Posts Tagged ‘Organic Vegetable Garden’

Vegetable gardeners with experience know that what you put in the soil is one of the deciding factors when it comes to the amount and quality of fruits and vegetables your plants produce. Without the right plant food, nothing else you do is going to matter, and your crops are doomed to fail. The soil must be rich or the garden will be poor. 

One distinction that needs to be made when it comes to plant food is the difference between available and non-available plant foods- that is, between foods which it is possible for the plant to use, and those which must undergo a change of some sort before the plant can take them up, assimilate them, and turn them into a healthy growth of foliage, fruit or root. It is just as easily possible for a plant to starve in a soil abounding in plant food, if that food is not available, as it would be for you to go unnourished in the midst of soups and tender meats if they were frozen solid.

Plants take all their nourishment in the form of soups, and very weak ones at that. To be available plant food must be soluble to the action of the feeding root tubes; and unless it is available it might, as far as the present benefiting of your garden is concerned, just as well not be there at all. Plants take up their food through innumerable and microscopic feeding rootlets, which possess the power of absorbing moisture, and furnishing it, distributed by the plant juices, or sap, to stem, branch, leaf, flower and fruit. There is one startling fact which may help to fix these things in your memory: it takes from 300 to 500 pounds of water to furnish food for the building of one pound of dry plant matter. You can see why plant food is not of much use unless it is available; and it is not available unless it is soluble. 

Plant foods consist of chemical elements, or rather, of numerous substances which contain these elements in greater or less degrees. There a very interesting science of this matter. It is evident, however, as we have already seen that the plants must get their food from the soil, and that there are but two sources for such food: it must either be in the soil already, or we must put it there. The only three of the chemical elements mentioned which we need consider are: nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash. The average soil contains large amounts of all three, but they are for the most part in forms which are not available and, therefore, may be dismissed from our consideration. (The non-available plant foods already in the soil may be released or made available to some extent by cultivation.) In practically every soil that has been cultivated and cropped, in long-settled districts, the amounts of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash which are immediately available will be too meager to produce a good crop of vegetables. It becomes absolutely necessary then, if you want to have a really successful garden, no matter how small it is, to add plant foods to the soil abundantly.

When you realize, (1) that the number of plant foods containing the three essential elements is almost unlimited, (2) that each contains them in different proportions and in differing degrees of availability, (3) that the amount of the available elements already in the soil varies greatly, and (4) that different plants, and even different varieties of the same plant, use these elements in widely differing proportions; then you begin to understand what a complex matter this question of which plant food to use is and why it is so much discussed and so little understood. What a labyrinth it offers for any writer- to say nothing of the reader- to go astray in! I have tried to present this matter clearly. If I have succeeded it may have been only to make you hopelessly discouraged of ever getting at anything definite in the question of enriching the soil. In that case my advice would be that, for the time being, you forget all about it.

Fortunately, in the question of plant food, a little knowledge is not often a dangerous thing. Fortunately, too, your plants do not insist that you solve the food problem for them. Set a full table and they will help themselves and take the right dishes. The only thing to worry about is that of the three important foods mentioned (nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash) there will not be enough: for it has been proved that when any one of these is exhausted the plant practically stops growth; it will not continue to “fill up” on the other two. Of course there is such a thing as going to extremes and wasting plant foods, even if it does not, as a rule, hurt the plants. 

So you know that your plants need available food. The question then becomes what to use. The terms “manure” and “fertilizer” are used somewhat ambiguously and interchangeably. I use manure in a broad sense meaning anything that will rot and enrich the soil, such as well rotted stable manure, or decayed vegetable matter. Organic fertilizers can be purchased pre mixed in any garden center, but for about three to four times as much money as to use natural things or mix the chemical elements into the soil yourself. It depends what you value more, your time or your money! 

Between the organic manures, or “natural” manures as they are often called, and fertilizers there is a very important difference which should never be lost sight of. In theory, and as a chemical fact too, a bag of fertilizer may contain twice the available plant food of a ton of well rotted manure; but out of a hundred practical gardeners ninety-nine-and probably one more- would prefer the manure. There are two reasons why.

First, natural manures have a decided physical effect upon most soils (altogether aside from the plant food they contain); and second, plants seem to have a preference as to the form in which their food elements are served to them. Fertilizers, on the other hand, are valuable only for the plant food they contain, and sometimes have a bad effect upon the physical condition of the soil. When it comes right down to the practical question of what to put on your garden patch to grow big crops, nothing has yet been discovered that is better than the old reliable stand-by- well rotted animal manure. Hold your objections!

