Living by the ocean may be the great Australian dream, but it brings with it a whole lot of challenges for growing your own produce. There wouldn’t be many people who, at some point in their life, hadn’t dreamt of living a laidback beach lifestyle. But, from a horticultural point of view, there are special considerations to being self-sufficient in fruits and vegies if you’re lucky enough to live near the coast. Certainly, coastal living is seen as one that’s healthy and holistic and growing organic fruits and vegies goes hand in hand with this philosophy, so you’re likely to find your local nursery can support you in your endeavours.
Some of the issue associated with trying to grow fruits and vegetables close to the seaboard are:
Salt-laden winds
Sandysoils
Light intensity
Windburn
Soil fertility.
While all these issue are of utmost importance to successfully grow your own produce, there are ways and means of addressing each of them to ensure you experience the satisfaction of enjoying the taste of your own delectable harvest.
It’s no surprise that the closer you live to the ocean the greater the concentration of salt there is in the wind – which blows quite gustily at times along the coastline. There are a couple of thing you can do to address this: firstly, grow plant varieties that are more resilient to these types of conditions and, secondly, erect barriers to act as a trap for the salt-laden winds. We need to reduce the amount of salt coming into contact with our plants – as we would for the human skin. When our bodies are exposed to these kinds of winds our skin becomes tight and covered in a thin film of salt. The same thing happens to plants, only the salt also burns the foliage and soil starts drawing moisture from the plants rather than the other way around. A simple first line of defence can reduce the amount of salt your plants are exposed to. This can be something as easy as growing a row of taller, more salt-tolerant plants to shield them or erecting a screen of some description.
Coastlines are associated with many things including sand, sea and sun. And though these are ideal for a relaxing weekend, they’re not great for growing plants. Sandy soils are commonplace along the seaboard, and while they may provide the perfect growing environment for many of our native plants – and other species requiring a well-drained soil – vegetables and fruits, as a general rule, are not so forgiving. To get around this shortfall you can improve your soil with the addition of something like mushroom or garden compost and animal manures. These will give your soil some water-holding ability and ultimately assist in improving its fertility. The size of the area concerned and the existing soil consistency, will determine which and how much fertiliser needs to be added. If you’re at all unsure, take a small soil sample to your local nursery and seek the advice of a horticulturist. The other option is to put in raised garden beds or containers. The beauty of this is you can start from scratch, controlling exactly what you grow your produce in. Simply buy bagged mix for either your raised beds or pots; choose one that’s specifically suited to growing fruits and vegies, or mix your own – it’s entirely a personal preference. One reason for mixing it yourself is to develop a ‘recipe’ that’s particularly suited to your situation, as seasonal climatic conditions will impact on what you need your soil to do. For example, the east coast of Australia receives more summer rainfall than Western Australia so, if you’re growing vegies on the western seaboard during summer, your soil may need more ability to hold moisture than it would in the east.
As Australians we’re true supporters of the great outdoors, and even when we’re inside we tend to design houses that allow as much of the outside in as possible. This is done with the extensive use of glass and, as much as we all may hate cleaning windows, we still have a preference for large sheets of it; this is particularly true if we’re fortunate enough to have a view. If you think ‘beach’ and make the logical jump to ‘sand’ – this is Australia not England – then you’ll realise sand is reflective like glass, so sand plus glass equals increased light. Now this may not affect you if you don’t live within a stone’s throw of the surf, but as many seaside towns are now encroaching inland – while still trying to maintain that beachside feel – new developments are favouring lots of glass which continues the light reflection further away from the seaboard, kind of like a domino effect.To get around this you can, in fact, implement similar strategies as you would for salt or wind protection. If you find a certain window (either one of yours or your neighbour’s) is creating a glare on your garden, you can reduce the amount of intensified light your plants receive simply by erecting a shade barrier. This may be by way of other plantings, a hedge or even an awning over the window and, if you take the time to ensure these are not permanent fixtures, you can remove them when they’re not required.
Wind, in general, plays havoc with trying to grow fruits and vegetables. It dries any salty water on the leaves but also dehydrates your soil. Keeping you garden mulched helps eliminate the latter, but you’ll need to use a heavy mulch that can withstand gusts. If it’s an issue of particular concern, a barrier to break up the wind’s intensity may be the answer. Look at the direction in which the wind usually travels when it hits your garden and erect a windbreak on that side of the yard to prevent it reaching your precious plants. If gusts are a big problem, then it’s very important to make sure your structure can withstand their force.
Soil composition impacts the availability of nutrients to plants. While sandy soils may contain minerals, these are next to useless if the plants are unable to take them up. Plants require water to absorb nutrients and if there’s no or little moisture available, then they won’t benefit from any minerals present. If the fertiliser you apply to your plants is to benefit them directly, you need to make sure your soil can retain moisture. Adding compost to a predominantly sandy soil is the best way to increase its water-holding capacity, and ultimately its fertility, which will result in increased health and yield for your plants. The other thing to consider, when coastal-gardening, is plant selection. If you look at plants that grow naturally in Mediterranean-type conditions, then you can be confident these will grow well here in similar circumstances. If you’re unsure, plants with leathery leaves are more resilient to coastal condition – things like Thyme, Olives, Rosemary, Warrigal Greens, Globe Artichokes and Cos Lettuces. These can be used to protect other vegetables that may be more sensitive to the environment. With a little bit of planning, it’s possible to enjoy the best of both coastal living and homegrown produce.