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James Ferguson Urban Farmer

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Our Recent Facebook Posts

Our Recent Facebook Posts

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To wick, or not to wick? Wicking beds aim to incr To wick, or not to wick? Wicking beds aim to increase food production, while using much less water than conventional raised garden beds. Think of a wicking bed as a giant self-watering plant pot. Water is drawn up into the soil via capillary action from a reservoir in the bottom of the wicking bed. Crates, tanks, baths, troughs, IBCs (intermediate bulk containers) and drums can all be used to create wicking beds. Timber raised garden beds or apple crates are also ideal for wicking bed projects. Are wicking beds worth it? At first glance, wicking beds seem very practical and an obvious choice for any gardener. If set up properly, they have a few specific advantages over standard raised garden beds. They: • require less water • keep soil moisture more consistent • reduce competition from large trees with invasive root systems. However, they also come with their own set of limitations, and generally I don’t see the need for using wicking beds to grow produce. I only recommend them in certain situations. Have a read of part four of the Vegetable Patch from Scratch series for more information on wicking beds and to decide whether they are right for you. ➡ https://leafrootfruit.substack.com/p/growing-vegetables-in-wicking-beds
My son Angus (age nine) is an enthusiastic young b My son Angus (age nine) is an enthusiastic young bloke, a bouncing ball of energy. And in July he was keen to use that energy to help me in the garden. Helping to cut back the herbaceous perennial plants suits his personality and channels the energetic urges that would otherwise be directed towards provoking his sister Emily (age six). He gets to be destructive but for a positive purpose. Winning fatherly praise for hacking something to bits – what’s not to like about that? Angus loves using the hedge trimmers or secateurs to give each plant a haircut. He follows my directions to cut the penstemons down to a third of their original size, and he lops the aster daisies at ground level. Dying rhubarb stalks are tugged free from the crown by hand. At the end of each tidied bed, together we stand back and admire our combined handiwork. The look of achievement on his face is priceless as he realises that he is contributing to the household chores. I can hear the sense of pride in his voice when he asks, “Which bed will we do next, Dad?”. Last week Angus trimmed back the old asparagus fronds. He top dressed the bed with some of the deep litter from the chicken run. This combination of wood chips and chicken manure is the perfect mulch for the asparagus plants. While snipping away at the dead foliage he noticed the tips of spears breaking through the soil surface. The signs that the lean period will soon end are showing in the asparagus patch. I should be able to harvest the first asparagus around mid-September, perhaps earlier the way this season is tracking. ➡ https://leafrootfruit.substack.com/p/how-to-grow-asparagus
If you have access to a greenhouse, or a very warm If you have access to a greenhouse, or a very warm, sunny spot indoors, then have a go at growing your tomatoes from seed this year. If you have a greenhouse, you can now consider getting a head start on your capsicum and eggplant seedlings. See my spring planting guide for more information on planning for the upcoming season. https://www.leafrootfruit.com.au/spring-planting-guide-for-melbourne/
👍Unintentionally avoiding a brassica glut To the 👍Unintentionally avoiding a brassica glut To the untrained eye, not much is happening in the vegetable patch at this time of the year. As per my harvest chart (see link below), I’m entering the lean time, a period where I rely heavily on brassicas for fresh vegetables. But this year, even they have deserted me. There are a few cabbages ready to be picked. But they’re languishing in the garden. No one wants to deal with the hundreds of tiny slugs that have bred up over the mild and wet winter and now infest every nook and cranny in those dense, wrinkled heads. The chickens are less discerning and eagerly get through a slug-filled cabbage head every few days. I’m still harvesting small side-shoots of broccoli, enough to contribute to a meal every day or so. But if I blink, those side shoots soon become bright yellow bee fodder. The broccoli harvest is rapidly grinding to a halt, and the caulis are long gone. Why no brassica glut this year? It’s a combination of factors. The mild, warm winter meant that succession crops one and two merged and I had an abundance of early winter brassicas. The seedlings of crop three were swamped with weeds (again thanks to the mild, wet winter), and before I managed to clear the weeds away from the seedlings, the slugs mowed most of the seedlings down. The few remaining plants in crop three are starting to produce, but they’re small and not overly productive. Thank goodness for stored carrots, pumpkins and potatoes, overwintering beets, and leafy greens such as silverbeet, celery, kale and lettuce. When we’ve eaten our way through those, it’s off to the local greengrocer! https://leafrootfruit.substack.com/p/asparagus-to-zucchini-harvest-chart
Darren’s dances of destruction have begun. This ye Darren’s dances of destruction have begun. This year, lettuce seedlings are Darren’s thing. Perhaps it’s because, thanks to my generous readers, I have so many lettuce seedlings in my garden. Good grief, Jen’s “Green Oakleaf”! Sue’s “All Year Round” strewn all around. And Stewart’s “Red Cos”, nipped off just because. Jeepers Darren, cut it out! On his first visit to my garden this season, while Narelle watched, Darren also clear-felled a medium sized silverbeet plant and gave a haircut to some wormwood. It was destined for a trim anyway, so no harm done there. But I’m lamenting the loss of the lettuces. Now I’ll need to sow another huge batch to grow on for seed as part of my lettuce landrace. Darren’s destruction will further delay sharing them with readers. I’m relieved that so far, touch wood, he hasn’t found the garlic or the daffs. But that’s only a matter of time. After Darren’s first visit, I upended some old wire baskets over the various garlic crops that make up round two of my garlic rust trials. Hopefully that will keep the cheeky, loved-up scallywag from ransacking them. Take that, Darren! This year, Darren is slightly early, and full of hormone fuelled energy. The destruction has already surpassed his efforts of last August. Last month I mentioned how enthusiastic the wood ducks were in searching for nest sites – far more so than in 2025. According to the birds, spring is well and truly in the air, and this year is going to a bumper breeding season. Read more about Darren and Narelle and my indicators that show spring is tracking early in my FREE August newsletter: ➡ https://leafrootfruit.substack.com/p/august-2026-planting-guide-and-garden
