Organic Vegetable Gardening?
I’d like to get into organic gardening for my family and I . I have absolutely no idea where to begin. I’d like to grow carrots, peas, lettuce, beans, zucchini, squash. Can anyone offer any helpful hints or websites. Thanks
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Tagged with: Carrots • helpful hints • Lettuce • Organic Gardening • Organic Vegetable • squash • Vegetable Gardening
Filed under: Your Garden Q and A
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I have been making my living growing produce organically for the past 14 years. For 8 years i was certified organic. I assume you don’t care to get certified, you just want to grow pure food.
http://www.idigmygarden.com/forums/ is a great forum to learn the ropes. Organic gardening also has a really good forum and the magazine is an excellent resource http://www.organicgardening.com
It will take many years to get you soil in shape and learn the techniques for successful organic growing so don’t expect a great garden for a few years. Start small, no more than a 10′ x 10′ (3m x 3m) garden the first year or you will get overwhelmed in august when the weather is hot, the insects are out and the weeds are growing high.
Mulch everything with straw (not hay as hay tends to have a lot of weed seeds) and mulch well-at least 6" thick. Straw mulch will keep weeds down, moisture in the soil and blight from happening on plants like tomatoes. It also adds organic matter to your soil.
Have a good hoe, rake, wheelbarrow, trowel and garden fork as your basic garden tools.
Start a compost pile ASAP, compost will be the main thing you will feed to the soil/plants. Compost is the best thing to build healthy soil and organics is all about building healthy soil as any organic grower worth their salt knows soil is alive and healthy soils means healthy pest free plants.
Good luck
Start small with the easier stuff like tomatoes, squash is really, really easy, as are beets, bell peppers and onions. All of these are readily available at the local nursery or home improvement store. If you are not sure how to prepare a garden bed you can start out growing your veggies in patio pots. Another idea I’d recommend is buying a small plastic kiddy pool, punch some drainage holes in the bottom, fill with good quality planting soil mix (like miracle grow, or a mix of garden soil and compost), and plant directly in the little pool. This will keep your tiny garden contained and manageable.
hello. I have an organic garden at the moment in some pots ready to be transplanted into the garden. For great results use an organic compost that will not burn the plants and mix that into the pot with your mixture.
I’m not sure if you mean organic as in grow your own or as in completely natural?
Being "organic" as in to sell as completely organic you need to start with a plot that’s been chemical free for 7 years, and apply for certification.
Since you mention your family I will assume you mean you want to grow your own veggies?
The very best and easiest way to start is to dig up and work a piece of land.
If you don’t have a tiller you can work it by hand with a shovel and rake. Purchase black garden canvas (I like the heavy kind, it stays put all season) – this will keep most weeds out and keep a nice neat garden. Lay special black plastic canvas over the entire garden and pin down (some bricks or rocks to hold the plastic down will help too).
The best way for a new gardner is to use starter plants from a greenhouse. Tomatoes, zucchini, squash, peppers, melons, pumpkins, beans can all be purchased already started. Cut holes in canvas, dig hole and plant. Lettuce, onions and root veggies cannot grow properly with canvas and can be planted from seeds easily. Just make sure to pull weed often so they don’t choke the veggies.
Have fun! Start slow and figure out what YOU like to grow.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/organic_index.shtml
We have an organic garden at work and the basics are use plenty of home made compost and also, if you can get hold of some well rotted animal manure ,dig that in too. The secret of organic gardening is to provide a good soil and so the veg will be healthier. Healthier veg means that you are less prone to desease.
Also we ‘companion plant’ .This means planting for example, onions next to carrots. The smell of the onions deters carrot fly.
You will have to do a lot of hand weeding, but do this by hoeing when the weeds are small.
Hope this helps