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Woodend PS – producing a bumper harvest with heirloom vegetables
10-03-2011Woodend Primary School's summer harvest this year was over 150 kg. Over the school holidays alone, their harvest was 100 kg! How did they do it? Monina Gilbey, Garden Specialist at Woodend, tells us how ...
As the Garden Specialist for Woodend PS, I've tried to experiment with different varieties of vegetables. Not only for taste and something different, but also to show students the variety of vegetables available - coloured carrots have been one of the most interesting for students who have only ever seen orange carrots.
This experimentation has led to a big surprise - the productivity rate of miniature vegetables can be very high. In the time it takes for normal-sized vegetables to grow, you could be harvesting multiple vegetables from your mini version. Our Jack B Little pumpkins and miniature eggplants have been star performers in our garden. From just five Jack B Little pumpkin plants we have harvested 20 kg, and from four miniature eggplants we have harvested 10 kg. We have more miniature eggplants that are now fruiting, so our harvest continues.
We planted tomatoes in the garden in late October, from seedlings grown a month beforehand. There is such a wide variety of tomatoes that it's worth trying as many different varieties as possible. We are growing Yellow Pear, Red Fig, Tigerella, Roma and Burke's Backyard tomatoes. Our tomato harvest so far has been nearly 40 kg.
We planted mixed potatoes and kipflers in our garden in August last year, in three 1m2 beds. In the summer holidays, we harvested 22 kg of a variety of potatoes: kipflers, pontiacs and purple congoes (a purple-fleshed potato).
In my own garden at home, we have been growing Marketmore cucumbers. From one vine, which is growing vertically, we have harvested 10 cucumbers and the vine is still going without any sign of slowing down - and no signs of powdery mildew either.
Buying different varieties doesn't always translate to a bumper harvest. One of my most unusual finds was a white-skinned cucumber with black spines. The seller called it ‘Mrs Stevenson's' cucumber after the woman who gave him the seeds. Unfortunately it hasn't been a very vigorous producer - we have only had two cucumbers from one vine (however this could be a problem with the growing conditions and not the seeds, as the cucumber is growing near our super zucchini).
We planted our super zucchini before school finished last year. What's a super zucchini I hear you ask? It is one zucchini plant that has produced 20 kg. How? We're not sure. The zucchini was planted on its own near a crop of corn. Maybe the corn is providing the plant with shade from the afternoon sun, or helping create a microclimate, or maybe we've just grown a triffid (!) - we don't know. What we will do though, is save some seed and see whether we can repeat the same harvest next year - we'll let you know!
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Jack B Little pumpkins are small, yellow pumpkins, about 10-15 cm in diameter. They grow as quickly as squash and can be used in the kitchen the same as squash.
Miniature eggplants are harvested when they are around 15 cm long. The plants are very vigorous producers. At times they can have up to 20 fruit. Eggplants can be treated as perennials - a tip from our Deputy Principal whose father was a market gardener. Last year we cut back four of our eggplants that, when they came back into production early in the season, gave us an early crop.
Sourcing seed: I often buy seeds from Diggers Club and The Lost Seed. Another option is to buy seeds online in auction houses and other personal selling sites. There are people all over Australia who have all sorts of rare, heritage seeds. Explore the options to see what you can find.
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