Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi Yall,
This is probably a silly question,
How long do veges grow for.
Which ones are annual and which ones can go year in year out.
I think I may have pulled out veges to early going by what some people have said about life spans of their veges.
I have gone by the method that if its not growing that well it gets pulled out, but I am thinking I can leave them in for longer to see what happens.
Also when to start havesting Spinich. I have a plant which is close to a foot high and really healthy looking but I just want to let it grow much bigger like I have seen pictures of others.
My perenial spinich has not got that big, should I be picking that as it grows or try to let that get big as well?
Have a great day everyone.

depends on the vege here is a usefull website which i use just change the climate to suit your area,

http://www.gardenate.com/zones/Australi ... Btemperate

can't really help much more than that but I google like crazy when it comes to different plants growth when to pick them, the site does give you a general guide<---- new gardener aswell never could get anything to grow around here until aquaponics

great link thanks though where would syd cbd fit into the climate zone?

sydney is classed as temperate

And the Sydney CBD... is classed as an urban desert....

Australia - sub-tropical Warm humid summer (average January maximum temperature < 30 degrees C). Mild dry winter. Includes the eastern seaboard from Brisbane south through Coffs Harbour to Sydney. Coastal WA from approx Geraldton to Canarvon.

Cheers Matty,
Thats a good site / guide.
I might use it to plant out my chook run which needs moving.
Have a great weekend all.

Often not as long as meat eaters...

Sorry, forgot to put that, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Onya Rupe.

Most vegetables are annuals or perennials grown as annuals. One of the reasons for this is in ancient times it was easier to domesticate plants with shorter lifespans.

Right now there is a push to create perennial wheat. The soil for these wheat fields will no longer need to be cultivated. This will reduce the amount of soil erosion and runoff.

Hard to find one good link on the subject. The articles I've read previously were in magazines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perennial_grain

http://www.mccc.msu.edu/documents/Peren ... p_Sieg.pdf

I think rainbow chard is perannual (perennial sp?) and can grow quite large but becomes bitter after the second year. Asparagus aswell but a bit tricky to get started.

Even sub tropical climates can be put in two catagories, frost free and not frost free, sounds pedantic but makes a big difference to what you can grow, all year round.
Any leafy vegetable is better picked as soon as its edible, just by taking some leaves, as they grow older become bitter.....e.g., non heading lettuce, bok choy, spinach, chard, roquet and like.
I reckon it improves the health of the plant if picked regularly and sometimes stops them from bolting to seed.
To my knowledge all common leafy vegies are annuals.
All the chilli family will happily grow for years in frost free climate, but tend to look scruffy
Root vegies are annuals as are any cucurbit, melon or squash family
For perrenials look more towards berry family, strawberry, blueberry etc.

I've had rainbow chard growing for up to five years, then it goes through a massive flowering and produces amazing amounts of seed (which we collect and sell). That explains why it is now growing everywhere, including the paths.