We have already seen that plant food which is not available might as well be, for our immediate purposes, at the North Pole. The plant food in “green” or fresh manure is not available, and does not become so until it is released by the decay of the organic matters inside. Now the time possible for growing a crop of garden vegetables is limited; in many instances it is only sixty to ninety days. The plants want their food ready at once; there is no time to be lost waiting for manure to rot in the soil. That is a slow process- especially so in clayey or heavy soils.

So on your garden use only manure that is well rotted and broken up. On the other hand, make sure it has not “fire-fanged” or burned out, because manure, if piled by itself and left, is very sure to do. If you keep any animals of yourown, see that the various sorts of manure- except poultry manure, which is so rich that it is a good plan to keep it for special purposes- are mixed together and kept in a compact, built-up square heap, not a loose pyramidal pile. Keep it under cover and where it cannot wash out. The pile should be turned from bottom to top and outside in and rebuilt, treading down firmly in the process, every month or two- applying water, but not soaking, if it has dried out in the meantime.

Such manure will be worth two or three times as much, for garden purposes, as that left to burn or remain in frozen lumps. Of course you can purchase your manure in any garden center or buy fresh manure from a local farmer if you live in the country. When possible, it will pay you to start saving manure several months before you want to use it and work it over as suggested above. In buying manure keep in mind not what animals made it, but what food was fed- that is the important thing. Better manure is more expensive, but well worth it. For instance, the manure from highly-fed livery horses may be, weight for weight, worth three to five times that from cattle wintered over on poor hay, straw and a few roots. 

There are other organic manures which it is sometimes possible to obtain, such as refuse brewery hops or fish scraps and sewage, but they are as a rule out of the reach of, or objectionable for, the purposes of the home gardener. There are, however, numerous things constantly going to waste around the house, which should be converted into manure. Fallen leaves, grass clippings, vegetable and fruit tops, roots & peels, green weeds, old pieces of fruits and vegetables, egg shells, coffee grounds, anything that will rot away, should go into the compost heap.

These should be saved, under cover if possible, in a compact heap and kept moist (never soaked) to help decomposition. To start the heap, gather up every available substance and make it into a pile with some fresh manure if you have it. Fermentation and decomposition will be quickly started. The heap should occasionally be forked over and restacked. Wood ashes form another valuable manure which should be carefully saved. Beside the plant food contained, they have an excellent effect upon the mechanical condition of almost every soil.

Ashes should not be put in the compost heap, because there are special uses for them, such as dusting on squash or melon vines, or using on the onion bed, which makes it desirable to keep them separate. Wood ashes may be bought for this purpose at a very cheap price, or use your own if you make fires. Coal ashes contain practically no available plant food, but are well worth saving to use on stiff soils, for paths, etc. If you would rather not go through the trouble of stacking, turning, and restacking manure, there are compost containers you can buy to put these things in to rot. Do make sure you turn it with a pitchfork occasionally and mist it with water enough to keep it moist (not soaked) either way. 

Another source of organic manure is called “green-manuring”- the plowing under of growing crops to enrich the land. Even in the home garden this system should be taken advantage of whenever possible. In farm practice, clover is the most valuable crop to use for this purpose, but on account of the length of time necessary to grow it, it is useful for the vegetable garden only when there is enough room to have clover growing on one plot, while the garden occupies, for two years, another plot and then changing them around.

This system will give an ideal garden soil, especially where it is necessary to rely for the most part upon fertilizers. There are, however, four crops valuable for green-manuring the garden, even where the same spot must be occupied year after year: rye, field corn, field peas (or cow peas in the south) and crimson clover. After the first of September, sow every foot of garden ground cleared of its last crop, with winter rye.

Sow all ground cleared during August with crimson clover and buckwheat, and mulch the clover with rough manure after the buckwheat dies down. Sow field peas or corn on any spots that would otherwise remain unoccupied six weeks or more. All these should be sown on a freshly raked surface. Such a system will save a very large amount of plant food which otherwise would be lost, will convert unavailable plant food into available forms while you wait for the next crop, and add humus to the soil. 

