Organic In The Garden – Starting A New Vegetable Garden From Scratch

When I first buy or move into a new home, one of the first things I work out is planning the Vegetable garden will go. This may be one specific area set-aside for your vegetable garden or several spots scattered around the yard.

It’s a good idea to plan ahead by a few months before beginning to plant your new garden out. This allows time for ground preparation and eradication of any weeds, grass or other plant matter.

One of the best ways to eradicate weeds is by simply covering the area with black plastic or multiple layers of cardboard, newspaper or other material to block out the sun. All plants need both water and sunlight to grow so removing one of these elements will suppress weed growth. Cardboard and newspaper are my preferred choice because these will break down in the soil. The ink on newspaper is a concern to many using organic methods but compared to chemical herbicide alternatives it’s probably the best of the worst.

Once you have the area covered and assuming you are using newspaper or cardboard as weed suppressant, you can begin adding organic matter over the cardboard. Layers of fresh lawn clipping, dry leaves, old hay and compost can be added up to around 30cm over the entire area. This can be added over time or immediately if you have ample organic matter lying around.

You may choose to add edging around your vegetable bed before adding organic matter or simply build up a mound to plant directly into. I prefer to use and edging when using the method described in this article.

More newspaper and cardboard can be added on top of the bed once established to help suppress weeds while waiting to plant out. If planting seedlings could simply just make a hole in this paper, and plant directly into the rich organic matter you added to the bed.

Some of the best plants to grow as your first crop on a new garden bed include Legumes, such as peas and beans. Deep rooting vegetables such as Potatoes, Carrots, Parsnips and some varieties of radish are a good Choice if you expect the soil you are building up is excessively compact. These deep-rooting vegetables will help penetrate the soil beneath the organic matter, which will be moist from the regular watering of the garden bed.

After your first crop is harvested you will need to dig this bed over to a good spade depth. This will bring the soil up from under the bed mixing it with the organic matter. Your New Vegetable bed is now established and ready for future planting’s.

Digging in more compost or manure between crops will keep the soil well conditioned and fertile.

August 2, 2010  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Growing Organic Vegetables  No Comments

Organic in The Garden – Benefits Of Mulching Your Vegetable Garden

Mulching is important in all garden settings whether using Organic Methods or not. There are many benefits to be gained from mulching your ornamental garden beds and many of these benefits are well known. Water retention, weed suppression and aesthetic appeals are just a few. Mulching your vegetable garden is perhaps less thought about but there is many benefits to doing it.

Vegetables are mostly annual plants, meaning they are grown and harvested within a twelve-month period. Most are typically harvested within a two to four month growth cycle. This is a quick growing phase, which can make mulching seem not worth pursuing. But there are benefits to the current crop and future crops.

  • Mulching vegetables helps prevent water loss, which benefits the soil, soil organisms and the crop.
  • As mulches break down they add additional organic matter to the soil, feeding current crops while supporting soil organisms. This organic matter is available to future crops.
  • Soil erosion is a problem faced by large-scale farmers but can also be an issue in smaller home gardens. Mulching helps prevent this by keeping the soil covered and away from the elements.
  • Mulching slows the growth of weeds making maintenance of your vegetable garden physically easier and is less time consuming.
  • Mulching vegetables makes harvesting a cleaner job. Many vegetables are due to be harvested when the weather begins to cool down. Harvesting can be a messy job.

Now you know a few of the benefits of mulching, so what do you use to mulch?

  • Vegetable gardens can benefit from Lucerne Hay mulch, which can be available as chaff for easier spreading around plants.
  • Pea Straw makes excellent vegetable garden mulch. It’s great around Brassica’s such as Cabbage, Cauliflower and Broccoli.
  • Wheat and Barley Straw is also excellent garden mulch. Like Lucerne, it is also available as chaff.
  • Organic Grass hay, is my favourite option as it is loose, easily laid, can be added in “bricks” or fluffed up. It is freely available in my area and is generally well priced. Some people prefer not to use it due to the presence of grass and other seeds, but I find they are not a major issue when used in conjunction with lawn clippings or other green matter between crops.

Mulches are usually available from you local garden centre or can be purchased directly from farmers if you live in a country area. Old season mulches are ideal. You could also use mulch collected from stables or other farm sheds using hay or straw as bedding material.

August 1, 2010  Tags: , , , , , ,   Posted in: Growing Organic Vegetables  No Comments

Organic In The Garden – Easy Permaculture Practices For Every Home Garden

Permaculture is a system of completeness with Earth. It’s a way of planning, implementing and benefiting from the natural things available to us without causing negative impact on the environment.