It’s a quiet month in the vegetable patch for me, It’s a quiet month in the vegetable patch for me, but I’ll focus on having everything ready to go when things begin to really ramp up in September. I’ll make time to admire my fruit tree espaliers, which show off their skeletons in stark relief against the winter sky at this time of the year. In some ways, it's my favourite time of year to observe them, when their carefully sculpted outlines are revealed. If you'd like to learn how to create your own living sculpture, some along to my espalier workshop this Friday, 7 August – there are still a few spots left. https://site.corsizio.com/event/6a163403ab66dc30049b0fe5
Your planting options are probably narrowest in Au Your planting options are probably narrowest in August. The soil temperature is low and the daylight hours are still short. I'd recommend that you put all your energy into preparing garden beds for spring planting and maybe starting some of your summer vegetables early, either inside or under glass. Here's my guide to some of the things you could consider planting this month in a warm temperate climate like Melbourne’s. My planting guide generally refers to vegetables planted in the garden (as opposed to a greenhouse). This planting may consist of seeds directly sown (my usual and preferred method) or plants transplanted as seedlings. My Vegetable Patch from Scratch series is popular with novice and seasoned gardeners alike. It covers everything you might want to know about growing vegetables. It could save you a bit of time and frustration by steering you away from preventable crop failures. https://leafrootfruit.substack.com/p/site-analysis-where-to-put-the-vegetable-patch
Isn’t it odd how it takes a fright to really motiv Isn’t it odd how it takes a fright to really motivate us. I’ve heard variations on “My husband has cancer, so we’ve decided to grow a vegetable garden and eat more healthily” over and over again. A huge percentage of my consultations are booked by folks who are making major lifestyle changes and want to start growing food. Often, it’s because of illness. Moving house is an obvious motivator to get stuck into gardening. So is retirement, or starting a new job, or going back to work after parental leave. But it comes down to suddenly having extra time, extra cash, or life-threatening motivation. Starting gardening, like starting running, needs a catalyst. “I have such fond memories of home-grown tomatoes in my grandparents’ garden. I’ve been meaning to plant some for years.” For many people, smelling and tasting home-grown produce triggers nostalgia. And for some, it’s enough of a trigger to start getting their own hands dirty. What about you, why do you garden? ➡ https://leafrootfruit.substack.com/p/why-do-you-garden
How big should your vegetable patch be? With the How big should your vegetable patch be? With the new planting season just around the corner, it’s time to start preparing garden beds. Perhaps you’re growing vegetables for the first time, or maybe you’re giving the patch an overhaul with some shiny new raised beds. How big should you make your new kitchen garden? “The bigger the better” is true for some folks, but not for everybody. The amounts of sunlight and shade you get will play a part in determining the answer. So too will the size of your property. But if you have plenty of sunny spaces to work with, then how big should you go? You have four resources to consider when planning your vegetable patch. Your budget for each of these should determine the size of your patch: • Sunny space • Time • Water • Money. Most folks focus on the available sunny space and completely neglect to consider or understand how time can affect their success. For me, water became the biggest limiting factor in my garden expansion. Have a read of part six of the Vegetable Patch from Scratch series for more information on the various resources and how to make sure your vegetable patch is just the right size. ➡ https://leafrootfruit.substack.com/p/what-size-should-your-vegetable-patch
I’ve always been a gardener. There are photos of m I’ve always been a gardener. There are photos of me as a four-year-old pottering in the garden. As a pimply teenager, I set up my own patch on the family farm, fenced it off from the cows and my sister’s horses and used my own pocket money to buy seedlings and seeds to plant it out. I’ve pottered with grow bags on London patios. And as a renter in Melbourne, I dabbled with making garden beds from timber pallets and growing trees in upcycled plastic beer kegs. Now my garden is one of the pillars on which I’ve built my life. No heath scares, no sudden revelations or dramatic catalysts required. I’m a gardener: always was, always will be. But what about you? Why do you garden? Can you spare a moment to help me with a little project that I'm working on? ➡ https://leafrootfruit.substack.com/p/why-do-you-garden
I succession plant my brassicas. Planting three cr I succession plant my brassicas. Planting three crops only three months apart usually spreads the harvest from April to October. This year didn’t go according to plan. The unusually warm autumn and early winter have accelerated the growth of all three crops. The harvest times of crops one and two merged. Fortunately, this year, I’ve further reduced the number of plants I’m growing, and the glut wasn’t as painful as it could have otherwise been. There has been plenty of broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower on our dinner plates. The Romanesco is slower to develop and is only just making an appearance. The timing of crop three was good this year, and the plants are right at the stage I’d like them to be. Unfortunately, in the chaos of rampant autumn growth, they became swamped with weeds. The slugs mowed most of the seedlings down and now I’m left with just a handful of plants. Between the heat and the slugs, the brassica harvest season will probably finish early this year. Given that the gluts from the last few years are still fresh in my mind, I’m not that worried about it. Succession planting: ➡ https://leafrootfruit.substack.com/p/succession-planting-avoiding-vegetable-gluts My annual harvest chart: ➡ https://leafrootfruit.substack.com/p/asparagus-to-zucchini-harvest-chart
Grow Great Tomatoes! I'm running a free workshop Grow Great Tomatoes! I'm running a free workshop this Thursday from 2 to 3 pm at Kyneton Library. Come along with all your tomato growing questions and say Hi. https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/grow-great-tomatoes-tickets-1988734222595
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