Vegetable Patch from Scratch Series Index

A list of all the topics I cover in my guide to growing vegetables.

About the Vegetable Patch from Scratch series

Who knew there was so much to learn about growing vegetables?

Welcome to the gardening series Vegetable Patch from Scratch.

This serialised gardening guide is designed to help everyone from complete novices to seasoned gardeners to get more productivity from your vegetable patch with less effort.

It covers everything you might want to know about growing vegetables, including:

• working out where to put your patch

• how to set it up

• planting and tending your crops

• common problems

• harvesting and preserving.

I’ve decided to start living my dream of writing and producing all kinds of helpful guides and information using my experiences in growing food. In early 2023, I wound back most services that the Leaf, Root & Fruit gardening and education business offers. Now writing is my main occupation, and this series, Vegetable Patch from Scratch, is part of that change.

Paying subscribers support me to produce carefully researched information designed to help you in your garden. I’ve set my monthly subscription rate at $8.

That’s the same price as a Gardening Australia magazine. But I’ll answer every one of your questions, and it will be a lot faster than writing a letter to the editor.

Who knew there was so much to learn about growing vegetables? 

Here’s my index for “Vegetable Patch from Scratch”. It’s comprehensive – but there’s sure to be something I’ve missed. Let me know in the comments!

Index

PART 1: Site analysis and where to put the vegetable patch: sunlight and access

PART 2: Site analysis and where to put the vegetable patch: microclimates

PART 3: Growing vegetables in raised beds

PART 4: Growing vegetables in wicking beds

PART 5: Growing vegetables in the ground

PART 6: What size should your vegetable patch be?

PART 7: Soil preparation

PART 8: Using compost in the vegetable patch

PART 9: Phenology and seasonal gardening influences

PART 10: Recording garden observations

PART 11: What vegetables should you plant and grow?

PART 12: Planting vegetables: How to get the timing right?

PART 13: Succession planting and avoiding gluts in the garden

PART 14: Making an early start to extend the growing season

PART 15: Greenhouses and other equipment for extending the season

PART 16: Vegetable patch watering and irrigation systems

PART 17: Mulching the vegetable patch

PART 18: Crop rotation

PART 19: Companion planting

PART 20: Vegetable patch layout and spacing

PART 21: Trellis systems for the vegetable patch

PART 22: Selecting seeds to grow

PART 23: Planting vegetable seeds: sowing directly

PART 24: Sowing seeds in ports or punnets for transplanting later

PART 25: Transplanting seedlings

PART 26: Common pests of the vegetable patch

PART 27: Pest control methods: when the ecosystem tips too far out of balance

PART 28: Common diseases of the vegetable patch

PART 29: Common nutrient deficiencies of the vegetable patch

PART 30: Common problems in the vegetable patch

PART 31: Harvesting fresh produce

PART 32: Storage options for fresh produce

PART 33: Seed saving: what varieties to save seeds from

PART 34: How to save seeds for planting next year

PART 35: How to test the germination rate of your saved seeds and store them

PART 36: Preserving excess produce: drying

PART 37: Preserving excess produce: making passata

PART 38: Preserving excess produce: pickling

PART 39: Bedding down for winter: growing a green manure crop

What’s missing? What section did you most enjoy reading? Share your feedback in the comments section.

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