For some people, permaculture may seem a huge leap and a big change for the average backyard. There are however, some simple basic principles that can be applied to any yard.

Grow Your own Fruit and Vegetables
Growing your own fruit and vegetables in your backyard is easy and can be adapted to any size backyard. Fruits such as Strawberries and Raspberries are easily grown. Most seasonal vegetables can be grown in a domestic setting without major gardening experience.

Breeding and Raising Chickens and Rabbits
Raising rabbits and chickens serves many purposes. Chickens produce eggs and can be used for meat. Rabbits can also be bred for meat. Rabbits and chickens are also great for producing quality fertilizer and are great for removing weeds from garden beds.

Bee Keeping
Not something common for small backyards but larger gardens could be suited to keeping bees. The art of bee keeping is something that should be well researched before beginning.

Rainwater Collection
Rainwater tanks are almost a necessity in backyards today, exceptionally so in a permaculture environment. There are many types of tanks available, from traditional corrugated iron to Plastic and Fibreglass models. Some tanks are designed like bladders that can lay under house floors. Modular units are also available and can be lined up along fences or house walls. These units can be added to overtime, as need increases.

Composting and Worm Farming
Composting is the lifeblood of an Organic backyard and the same applies to a permaculture environment. All the inedible parts of a garden can be added to a compost heap: weeds, old mulch, hay, sawdust, chicken and rabbit manure. Worm farms are the perfect place to get rid of household scraps, peelings etc.

Power Creation
Solar Power is ideal for permaculturalists. It’s a common form of hot water heating and general power creation. Other ways to create power includes wind generation using small roof top turbines.

We can all do small things in our own backyards to help hold back our individual impact on the environment. Starting with a couple of easy to change habits and slowly introducing more as our experience grows.

Permaculture is not about Bullhorns and moon planting’s, it’s simply a way of working with what we have and with, rather than against nature.

And of course, working with the environment rather than against it benefits everyone. Its also fun and relaxing.

July 30, 2010  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Permaculture  No Comments

Organic In The Garden – Growing Young Green Leaves For The Perfect Salad

Growing your own organic salad greens is a great way of ensuring a regular supply of fresh green vegetables from your own home. Many salad leaves can be picked from as short as four weeks after germination and many varieties can be grown throughout the year.

Eating food fresh and raw is the best way of ensuring maximum nutrient value and growing your own organically ensures you know what has been added to the plants during the growth cycle.

There are many vegetables that make excellent salad leaves and are commonly used for this purpose. Some plants like beetroot, spinach and Bok Choy can be picked young then left for the remaining leaves to develop for use in cooked dishes. The leaves of beetroot can also be cooked.

Growing in a hothouse is a perfect option for young salad leaves because they are picked young. A hothouse helps to protect them becoming excessively dirty and protects them from pests and disease and makes picking easy. Punnet holding tubs (usually holds around eight punnets) are ideal for growing young salad greens in.

A good quality organic potting mix should be used or you can make your own potting media.

Some of the best salad greens to grow yourself are:

Rocket
Rocket is a great salad green adding texture and a mild tang to your salad. Rocket grows relatively quickly in most environments.

Beetroot
Beetroot leaves are a good source of nutrients and taste great in salads. They also add colour and a rustic look to typically green salads.

Spinach
A good source of Iron and other Nutrients. Spinach is one of those vegetables often not thought of for use in salads but they are a great addition.

Pea tendrils
I must admit I was surprised to once eat a salad with Pea tendrils. I had never considered them an option or even edible. Pea tendrils are of course the young shoots of peas picked from the tips of the plant. They should not be overlooked for adding a great taste to salads.

Bok Choy
Bok Choy (or Chinese Cabbage) is increasing in popularity around the world. The young leaves of the Bok Choy are excellent in salads. Bok Choy is a member of the Brassica family.

Lettuce
Lettuce forms the base of most salads. Loose-leaf varieties are best for salads with the curly leaved varieties being the best pick. Of course other types of lettuce including healthy varieties are also ideal.

All of these can grow well in a hothouse environment as well as directly in the garden. If the long term intention with beetroot is to harvest it as a root vegetable it should be planted directly in the ground. Young leaves grown in the ground should be given an extra wash before using in salads.

