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Deni had a B&B and Farmstay just out of Armidale, NSW and wanted to cook fresh, organic vegetables for her guests. As Deni came from Melbourne, the climate was quite different to the one in which she grew up.
A wall chart with 'When to Plant What' started her thinking, and planning, but she found she
was accumulating jars of seeds everywhere, and some were named and some weren't. Also, she
found that when she had 1/2 hour to spare to plant some veg, she quite often didn't have the
seeds.
Getting the seeds in the next week, Deni would often see them on the kitchen bench and say
"I must plant those this weekend." How often have we said that!
The next stage was putting
them in a safe place to plant the next weekend. What does that mean? It means 'out of sight,
out of mind', and the vegetable planting season quite often was nearly over before the seeds
would finally find paydirt!
To avoid this, and to have an easy filing system for seeds, and to incorporate companion
planting in order not to have to spray, the Seed Bible came into existance, along with 'The Box'.
It was extremely difficult to find someone in Australia to make a box the way we wanted it. Initially we used a blue box from China. The dividers and plastic 'sides' were made in Sydney. We really wanted a purely Australian product and I am pleased to announce that we have been helped in producing our new Plant-a-Genda box by the staff at Glama Pak, in Sydney. They have gone out of their way to work out how to achieve the best box, at the lowest price, without compromise, and with the environment strongly in mind. This box is now available. It is yellow, longer than the old one, and has corrugated cardboard inserts instead of the plastic sides. This one doesn't have a lid, as that would have added too much to the cost, and I don't believe it is necessary.
As I designed the box for maximum length that would still fit into a postpack it is longer than the old box. You might like to re-inforce the box if you are collecting lots and lots of seeds. If you would like more information about this, please email me on deni@plantagenda.com.au
We found that as Armidale has such a comparatively short season in Autumn and Winter, that Winter is a time for rejuvenating your garden beds, and sitting down to work out what seeds you want, based on what you prefer to eat. However, even in a Cold Climate, you can still plant and grow some veg - they just grow a bit more slowly.
Regardless of where you live, you'll have to add compost, vermiculite, blood & bone, charcoal,[and green manure if you can] to your beds before you do a new planting. This recipe is listed in full in the CD-ROM [if you get the PLANT-A-GEN!US] or I can give you the recipe if you email me for it. You can also make a plan of your garden bed/s, and using the companion planting guide, work out what you can plant in that bed, the next time. It is not rocket science!
[Deni says that she has yet to meet a gardener who knows everything, and she is no exception.
However, if you need information, Deni vows to find it out for you, one way or another!]
..And Happy Eating!
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