One of our house’s previous owners had created a small square of beach. With apologies to my future offspring, this sandpit looked like an ideal raised bed for vegetables, in an accessible and sunny spot. There was just a simple swap needed from sand to soil.
I filled about twenty sandbags at the height of summer and humped them up the slope and under the house. Peeling back the sheet at the bottom of the sandpit, I made the dispiriting discovery there was a generous layer of pea gravel to shift too. Twenty more bags and a backache later, the rock-hard soil was revealed. Yet more bags – much bigger ones full of compost and veggie mix and mulch – were hauled up from the street. Finally the planting began.
Knowing precisely nothing about growing food, I digested The Edible Backyard and picked up some seedlings. Nothing exotic: a row of carrots, a row of broccoli and a row of marigolds to keep them company.
I hadn’t read whatever paragraph mentioned thinning the carrots, so we ended up with contorted clumps of miscellaneous sizes. The tops had also been out in the sun and developed a chlorophyll hat. They were undeniably carrots though. Success! They’re the dog’s favourite snack, and their imperfections weren’t important to him. He even sniffed out the rejects from the garden bin for a late afternoon snack.
Early on in the broccolis’ life, I went outside on a damp night to find snails slithering about and feasting on the leaves. Once a deterrent was added against these slippery invaders, the brassicas became brilliant. The first head has just made the short journey from ex-sandpit to dinner plate and was declared delicious.
The winter crop of broad beans and beetroot are now underway, and I’m excited about creating tasty (but probably wonky) treats all year round.
kōwhai 