How much time do you think it takes to grow enough vegetables to keep a family of four (two adults, two hungry teenagers) fed?
Like most working families, we live a very busy life.
We both work full-time, five days a week. When I have a deadline, I work late nights and weekends as well. We have office jobs requiring long commutes – I commute over an hour each way, each day. One of our kids has a disability, and we usually have at least one appointment to attend each week. We are paying off a mortgage, and trying to save for retirement. On weekends we try to make time for our family, friends, our kids, and each other. We also try to keep the house clean, the clothes washed, and the lunchboxes full.
With all of this going on, we still manage to grow a garden that is productive enough to produce almost all the vegetables, herbs, and some of the fruit our family of four needs – just by gardening on weekends.
Productive organic gardening is a commitment, no question. We make our own compost, and propagate many of our plants from cuttings and seed. We use no pesticides or herbicides, and our main form of fertiliser is our homemade compost, seaweed tonic, and an an organic fish-based liquid fertiliser.
I might choose to spend a Sunday morning turning compost instead of, say, going to yoga. Yoga classes are a thing, right? People do that. But I don’t spend as long as you would think keeping the garden going, for the reward that we get in the form of fresh, organic, homegrown vegetables and fruit.
This blog chronicles how we manage to grow a productive vegetable garden on less than two days of work a week, in an Aussie backyard, while working full-time.