July 28, 2010  Tags: , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Growing Organic Vegetables  No Comments

Organic In The Garden – Removing Flatweed From Your Lawn Without Chemicals

Flatweed is a term used to describe a collective of weeds that are invasive in a domestic lawn. Although a flatweed is typically just that, a “Flat Weed” such as Hawkbit. I often refer to other weeds such as clover in a similar way.

The traditional method of eradicating these types of weeds from a lawn is with the use of a selective herbicide, which will attack the weed without affecting the lawn grass, itself. For the organic gardener, these synthetic herbicides will want to be avoided.

There are surprisingly many non-traditional and chemical free ways to remove flatweed from a lawn including alternative chemical based options and manual removal.

Some tools have been specifically developed for removing flatweed from a lawn with very little effort. A relatively new commercially available tool I equipped with a long handle to enable easy removal of flatweed while standing in an upright position. From memory I believe this tool was invented in Australia and is marketed as the “Grandpa Weeder”.

Small areas can also be handled with a hoe or mattock. It’s always important to remove all the taproot from the weed to prevent possible regrowth.

Larger areas or neglected lawns can be removed by solarisation using black plastic to heat the area of the soil for several weeks prior to resowing the area with new lawn. Slashing with a brush utter or close cutting with a lawn mower is a good idea before adding the plastic. It is also advisable not to slash or mow when seed heads are present. When the plants are in flower or before flowering is an ideal time.

Organic Farmers have used goats or pigs for removing weed infestations for years. Goats will eat almost anything and pigs will root up the ground to get to the roots. This is obviously not appropriate in a domestic setting but when clearing a large area for a new lawn or house lot it is worth borrowing a goat from a farmer to help with the clean up.

Common Salt (table salt) has been used in the past as a “spot remover” of flatweed. Many people dislike using salt but I use it for spot weeding and in the cracks of footpaths. I prefer it to the use of synthetic herbicides in that I only apply a teaspoon to the top of a flatweed after first cutting a cross in the top of the plant to speed up the process. Small but repeated applications in cracks in footpaths will lead to potentially weed free paths.

Regular applications of high Nitrogen Fertilizer such as chicken manure can also assist in maintaining a thick healthy lawn, which can help prevent possible regrowth of flatweed.

July 28, 2010  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Organic Gardening  No Comments

Organic In The Garden – Profits To Be Made From Starting Your Own Worm Farm

Worm farming is increasing in popularity around the world with many people realising not only the environmental benefits but also the nutrient value it has by providing worm castings for fertilising your garden.

For the backyard worm wormer you can start with a small commercially available system and move up from there. Worms breed relatively quickly under  the right circumstances. Poor breeding conditions can include extremes in Heat and Cold as well as heavy rain.

You can start a worm farm with as little as 1000 worms and grow stocks up from there. The more you start with will obviously increase your numbers quicker.

Worm Farming is an ideal income earner for small backyards due to small space required to set up, and very low input costs. It is actually very surprising the number of ways you can profit from worm farming. The following is a list of possible options for you to explore.

Vermicast
Vermicast is the waste product worms produce, which resembles small dark crumbles of sawdust. This is used as a soil conditioner or potting mix additive. Farmers have also used it as a conditioner over paddocks before planting crops as well as on pasture. Vermicast can be packaged and sold for domestic gardens. If you have a larger scale operation you could also sell to farmers and graziers.

Liquid Vermicast
Liquid Vermicast is used as a foliar spray and soil conditioner. It can be diluted and used on annual plants or as a tonic and conditioner for household plants. Concentrated solution can be bottled and sold or you can mix it ready to use and supply in a spray bottle. It’s usually best to prepare on demand or to order as it can go stagnate quickly and may lose potency.

Worm Capsules (worm eggs)
Worm eggs are often sought after to increase worm populations in gardens and farms. The more worms found in a soil, the healthier the soil is. Worm capsules are often the preferred choice due to their lightweight and ease of spreading.

Fishing Worms
Believe it or not worms are still amongst the most popular of all fishing Baits. Commercial fisherman can use them to encourage fish toward their nets and weekend family fishing trips often revolve around baiting hooks with worms. Fishing worms are usually kept longer and sold at a larger size. Some larger growers feed their worms high protein diets such as horse pellets to increase their weight and size for sale.

Worms
Of course the worms can be sold for composting as many backyard systems need restocking or new worm farmers starting out.

You can start selling at local farmers markets or through your local paper. As word spreads you will have people calling you through referrals as well as reselling to past customers.

