Starting an organic garden and growing your own vegetables is becoming more and more popular particularly with the resurgence of the allotment. The reasons for this are numerous, but the two key reasons are probably the public's concerns with the quality of food on our supermarket shelves, and the ever rising cost of foods. When one reads the country of origin labels of some of the fruit and vegetables one has to ask how fresh are they? The benefit of growing organic vegetables is that you know they will be fresh.
So here is a list of ten easy steps to ensure your organic growing season is productive and will not break the bank:-
1) Keep the soil in good condition during the winter, applying well-rotted organic material from the compost heap and bone meal. If you can get seaweed, this is fantastic for the vegetable garden and just requires forking in lightly. By early spring a light raking is all that will be required.
2) If you are planning to grow in containers, make sure your growing medium has plenty of organic matter mixed into it. Also add dried chicken manure pellets as they slow release a good source of nitrogen depending on the temperature of the growing medium.
3) Try growing your vegetable plants from seeds, as young plants can be expensive & there is no guarantee that they will all take. Following the instructions on the packet should give you a 75% success rate. Calculate how many plants you need and sow a couple more. Using a propagator will not only speed up the process of germination but ensure a higher success rate.
4) Be selective with the plants you are growing and consider the space required for each crop.
5) Ensure you save all your excess seeds. Store them in moisture resistant containers as they will last a few years if looked after.
6) Only grow as much as you need of each crop. This will be acquired through experience and making notes. If growing on an allotment or community garden the chances are you will be able to do some swapping of produce.
7) If growing in containers or the organic vegetable garden then excess crops can be frozen or stored in a cool dry environment e.g. potatoes, carrots and onions.
8) If you can afford it, a small greenhouse or cold frame would be a good long term investment, as it would enable you to get your season off to an early start. It does not need to break the bank as there are some good small cheap ones on the market and you will recoup the cost over a number of years.
9) Keep the organic vegetable garden free of weeds. Those which have seeded should not be composted.
10) Remember if growing tomatoes to feed them regularly once they start to flower.
Growing your own organic vegetables is a very rewarding pastime and these ten easy steps to growing organic vegetables in your own organic garden should help you to save some money. Good luck and enjoy the fruits of your labour.
The author Peter Womersley has over 30 years experience of organic gardening and has recently written a book for those wanting to learn how to get started with growing organic vegetables. He writes regularly on his blog at http://theorganicgardenexposed.com and can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/gardeningorganically. He shares a great deal of knowledge and has produced a series of free fact sheets which can be obtained from his Facebook page or his Blog site.
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