The continuing rise in popularity of gardening and specifically growing organic vegetables has lead to lots of people seeking information on how to get started.
Folks are realising that purchasing vegetables from the local store, whilst convenient, has the downside that these vegetables are grown using chemical fertilisers and spayed with pesticides.
What happens is that the chemicals from these intense growing methods stay within the food. Which means you and I are eating food containing harmful toxins in it.
Because of this and other factors including the increasing cost of food people want to grow their very own and eat fresh home grown produce that looks and tastes great. Growing organic vegetables is undoubtedly the solution, free from chemicals and full of flavor.
Here i will discuss 4 basic steps to getting started:
1: The Soil
Before starting out it's essential to invest a bit of time in making your soil healthy to grow your vegetables. This is a slow process but it will eventually benefit you and your vegetables in the long term. There are lots of methods you should use for example chemical free fertilisers, natural composts and even introducing earthworms.
2: Compost
Fast composts are perfect to apply when you first start out as these are quick to get your soil into shape and whilst this is occurring it is easy to begin building your own home grown organic compost for future use.
It is very easy to do and takes just a bit effort on your part, but again shall be well worth it. Most fast composts can be found from a local gardening store; just make 100% sure there are no added chemicals.
You need to be sure that any organic fertilisers and composts are mixed in with your soil at the least three to four weeks prior to planting.
3: Tilling the Soil
Once your soil is ready for use and your getting wanting to plant your first crop then you are able to till the soil. Sounds quite old fashioned, doesn’t it?
What is tilling anyway?
Well basically it’s like ploughing, you should dig and turn the soil to generate the conditions for good organic growth. It's going to aerate the soil, and loosen it to allow for the growth of micro organisms which are so good for your organic garden. It also helps keep the fertiliser active and spread well throughout the soil.
Once tilling is complete you are ready to sow your seeds.
4: Weeds and Pests.
Control of weeds and pests will also be helped by tilling the soil. You will find organic pesticides and herbicides available on the market. But I feel the most effective method of control is to learn to grow part of your crop that pests actually do not like and therefore will steer clear of your main crops. There are numerous plants and herbs that will do this for you.
5: Water
One key element will be making sure you water your vegetable garden on a regular basis. Plan to do this a minimum of once a week and give it a good quantity of water. Obviously if it is raining a lot this can be reduced but you will want to pay attention to just how much rain your garden has received.
This can be where a water butt will come in handy especially in hot summers where you might be subject to a water restriction. Plus collecting rain naturally should always be used over using mains water on your garden.
There are always things to understand when you set out on your journey growing organic vegetables, but after you have the fundamentals the rest is fun and pleasure for the entire family.
Children can learn a great deal from growing simple garden vegetables organically, and the additional benefit is that they get to consume something fresh, wholesome and that they have grown for themselves.
Author Resource:
One of the best advantages of growing organic vegetables is that it requires less time and less maintenance.
To learn more about Growing Organic Vegetables you can receive a lot more helpful information and advice at Why not give it a go; you really will love the taste of your own naturally grown vegetables.