Vegetable Gardening Club

[Trusylver]

I am not a great gardener, however being able to grow some of your own food is budget friendly and a way to always have nutritious fresh food available.

Although most of us are from a wide range of climates I would like to use this club to help each other grow healthy food for a healthier diet.

 

[Trusylver]

I have been looking for some new options for the garden, and have decided to plant some pigeon peas

Nutrition
Pigeon Pea, raw Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz):
Energy 1,436 kJ (343 kcal)
Carbohydrates 63 g
- Sugars 0
- Dietary fiber 15 g
Fat 1 g
Protein 22 g
Water 10.6 g
Vitamin A equiv. 18.6 μg (2%)
Thiamine (vit. B1) 0.6 mg (52%)
Riboflavin (vit. B2) 0.2 mg (17%)
Niacin (vit. B3) 3.0 mg (20%)
Pantothenic acid (B5) 1.3 mg (26%)
Vitamin B6 0.3 mg (23%)
Folate (vit. B9) 456 μg (114%)
Vitamin C 0 mg (0%)
Vitamin E 0 mg (0%)
Vitamin K 0 μg (0%)
Calcium 130 mg (13%)
Iron 5.2 mg (40%)
Magnesium 183 mg (52%)
Phosphorus 367 mg (52%)
Potassium 1392 mg (30%)
Zinc 2.8 mg (29%)

 

[Llama]

Are those the numbers for dried or rehydrated? Either way that's a LOT of protein.

 

[Trusylver]

they are basically a dryish pea when they get harvested from the tree, they are supposed to have a very high yield over 2 years but produce for up to 5 years, yes very high protein, so great for the vegetarians here, I am not vegetarian but still appreciate the high protein.

I have been reading that people will put them in the oven on a lowish heat setting enough to fully dry them before storing.

Being in a sub tropical climate I have the right growing conditions, they are grown a lot in India and Africa.

 

[Llama]

I´d never heard of them before; always happy to learn about new things!

 

[Trusylver]

I need to try new things, my climate and growing conditions are not good for most Veg so in addition to building wicking beds for traditional veg I am trolling through perma-culture sites looking for ideas for veg that suits where I live better and will produce with less expense, working with the environment rather than against it. The other benefit of this pea is the tree puts nitrogen into the soil and is good for animal feed and mulch.

Our chook yard is empty at the moment and the fence needs fixing, so will be planting the trees in the enclosure to keep the young plants from getting eaten by kangaroos, then when the trees are a little bigger ( full height is 3-4 metres) and the hole in the fence fixed, we will put chickens back in the yard.

 

[Trusylver]

Growing Pigeon Peas, An Incredibly Versatile Permaculture Plant

A link to some more info on the pigeon pea

 

[liza]

Very cool about the pigeon pea! I don't think they would do well in my climate but will research more. But yes, peas in general excellent for fixing nitrogen and my protein powder is based in pea protein!
I am looking to improve my soil quality here. i do a lot of permaculture techniques including making my own natural fertilizer using plants that grow in my yard, and planting cover crops that act as a green manure. I try to keep my gardening cheap and try to grow plants that naturally do well, and grow an abundance easily. Kale and green beans are a constant for me.
Love that you're doing wicking beds-- I learned about those last year.

 

[Llama]

That´s a great link: they´re nice-looking plants as well.

 

[LittleMinx]

My husband and I love to garden Most years we get a huge number of tomatoes and zucchini, and we usually do pretty good with beans, peas, beets and turnips. Spinach and Swiss chard grow well too in our garden, but we sometimes face invasion from a raccoon family!

 

[alligatorob]

Yesterday I had spaghetti squash and tomatoes from our garden, today the same and am planning to eat more tomatoes for dinner. Probably go okra hunting also.

 

[LittleMinx]

Yesterday I had spaghetti squash and tomatoes from our garden, today the same and am planning to eat more tomatoes for dinner. Probably go okra hunting also.

Nice! Our squash aren’t anywhere near ready to pick.

 

[alligatorob]

Our squash aren’t anywhere near ready to pick.

Here is a picture of one of ours about ready to pick. A zucchini too. While taking these I harvested a few okra and ate them right away, gone too quickly to photograph!

 

[Trusylver]

Got the rotary hoe out this afternoon, started first pull despite sitting under the house for almost a year without use. soil is looking better than expected in the chook pen, but still lots to do before planting but at least it is some progress.

 

[alligatorob]

Got the rotary hoe out this afternoon, started first pull despite sitting under the house for almost a year without use. soil is looking better than expected in the chook pen, but still lots to do before planting but at least it is some progress.

Good for you! And it looks like you had help.

 

[Llama]

Got the rotary hoe out this afternoon, started first pull despite sitting under the house for almost a year without use. soil is looking better than expected in the chook pen, but still lots to do before planting but at least it is some progress.

That´s the cutest, most enthusiastic gardener I´ve ever seen off tv Sorry Rob, but the squash can´t compete.

 

[Trusylver]

I just ordered a selection of seeds online after an unsuccessful search in town including

a tropical hardy variety of passionfruit to grow on the chook yard fence
Comfrey seed to grow along the outside of the chook yard
Bulk supply of buckwheat for green coverage and chook food to be planted in chook yard
Pigeon pea seeds for in the chook yard and to plant as a protective row for young fruit trees as I attempt to establish young trees
More Wormwood seeds for chook and peacock yards

For my cottage herb patch next to the shed, Valerian, Chamomile and catnip.

I was able to get the stuff I need to build the in garden worm farm for the wicking bed, including the worms

 

[Trusylver]

I have enough worms to compost up to 500 grams of vegetable scraps per day once the worms are settled in. A worm farm this size should last in position for around 2 years before moving to another location.

 

[Llama]

Looking good. Little Miss is so cute! I may not do my own gardening but right now I have access to my parents' fresh tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, red kuri squash (first ones just ripening), blueberries, strawberries, physalis, green beans, onions, leeks... and whatever I'm forgetting. The forest has plenty of blackberries, too.

 

[liza]

Lovely pictures @Trusylver ! Your garden plans sound great. Are the worms you got red wrigglers or just regular earth worms? I'm thinking of doing a red wriggler box as they break down food so fast. i had a box before in a previous apartment and was impressed by their efficiency.
And @LaMaria, your parents place sounds like a piece of paradise!!

I am getting pretty excited about some plans I am making to improve life for the blueberry bushes here. They weren't planted in the best place when they were put in about 5 years ago (by my landlords) They don't really ever produce anything...so I want to move them in the fall or spring and have been making plans for their new location based on research on the internet. It will include moving them to a sunnier location, having a bed allocated for acidic plants, and improving the soil in general in that bed.
I'm ordering a soil testing kit as well so that I can regularly test the soil around here to see what's going on both for the Ph levels but also the nitrogen and phosphorous levels. I'm excited about that as much of the soil here does need improving and it will give me a better idea of what I'm working with. Also ordered some winter field peas for a green manure/cover crop and will interplant that with the redclover that I already have around the property.