The Organic Garden for Beginners

[Tom Butler]

Hi Folks! Tom, your Garden Buddy here! I saw this as I was browsing and wanted to share this guide with you all! The organic vegetable garden will very quickly become one of your very best investments. Not only will you save money on your food bill, but you will also be able to give yourself or your family healthier choices at the dinner table. But before you begin your journey into this world, these are just some of the things that you should know:

Year Round Growing

Depending on where you live, you might not be able to grow your garden year round. Certain vegetables require strict temperature ranges. Brussel sprouts and onions for example should be grown at temps around 50 to 70 degrees. This is in my opinion, the lower end of the temperature spectrum for growing veggies.

Automatic Watering System

Make sure that you have some type of automatic watering system in place. This will aid you in the long run because we are all busy and the last thing that your organic vegetable garden cannot go without is WATER! You have to make sure that your garden is watered everyday. You don't won't dead seeds before your garden has had a chance to begin!

Sunshine is Necessary

Make sure that you plant your garden where there will we lots of sunshine. Vegetables like any other plant need lots of sunshine to properly grow, around 5 to 6 hours of sunlight is optimal.

Location of your Garden

You need to know the usual weather and type of soil that you have. This is so that you can decide on what types of plants should you include in your garden. For example, leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, cabbages and parsley do not need as much sunlight as do the root vegetables such as radishes, onions and turnips. If your garden is somewhat shaded, you can plant these vegetables that do not require
strong sunlight. The types of vegetables that need the most sunlight are those that produce fruit such as eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.

Plant a variety of vegetables

This is called mixed cultivation. By planting a mixture of types of vegetables, you would have better and healthier yield. This is because your vegetables help each other grow. For example, you can plant carrots, leeks and onions together or cabbages with dwarf (French) beans. You could also combine lettuce, kohlrabi and red radish. Furthermore, such situations will draw beneficial insects to your garden and thus, you will have fewer problems with insect pests.

Adding mulch and compost

Mulch is made up of materials like sawdust, straw, wood chips, leaves, twigs etc. Adding mulch around your vegetables will protect your soil from dehydration, erosion and weeds. It also controls the temperature so your plants will be able to survive until harvest season. Besides mulch, also add compost to your vegetables, which is a natural fertilizer to your plants. The ingredients for compost are basically the same as that for mulch. You can either buy them or make them yourself. To make your own compost, just leave the materials in a pile
or a bin for a few months so that it can decompose. Turn it over once a week and let nature take its course. After a couple of months or so, you will have lots of compost for your soil.

Get Familiar with your Vegetables

This comes with close and regular inspection. Look over the leaves, roots and stems every day and you would be able to spot early signs of pests or disease. By doing so, you can act on it fast and nip problems in the bud.

Author and Source: Francis King and Kenneth L. White

Well- that's it for now folks! Remember to have fun and try something new. Plant what you want!

Happy Growning-
Tom, aka Your Garden Buddy

[Sharabella Fini]

This is great information; thanks Tom.