July 27, 2010  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: Worm Farming  No Comments

Organic In The Garden – Popular Raised Garden Beds And Their Uses

Backyard X-Scapes

Raised garden beds are not a new idea but with the increasing popularity of zinculume and modulated timber units, more and more people are seeing the benefits of them, young and old.

Nearly all Nurseries, Hardware Stores and Garden Centres will have several different types and sizes to suit all kinds of requirements. From small options for singles living in units to larger models for bigger yards and families. I have even seen models suitable for use on a balcony, though these are usually glorified planting tubs and boxes.

The benefits of using them are many. Typically used by the elderly where bending over to do traditional gardening is limited, but also used by younger people looking at getting into gardening.

Raised Garden Beds have some additional uses in the garden and around the yard.

Composting
Raised Garden Beds can be used to make compost. Layers can be continually added and when full can be planted directly into. The compost can also be removed and used around the garden as you would with a traditional compost heap.

Fish Ponds
Using commercially available pond liner, raised garden beds can be easily transformed into fish ponds or backyard aquaculture systems. Their ease of construction and relocatability makes them ideal for this use.

Storage Boxes
When you have excess sand, gravel, compost, mulch or bark around the yard, it can look messy. Raised garden beds are ideal for use as storage facilities for these types of garden products.

Sand Pits
If you have children, no backyard is complete without a sandpit to play in and build castles. One issue with sandpits has always been cats and other animals walking in and leaving their calling cards. Raised garden beds are great for sandpits because they are easy to cover with a tarp at night. It is of course, important to ensure any sharp edges are well covered to avoid children damaging themselves. Rubber capping (Bailey Channel or similar) can be fixed to the top of tin beds to remove any sharp edges.

Raised garden beds have a lot of uses around the yard and garden. They can be adapted to suit your requirements and also come in premade versions ready to set up and use.

You could also try to make your own Raised beds from scratch using scraps of iron and timber. By making your own you can build them to suit the size and space of the area they are being utilised. This way you do not have to search for a perfect fitting commercially available unit.

© Eric J. Smith

July 27, 2010  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Organic Gardening  No Comments

Organic In The Garden – 5 Ingredients To Make Your Own Quality Potting Mixture

Commercially made potting mixtures are relatively cheap these days. They contain a unique blend of materials for holding plant roots and carry nutrients the plant needs for growth and sustenance. The downside is they often rely on inorganic materials and synthetic fertilisers.

Home made potting mixtures can contain many different types of ingredients found around the home and garden. Some even include a base of ordinary garden loam, though I don’t recommend this.’

The ingredients you choose should allow for good water retention due to the environment if the pot especially terracotta or clay pots. The ingredients should also contain enough loose organic matter to allow nutrients to remain held in the mixture for the plants to use as needed.

Most of the ingredients you use will already be around your home but you may need to purchase one or two things:

  1. Garden Compost. This should be a combination of old hay and lawn clippings. Garden compost  should be well aged so it is ideal to maintain  a separate compost heap you can leave alone for several months specifically for potting mix. Compost should be placed in a black plastic bag and left in the full sun for a couple of weeks to solarise and kill any remaining weed seeds. This should form the basis of a home made potting mix.
  2. Draining aggregate. This may be the only thing you will have to buy. The cheapest option would be Perlite based Cat Litter available from your local supermarket. A simple no name brand will be suffice.
  3. Pulverised Sheep or Rabbit Manure. This will provide an immediate nutrient source and will also act as a retention source for  the addition of future Nutrients as well as a basis for the duplication of bacteria.
  4. Worm Castings (Vermicast), is an ideal addition to a potting mix for conditioning, fertilising and for adding worm eggs which are contained within the vermicast. When these eggs hatch the worms will help breakdown the organic matter in the potting mix. There is an old wives tale that worms can damage a plant in a pot but this is not true.
  5. Composted Wood Chips. These make an  ideal addition to a potting mix. Ideally made using a home shredder, these extra-fine wood chips provide aeration and bulk as well as an additional drainage aggregate.

An equal measure of each of these ingredients should be mixed together for a standard potting mix. Variations could include a finer mix for seed raising using only vermicast with draining aggregate or a coarser mix for orchids using an extra helping of drainage aggregate and composted wood chips.

July 25, 2010  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Organic materials  No Comments

Organic in The Garden – Manure, Grass Hay and Lawn Clippings – 5 Steps to the Ultimate Compost

No organic garden is complete without a couple of compost heaps. It is the most valuable nutrient and soil conditioner for all aspects of a garden environment. From the backyard vegetable patch to the formal front yard with neatly clipped Box hedges and weeping ornamentals.