I am aware that some of you will not use manure because it grosses you out too much. That’s alright, organic fertilizer will do also. You can buy it or mix your own. I’m going to explain how it works. We have already seen that the soil contains within itself some available plant food. We can determine by chemical analysis the exact amounts of the various plant foods-nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, etc.- which a crop of any vegetable will remove from the soil. The idea in scientific chemical manuring is to add to the available plant foods already in the soil just enough more to make the resulting amounts equal to the quantities of the various elements used by the crop grown. In other words: available plant food elements in the soil + available chemical food elements supplied in fertilizer= amounts of food elements available to crop. 

The raw materials from which organic fertilizers are made up are organic substances which contain nitrogen, phosphoric acid or potash in fairly definite amounts.

Some of these can be used to advantage by themselves. Those most practical for use by the home gardener, I mention. 

Ground bone is rich in phosphate and lasts a long time; what is called “raw bone” is the best. “Bone dust” or “bone flour” is finely pulverized; it will produce quick results, but does not last as long as the coarser forms. Cottonseed meal is one of the best nitrogenous fertilizers for garden crops. It is safer than nitrate of soda and decays very quickly in the soil. Peruvian Guano, in the pure form, is now practically out of the market. Lower grades, less rich in nitrogen especially, are to be had; and also “fortified” guano, in which chemicals are added to increase the content of nitrogen. It is good for quick results. Palm bunch ash is one of the best raw forms of organic potash. 

There are many brands of organic fertilizers available for sale in any garden center. You can make your own much cheaper, but some people prefer to buy it pre-made for the convenience. It is little use to pay attention to the claims made for them. Even where the analysis is guaranteed, the ordinary gardener has no way of knowing that the contents of his few bags are what they are labeled. The best you can do, however, is to buy on the basis of analysis, not of price per ton-usually the more you pay per bag, the cheaper you are really buying your actual plant food.

Email the Experiment Station in your state and ask for the last bulletin on fertilizer values. It will give a list of the brands sold throughout the state, the retail price per ton, and the actual value of plant foods contained in a ton. Then buy the brand in which you will apparently get the greatest value. For garden crops the mixed fertilizer you use should contain (about): 

Nitrogen, 4 percent. Basic formula

Phosphoric acid, 8 percent. == for

Potash, 10 percent. Garden crops 

If applied alone, use at the rate of 250 to 375 pounds per quarter acre. If with manure, less in proportion to the amount of manure used. Basic formula (see above) means one which contains the plant foods in the proportion which all garden crops must have. Particular crops may need additional amounts of one or more of the three elements, in order to attain their maximum growth. Such extra feeding is usually supplied by top dressings, during the season of growth. 

If you look over the Experiment Station report mentioned above, you will notice that what are called “home mixtures” almost invariably show a higher value compared to the cost than any regular brand. In some cases the difference is fifty percent. This means that you can buy the raw materials and make up your own mixtures cheaper than you can buy organic fertilizers. You can also use things you would normally throw away for free!

More than that, it means you will have purer mixtures. More than that, it means you will have on hand the materials for giving your crops the special feedings that the individual types need. The idea widely prevails, thanks largely to the fertilizer companies, that home mixing cannot be practically done, especially upon a small scale. From both information and personal experience I know the contrary to be the case. With a tight floor or platform, a square-pointed shovel and a coarse wire screen, there is absolutely nothing impractical about it. The important thing is to see that all ingredients are evenly and thoroughly mixed. A scale for weighing will also be a convenience. Further information may be had from the firms which sell raw materials, or from your Experiment Station. 

In conclusion, manure is preferred, but organic fertilizer can work well also. The most important distinction is that the plant food is available. You should also realize that different crops thrive off extra helpings of certain plant foods. I give detailed descriptions of how to grow many different fruit and vegetable crops including what plant foods to give each in my most recent work, “Organic Gardening Secrets”. Just click the link below to check it out.

You have now planted your own organic vegetable garden and have done everything that you can to get it started.  Unfortunately the seeds have not started sprouting or your started seeds have not grown much if it all.  Before you throw in the towel and give up on organic gardening there are a few things that you should try.

First of all, have you been hand weeding your garden daily?  This might sound like a pain and stupid chore but it could make all the difference in the world.  Make a point of visiting your vegetable garden each day and carefully checking for weeds.  Do not let the children do it and do not rely on a glance from your back window to tell you whether weeds are growing or not. 

Many gardeners have done casual checks and later realized that the sprouts they thought were growing in their garden were really weeds.  Make a close inspection each day and weed by hand to make sure the job is thoroughly done.  Throw these weeds away do NOT put them into your compost pit.  In order to get the best results dedicate 20 minutes each day to pulling weeds.

