Growing Your Own Food

There are many reasons to grow your own food.

To get started consider:

• Site selection
  Veggies and herbs like a warm sunny spot. Start small and keep it close to the house so you can monitor, tend and harvest easily.
• Soil health
  Boost soil health and fertility with compost, manure and mulch. This will encourage beneficial microorganisms.
• Companion planting
  Grow certain plants together for an added benefit. For example, grow flowers near your vegetables to attract pollinating insects and confuse pests or beans near corn to fix nitrogen into the soil.
• Waterwise gardening
  Group plants with similar needs, mulch to reduce evaporation, water infrequently but deeply and choose plants appropriate for the climate.

If you want more information on what grows in the Bellingen Shire check out Bello Food Gardening.  

If you enjoy gardening with others consider joining the Northbank Community Garden or the Dorrigo Community Garden.

Future-proof your garden

With a changing climate the gardens and landscapes of today may not be suitable in years to come. Help to future-proof your garden using the Which Plant Where tool. The tool is the culmination of 5 years research investigating which plant species will survive under future climatic conditions. Type in your location to find species that will be suitable for the years 2030, 2050 and 2070. If you are planting something now, it’s nice to know that it will be around in the future.