Compost should be made using 2 separate and uniquely individual methods:

  1. Traditional Compost is made using organic matter from around the yard. Traditional compost should not include household or food scraps as these are likely to increase pests, vermin, flies and disease into the heap.
  2. Household and food scraps should be used as feed in a worm farm where they will be turned into quality food for all yard and houseplants in the form of worm castings or vermicast.

Traditional compost will typically include a mixture of green and brown matter. Green from grass clippings and old seed free weeds will provide Nitrogen and heat to the compost while the brown from old leaves, grass hay or pea straw will provide carbon, aeration and a home for beneficial insects in the heap.

The best and most freely available ingredients for a traditional compost are manure, Grass Hay and Lawn Clippings. These can be collected from within your own property, neighbour, family or friends (best) or from a local garden centre (next best).

Now to put these ingredients to work. 5 steps to the ultimate compost:

Step 1
Compost should start with a fluffy layer of grass hay to aid in drainage from the base of the heap. Place hay around 30 cm (12 inches) thick but avoid manual compaction – the future layers will be sufficient compaction.

Step 2
Add about 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches) of fresh green lawn clippings to the heap. This could be one or several standard “catchers” full depending on the size of the heap.

Step 3
Manure should be added to this at around the same thickness as the lawn clippings. I find rabbit manure is the best but this can be substituted for sheep or cattle manure. Keeping your own rabbits is a good way of maintaining an ongoing supply of manure for your compost or as a direct feed or soil conditioner.

Step 4
Add another fluffy layer of grass hay on top of this and repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 until the heap (or bin) is at the desired height.

Step 5
When the heap has shrunk to around half its original size it may be ready to use for some applications such as mulching leaf vegetables. If being used as a soil conditioner prior to planting, now would be a good time to turn and aerate the heap.

Using a bin is a personal choice but you could just as easily build a heap on its own or within a wire cage for support.

July 17, 2010  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Composting  No Comments

Organic In The Garden – Growing Carrots In Your Home Garden

Carrots are amongst the most popular vegetables to grow in the organic home vegetable garden. Carrots are perhaps so popular because of how easy they are to grow and the versatility they provide in the kitchen. Carrots can be used for Juicing, Boiling, Steaming, In Casseroles, Stews and Soups, Grated in Cakes, rissoles, on sandwiches, in salads or simply on their own as delicious carrot sticks.

Soil preparation is the most important factor when growing carrots. As deep-rooted vegetables they require soft loamy soil that does not have any rocks, lumps or foreign materials in as these may cause misshapen carrots or stunted growth.

Organically grown Carrots are beneficial to the soil as they can help to build a soil as they grow. Even with stunted growth the soil is being broken up as the roots of the carrot grow.

A rotary hoe is an ideal tool for preparing the soil for planting carrots. It will help break up the soil creating a quality medium suitable for the growth of carrots. If you do not have a rotary hoe you can still use traditional digging methods but dig in ample amounts of quality organic compost and manures.

After preparing the soil it should be raked over level and small rows scribed in the soil about 2cm (about an inch) deep. Each row should be at least 20cm apart – 30cm would be better to allow for weeding and harvesting. Sticks should be placed at each end of the rows to mark where each row is. Otherwise you will not know where the seeds are until they begin to shoot.

Carrot seed is about 1mm wide and approx 2 or 3 mm long. Sow seeds by pinching several seeds between the thumb and finger and sprinkling across each row. When each row has been sown gently push the soil over the hole before moving on to the next row. I will occasionally using a mixture of potting mix and coco peat (50:50 mix) to back fill the rows depending on the coarseness of the soil they are sown in.

After all rows have been planted water in well. If you have dogs, cats or problems with wild birds, you may want to consider a bird netting frame over the garden bed until the seeds have sprouted. Animals have a magical sense of discovering exactly where you do not want them to scratch.

If your soil is well prepared and contains ample organic matter you will not need to add any nutrient until the plants have fully emerged. After this a weekly watering with diluted liquid rabbit manure or liquid worm castings will provide most of the required nutrient.

The carrots should be thinned out and used as they grow. This will leave room for the rest to develop to their full size and will prevent strangling from being too close.

Regular watering is also essential during dry weather.

July 13, 2010  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: Growing Organic Vegetables  No Comments