If you have been weeding your garden each day and your plants still seem to be growing slowly start adding rich, aged, compost to the slow growing vegetables.  Many plants just need a helping hand and some vegetables, corn, pumpkins, and squash, all need compost to provide richness and nutrients.  Spreading some aged compost from your composts pits will help your vegetables grow properly.

After adding compost to your vegetables every few days leads to no results consider investing in some manure from your local garden supplier.  They will often have organic manure on hand for your gardening needs and this will act as a stronger fertilizer than your compost.  If you are afraid to try manure you can invest in some aged compost purchased from a nursery first.  In many cases your compost pits will only be a few weeks old when you are trying to use them to encourage growth some older compost might just do the trick.

Do not be afraid to increase the amount of water that you are giving your garden.  You should be careful not to over water your plants but you want to make sure that your plants are getting enough water to survive and thrive.  When you water your plants in the morning always check to see if the soil appears dry.  If the soil seems dry one day after watering you might want to consider increasing the amount of water you are giving them.  The soil should always be a little damp around your plants.

Lastly, do not be afraid to spray your homemade pesticide or even a bit of diluted soapy water on your plants to get ride of insects.  If you notice a lot of pests are attracted to your vegetable garden consider spraying once every ten days or once every two weeks.  Also, spray diluted soapy water directly onto vegetables that have insects on them all the time.

In the last ten years there has been huge advancements in technology which has led to homogenization and mechanization of farming. Now farmers have access to herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, mass production, additives and pesticides. This is most definitely affecting the health of mankind. New diseases, like bird flu, are spreading very quickly among humans as well as animals.

The W.H.O. (World Health Organization) has produced certain reports that show how chemicals as well as other dangerous products that are used in our food along with the process in which the food is manufactured is actually threatening our health.

If your garden has a little extra space where a few pots can fit, you should consider growing an organic vegetable garden of your own. Here you can see seven reasons why this would be good for you:-

1. There are no additives in organic vegetables – Many organic food associations have studied and concluded that additives in the food you eat can lead to osteoporosis, migraines, hyperactivity and heart diseases.

2. There are no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides – These chemicals are applied on crops so that they can be grown irrespective of weather conditions or plague and they greatly affect quality of the crops. Also, most pesticides are poisonous to human beings.

3. No genetic modification [GM] of vegetables – Hormones, drugs and antibitoics are used on many vegetables to get more, larger vegetables. This practice has one consequence. That the vegetables all look similar and are pretty much tasteless.

4. Eating organic vegetables made yourself is healthy – These vegetables won’t have any of the chemicals or products mentioned above. They are much more natural as compared to any ones that you may find at a super market. You won’t be risking your health as there will definitely be nothing dangerous added in your vegetables.

5. Home grown organic vegetables are more tasty – When pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and synthetic fertilizers are used to grow vegetables, they grow un-naturally and have no taste. When you grow them yourself you will be able to experience their full flavor.

6. Growing organic vegetables is environmentally friendly – Since you are not using pesticides or any  other harmful substances, you won’t damage the air or the soil with these harmful components.

7. If you grow organic vegetables of your own then you are adding to self sustainability as well as sustainability of our planet. There are many small communities across the country where vegetables are grown naturally and then exchanged between the members and this creates a better, much more friendly place for everyone.

Lastly, growing organic vegetables simply means that we will not add anything, that they are not naturally meant to have, to help them grow. As you will be able to guess, fertilizers, additives, hormones or pesticides are all components that are not found in food that is grown naturally. To take good care of your own health, you should grow organic vegetables of your own. All you need is a few pots.

If you don’t already have your own compost, check with your local municipality. Most give away leaf compost for free. Some even deliver by the truckload to your home!

Leaf compost is very rich in organic matter; however, it still needs a few amendments. Lime added to your compost will balance the Ph and Gypsum added (about 5lbs. per 100 sq. ft.) will keep the soil nice and loose, it also adds trace minerals such as calcium which is great for the soil. Adding these will also help plants intake the nutrients they need to thrive. Work this into the top 4”-6” of soil.

