Grow Your Own Veggies

Posted by Ena Clewes
February 3rd, 2008
Filed in Fruits, Veggies and Herbs
Tags: Compost, garden, herbicides, lawns, legumes, manure, Soil and Fertilizer, vegetables

I have mentioned before the benefit, both financially and healthwise, to grow your own veggies.

There is nothing more satisfying in a garden, than to pull your own carrots, eat your own tomatoes and dig up your own potatoes. The principles of being able to produce good quality vegetables,
relies on good soil. A healthy soil is a living community of tiny organisms that cycle nutrients, which helps plants get those nutrients and overwhelm disease.

Green manures are plants grown to feed the soil: they are dug back into the soil when they start to flower.
Peas,lentils,add nitrogen to the soil, cereals such as oats, rye, wheat, add carbon. Together they build a healthy soil community. Every garden and every kitchen, produces lots of material that might be wasted– weeds, tops from carrots and potatoes, stalks from peas and tomatoes. This material can be composted and returned to feed the garden soil.

Some people are afraid that raw manure can carry harmful bacteria, but if the manure is well composted the bacteria are killed in that process.

Organic gardeners have a number of techniques to help their plants compete with weeds. Tillage is a primary tool, as well as rototilling and using a hoe.

If the garden is large, then a good alternative is mulch. A thick layer of straw, leaves or lawn clippings on the soil around the vegetables can reduce weeds that come up in the veggie patch.

If you are using a commercial herbicide ( I Hope Not!) on your lawn,then this can cause problems in the garden. You can also use plastic as a mulch as it can warm the soil and speed the growth of warm season veggies, like tomatoes and peppers.

Many people now buy organic produce if they cannot grow their own, (or it is winter,) organic sections in the grocery stores are growing rapidly as many people wish to avoid genetically engineered food.

Buying organic just seems the right thing to do, for the health of your family.