This page offers an overview of the layout of my Urban Food Garden. The photos were taken in December 2020. The Garden is in Ballarat, a regional city in Victoria, Australia.
Photo of the garden. The block is 1,100 square metres with the house right at the front, which allows for a very large area in the backyard to grow food.
Arial view of the half of the food garden backyard closest to the house.
Arial view of the second half of the food garden closest to the back fence.
The main vegetable patch. A combination of raised and wicking beds. The paths are covered with granite sand.
Vegetable processing bench. The green drum is a dipping drum used to fill my watering can. The blue sealed drum with a tap on it is filled with liquid fertiliser. The sink is used for washing vegetables.
Interior of the main greenhouse. In summer usually grow capsicum, chilli, eggplant, cucumber, tomatoes, lemongrass, and basil.
Compost bins in the main chicken run. I find I get much better compost due to the chickens constantly scratching at the compost material.
Potting bench (LEFT) and storage bays (RIGHT) for storing bulk animal manure and straw bales. The rubbish bins hold potting and seed raising mixes. In summer I also grow seedlings on the bench.
Deep Litter Chicken Run. The run is fully enclosed to protect the chickens from foxes. The automatic hatch door (left of the main door) allows the chickens access to the main chicken run during daylight hours.
The floor of the deep litter run is covered with straw and pea straw. As the chickens scratch at the straw it gradually breaks down into a fine mulch, which is then put on the garden.
The small greenhouse. In late winter and early spring it is mainly used to grow seedlings but in summer I also use it to grow Pak Choi in Wet Pots.
Native garden area with native bog plants, grasses, shrubs, and small trees. My food garden is more than big enough to grow all the food I can handle so I have converted some sections to lower maintenance native garden.