Another important key to growing organic veggies is sunlight. Take some time to watch the sun as it moves across your property throughout the day. Start your garden where it will get the maximum amount of sun and plant your rows from NE to SW. It is also important to water your garden in the early morning between the hours of 6 and 10 am. The will allow for good water absorption and any water left on the leaves will evaporate before the heat of mid-day. Watering in the middle of the day is not recommended because the water will evaporate before it has a chance to really soak in (or you will have to water longer to get the same effect). The leaves of the plants may also burn as the water on the leaves heats up. Never, ever water your garden in the evening unless you want a tough battle with the evil fungus! Let me explain. When you water in the evening it is cooler and dark. The ground will absorb the water well, however, the round will only suck up so much, and then the garden is left with water on the leaves and puddles (even small ones) around the stems. There is no sun to gently evaporate the excess. Water and air can carry fungus spores naturally. The water laying on the leaves and around the stems acts as a fertilizer to the evil fungus and it grows literally overnight. Before you know it you have black spots on your tomato and pepper plant and curling leaves on your cucumbers!

Ok, once you have chosen your location, prepared the soil, and have placed your plants in rows, use your recycled newspaper as a weed preventer between the rows. Once the newspaper is wet, no weed can penetrate it. It’s not very pretty, do like I do and give it a covering of mulch. Newspaper and mulch also serve a dual purpose…they help retain moisture around the plants. Just try to keep them away from the stems of your plants.

Pretty simple so far, huh? There is a great misnomer about the word ORGANIC. Many people think that organic means work. It’s just the opposite. Working with nature, and using simple principles is always easier and more successful than working against nature with harmful chemical based fertilizers and control products.

Beneficial insects in your garden are a must. Lady bugs and Preying Mantids will eat many unwanted insects. Bats are also great insect eaters. And no, they will not get stuck in your hair! Install a bat box up in a tree and you will have less garden pests and mosquitoes in your yard. Bats are nocturnal so they won’t bother you at all. They are actually great fun to watch at dusk, dancing in the moonlight.

If you do find yourself with a garden invasion of nasty little critters, there are a few easy tricks. If you only see a few insects, pick them off, put in a refuse bag and throw in the trash. If you have more than a few, a solution of soapy water generally will do the trick. Using recycled bath or dishwater works great. It also saves precious water. If your garden is too large to bucket the water from your sink or tub, pour some liquid dish soap in a hose end sprayer and spray the garden. A good soak of the plants is what you want. You can do this weekly all the way until harvest.

As for fertilizing your veggies, there is nothing better than Merrill’s! When I find a product that works this well, I have to spread the word. Merrill’s Compost Fertilizer or Compost Tea (a water soluble fertilizer) is an All Natural Certified Organic Fertilizer. Your plants will love it! They will grow bigger, and yield more veggies than any other fertilizer I’ve ever used.

Ok, now let me tell you how to rid your garden of the EVIL FUNGUS. If you come across a plant (particularly tomatoes) that is curling or wilting with no other apparent signs of disease, (and it’s been getting adequate water) pull it our and dispose of it immediately. Throw it in the garbage… do not put it in your compost bin!

Do not replant in that spot again this season. It could have Fusarium Wilt or some other disease that attacks the root system of the plant and can travel quickly from plant to plant. If you have Black Spot or Powdery Mildew, make sure you are only watering in the morning, and you can get an organic fungus control at greennationgardens.com or your local garden center.

Now that the gardening season is over, when breaking down your garden… COMPOST IT! Any newspaper and mulch can be placed in your compost to break down naturally to be added back into your garden next year. Plant stems unfortunately have to go into the garbage. They are fibrous and difficult to break down. You do not want any disease spores wintering over in your compost bin. Make sure to test the Ph and amend your soil yearly to replace the nutrients and trace minerals your veggies took from the soil. After all, the organic vegetables you’ll be growing the following growing season will be looking for those very same nutrients. They’ll thank you for it with a bountiful array of fresh organic produce, and your family will thank you for all the wonderful goodness you have provided them with no chemicals, and that is a wonderful thing!

HAPPY “ORGANIC” GARDENING!

Anybody can do organic vegetable gardening at home because the principle behind this is not that different from what they do in the farm. The only difference is that you work in a smaller area and you get to choose what you like plant.

The first thing you have to do is find an ideal location. A lot of people do organic vegetable gardening in their backyard. To make it work, whatever you are planting should get at least 6 hours of sunlight everyday and access to water.

Just like the ancient civilizations that relied on an efficient irrigation system, you too should do the same by making sure there is adequate drainage because if you don’t, you will have to do organic vegetable gardening using a raise bed.

