sweetest rockmelons I’ve ever tasted in my life were grown in the deserts of far western China and Kazakhstan, …

How To Grow A Cabbage
Article: Jackie French (Canberra Organic – Spring 1995) I fell in love with cabbages the day I realised they didn’t have to be boiled. That was in the sixties, when …

Swedes (with recipes)
Article and illustrations: Marjatta Asa (COGS Quarterly – Winter 1994) From a talk given by Marjatta at the February (1994) meeting. Swedes aren’t turnips, or are they? Yes, swedes are …

The Challenge of Growing Onions
Article and illustrations: Michelle Johnson (COGS Quarterly – Winter 1994) Onions are one of those crops often overlooked by gardeners to whom gardening means sun-ripened tomatoes and golden corn, yet …

Sugar Snap Pea
Article: Traudi Kalivoda and Mary Flowers (COGS Quarterly – Summer 1993) The sugar snap pea is a wonderful vegetable – easy to grow, productive and tasty. Eaten fresh from the …

Kohlrabi
Article: Traudi K (COGS Quarterly – August 1993) Kohlrabi is a cool weather crop but tolerates heat well. Although available plants or seeds are mostly of the purple variety, the …