Preparing the wintergarden; advice needed please

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by Ellen, Mar 8, 2012.

  1. Ellen

    Ellen Junior Member

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    Hi all,

    Fall is approaching here in Africa and I want to start preparing for the wintergarden. Now I started a garden at home in Spetember last year, and also at several schools here, and we did the layering type of beds. That means that they are full of organic material and compost now, soooo nice.
    But, I have been reading that carrots and beetroots, root veggies, that grow here in winter, do not like to much compost rich soil, as they tend to fork, or grow leaves rather than roots.
    How do I prepare beds for te root veggies, at the same place now?

    I truly hope to get some help here...:clap:

    Thanks a lot!
     
  2. Pakanohida

    Pakanohida Junior Member

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    Heavy heavy amounts of mulch is my best advice. Does it really matter if your carrot forks? Does it change the flavor?

    Did you know your beet root greens are edible?
     
  3. Ellen

    Ellen Junior Member

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    Thanks Pakanohida, yes we do eat the greens, like a spinach. I
    Of course forked carrots are still edible, but, well. I'd like to them to be not forked....

    Anybody else who has more info on this? PLEASE!!!!!
     
  4. pippimac

    pippimac Junior Member

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    Ellen, I'd like to get a bit of an idea of your local conditions before making any recommendations; my climate's temperate and relatively moist, so my experiences may be pretty much irrelevant.
    Can you fill me in a bit on your local climate? I read some conflicting info:think:
    It looks like the N-E is quite tropical. How much rain in summer? Winter?
    Heat-average temps day/night in winter?

    The root crops you mention are generally adapted to cool climates. Does anyone around you grow the plants you're interested in successfully and without loads of extra inputs like water?
    If not, I suggest finding out what thrives locally. If you aren't fond of it, try out plants you like that have similar cultural requirements.
     
  5. Ellen

    Ellen Junior Member

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    Hi Pippimac, thanks for the reply. In Namibia people love carrots, onions and other root crops. We are preparing for the winter garden and then the root veggies do well. Our climate ranges from sub-tropical to desert. In summer we have temps going up to 40 degrees C with normally good rainfall - between 500 and 1200mm rain per rainseason (from november - april). In winter no rain, full sunny days and day temperatures of between 18-25 degrees C, although winds can be chilly. At night temperature drop, and for some nights we go below 0 C, up to -5 or so.
    Water is ofcourse the issue, and although it's most of the time available, it must come from the tap.
    Permaculture here is very unknown and people tend to plant root veggies in sandy soil, needing a lot of water, using chemical fertilizer etc, just the conventional way, which we don't want to follow. We prepared layered beds last spring, with lots of mulch and manure, turning into compost now, beautiful, bit if it's really suitable for root crops, I don't know. Thanks for your interest!
     
  6. pippimac

    pippimac Junior Member

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    I'd just go for it! This is a general plan for how I grow carrots/beets.
    As far as I know, too much nitrogen is the main reason why root crops fork, get 'hairy' and grow tops, not bottoms. Nitrogen doesn't stick around long in the soil, so unless it's been reasonably recently added in manure, grass etc, your gardens may be high in OM, but not necessarily nitrogen.
    Beetroot are easy: I poke the seed quite deep in staggered blocks (like the 5 ona die, if you know what I mean).I think the seeds are called 'cluster seeds' and the clumps of seedlings need to be thinned.
    Carrots are harder. Fresh seed's the key; germination goes down really fast, especially if heat/light's involved.
    I clear off mulch, scratch up the surface and sprinkle carrot seed thinly in a block.
    Seed must have good soil contact to germinate. It's traditional to gently thump a brick or something over seed. Carrots take a while to germinate; I cover the seed with hessian sacks and water through them. It's vital the seed doesn't dy out and germination can take a couple of weeks, so water/cover is important.
    Uncover as soon as they appear (not just before it gets hot!)
    Thin them brutally.
    Carrots need regular watering.
     
  7. Pakanohida

    Pakanohida Junior Member

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