When your ideal location has been found, it is time to cultivate the land. For that, you will need your gardening tools and a pair of gloves to pluck out the weeds on the ground. This might take a few days to make sure the area is ready for planting.

You will only know if the ground you are going to plant your vegetable is a good spot by testing it with some compost and mixing this with the soil. Should it be able to integrate and stabilize itself with the soil, this means that you can start planting your crops and see it grow in the succeeding weeks.

If you don’t like to buy compost from the gardening store, you can make your own using coffee grounds, dead leaves, grass clippings, food waste or even manure. They also serve as excellent fertilizers.

As for your vegetables, take note that some of these may not be suitable in the land you are planting these on. This is because of several factors that are beyond your control such as the weather, pests and other plant borne diseases. You can avoid making this mistake by doing some research on what vegetables are ideal to plant in your area and asking fellow organic gardeners.

One way to protect the organic vegetables you are planting is by planting a variety of them at a time since some of these protect each other from pests. Such practice is better known as crop rotation especially when you want to adapt with the weather in your area. Another defense system that works is getting the help of Mother Nature as birds, certain insects and even toads have proven to be useful.

If you live in an area where wild animals may eat your vegetables, you should put up fences so they are not able to get through. Other tools you can use are animal hair, baby powder and deodorant soaps.

Part of preparing the land is removing the weeds. But remember that new weeds grow after some time so you have to inspect the area from time to time.

Planting your own organic vegetable garden at home will surely save you money as these are quite expensive in the supermarket. If you have some excess stocks when it is time to harvest them, maybe you can give some to your neighbors or make some money by selling it at the local market which isn’t that bad given that you don’t shell out that much cash for this investment.

The most basic and important thing to do before you start an organic vegetable garden is to decide what you want to grow. There are so many vegetables to choose from but keep in mind that certain vegetables cannot be grown because of the climate so take that into consideration as well.

To ensure that you do not have a hard time taking care of it, choose those that are well adapted to the soil, temperature, sun and shade exposure. If you live in an area where droughts are frequent, make sure you are planting drought resistant vegetables since it does not eat up that much water and can withstand dry weather.

You should determine how much space you have. This will make it easy for you to plot on a sheet of paper the layout of how you want your vegetables to grow.

You should mulch your vegetables with organic material. This can be made from food waste, dead leaves or grass and manure. This helps conserve water, adds humus and nutrients as well as discourage weeds from growing.

The best part is that you don’t have to dig deep to put these in because 85% of the vegetable’s roots are found in the top 6 inches of soil.

Aside from compost, you can also use natural fertilizers and organic material to help the vegetables grow. They also encourage native earthworms that are nature’s tillers and soil conditioners.

The biggest threat that could destroy your vegetables are pests. To get rid of them, you should use other insects, birds, frogs. If your crops though have been infected, spray infected stems and leaves with dilute soapy water and then clear water that is very effective.

If you decide to buy vegetables that are grown instead of using seedlings, most of these come in plastic containers. Be careful when you remove them so you avoid tearing the outside roots especially if these have grown solidly inside the container.

When planting vegetables, don’t stick with just one but plant many different kinds because this invites insects to take up resident in your yard.

Believe it or not, only 2 percent of the insects in the world are harmful. This means the rest are beneficial. Some examples of these include ladybugs, fireflies, green lacewings, praying mantis, spiders and wasps since they eat insects that try to eat your vegetables. Another thing they do is pollinate the plants and decompose organic matter.

Don’t forget to remove weeds that come out in your garden. You can pull these out by hand or spot spray it with a full strength of household vinegar. Best of all, it is safe for the environment.

Practice crop rotation. This will make sure that the soil is always fertile. When planting the new vegetable, avoid regular deep cultivation as this will damage the roots, dry out the soil, disturb healthy soil organisms and bring weeds to the surface that will soon germinate.

If you follow these tips, you will surely be able to have a successful organic vegetable garden. You can plant and harvest them all year round so you don’t have to buy these goods anymore from the supermarket. That is assuming of course you have a huge parcel of land to work with.

Tomatoes taken by fusarium wilt. Sugar snap peas eaten up by aphids. An army of slugs in the lettuce patch. Broccoli that never heads.

Sound familiar? If you’ve experienced any of the above, then you know how difficult gardening—especially organic gardening—can be to integrate into an already full schedule. Plants need care and careful monitoring when you’re avoiding chemical pesticides like the plague.

But there is a way to successfully plant and grow organic vegetables. Over the past couple of years I’ve learned some valuable lessons about how to manage an organic vegetable garden without having to devote all your free time to it. Allow me to share them with you…

1. Start small. I decided to plant a garden the year my son turned one. That would’ve been okay, if I’d stuck to a small lettuce patch and a couple of tomato plants. But, not knowing how much time and attention my son would require in the coming months, I bit off way more than I could chew. I ended up having an aphid infestation, diseased tomatoes, and generally an unfruitful harvest.

Another option for keeping it small is container gardening. Anybody can find time to tend to five potted plants per day, especially since container gardens tend to be close to the house, so you are more likely to remember to check them. Which leads me to the next point…

2. Make time to check on your plants at least every other day. Carefully checking each plant for disease and pests on alternate days won’t take very much time, especially if you kept your garden down to a manageable size. But the time you invest doing it will pay off big-time. You’ll be able to find pests and recognize the beginning stages of disease before they have a chance to completely obliterate your crops.

3. Set up an easy watering system. Underground irrigation systems, once installed, require the least amount of time and effort. However, the cost might be more than you’re willing to cover. If that’s the case, lay soaker hoses an inch or so under the soil where you’re going to plant. Being able to turn on a spigot and leave it for twenty minutes is much easier than lugging a hose around the yard.

4. Write down the fertilizing schedule in a calendar or daytimer you look at often. If you overfertilize, you end up with a lot of foliage and not much harvest. Underfertilizing will lead to pathetic looking plants and small fruits. Different crops have different feeding requirements, so getting yourself organized in this area of gardening will really pay off.

5. Spray with chemical-free pesticides and repellents every week or two as soon as the shoots sprout up from the ground. Bugs hate neem oil, which is extracted from a native Indian tree. It can also prevent or fend off certain fungi, like powdery mildew. Spinosad is odorless and safe for the beneficial insects, while it kills the plant-eaters. Orange oil kills any insect that it hits.

Be sure to rotate the use of organic pesticides. Too much neem oil can harm bees, and Spinosad is supposed to be used no more than once a month for most crops.

6. Consider raised bed gardening. Or, at the very least, mulch your garden heavily. Either way will save you a lot of weeding (I have practically no weeds in my raised beds). Raised beds are also much easier to dig into because of the loose soil.

Growing your very own organic vegetable garden, even if your days are full, is possible. Follow these tips, and you will soon find yourself surrounded by delicious food from a garden you have spent only a few minutes a day on.

Here are some of the main features of organic growing:

• Organic growing severely restricts the use of artificial chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

• Instead, organic growers rely on developing a healthy, fertile soil and growing a mixture of crops.

• Genetically modified (GM) crops and ingredients are not allowed under organic standards.

Going organic may mean that you have to make a trade-off between glossy, same same supermarket looks with better tasting crops that aren’t perfect in shape or size, but many gardeners think this is a price worth paying. You’ll be able to grow different crops that are always relatively expensive to buy in supermarkets and at farmers markets and, growing your own vegetables is both fun and rewarding.

Among the many things an organic vegetable garden may offer toward a satisfying experience are fresh air, exercise, sunshine, knowledge, supplemental income, mental therapy, and fresh food, rich in vitamins and minerals, harvested at the best stage of maturity.

You can easily make compost from garden and kitchen waste, although this is a bit more time consuming, you will also make cost savings, because you do not need to buy costly chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic gardening.

Where animal manures are available, they are probably the best source of fertilizer and organic matter for the organic gardener. Use manure which has been aged for at least 30 days if possible, or composted. I am often out in the road if any horses have gone past gathering the manure for the garden. Its looks a bit odd to the teenagers on the street but the dung is worth it!

If you have space for a few pots, or a small space in the garden or even an allotment, it is a wise decision to grow your own organic vegetable garden. To better care for your health, grow your own organic vegetables -and a few pots is all you need at a minimum.

You we also be contributing to the go local food movement which is flourishing – over 15% of people buy organic food locally and this number continues to rise as the number of farmer’s markets, box schemes, cafes and restaurants serving organic food increase. GuideMeGreen helps you to find locally produced foods which are fresher, healthier and more economical. It cuts down on transport costs and food miles where an average shopping basket can include fruit and vegetables transported from all over the world. Even in the UK or USA food is transported from the farm, to the packing centre, then to distribution centre before arriving at the supermarket to be bought which is then transported by car home!