How to Start Growing Your Own Food!

Then I started to discover the value of natural genuine food and realized that gardening was the best method to fit organic produce into our grocery budget plan .

As I found out more about natural gardening I began to understand that it’s more than just avoiding chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Organic gardening is a method of growing food that is in consistency with nature.

It produces and supports small communities that collaborate to support healthy crops and wildlife. Right up my alley!

Organic gardening is what our grandparents did (they just called it gardening though) and is the most convenient, least time-consuming and least expensive method to grow your own food when done right.

Are you ready to start growing healthy food for your household? Let’s begin!

What is Organic Gardening?

Plants require sunshine, water, nutrients, and good soil to grow. Chemical gardening utilizes artificial compounds to fake some of these conditions. Organic gardening aims to support natural ecosystems so that these things can happen naturally.

With organic gardening, we include compost or manure to feed the soil which supports healthy root systems, and in turn, assists avoid bugs and illness.

Planting certain crops near other crops helps to bring in or drive away pests. We see how nature attends to these crops and we attempt to imitate it as much as possible.

Organic Gardening Vs. Permaculture: What’s the Difference?

It depends on who you ask. My take is this:

Permaculture is an entire system of homestead or farm management that attempts to simulate nature as carefully as possible. Organic gardening and permaculture gardening are really similar because they both wish to mimic nature.

Some would argue that natural gardening values the label of natural over sustainability. For, example, picking the local garden compost even though it’s not organic.

I personally believe we can utilize both or either approach as it works best for us. The important point is to deal with nature in growing food , and both do that well.

Selecting Your Garden Space

Where are you going to start your natural garden? Even if you don’t have a big backyard you can still grow an organic garden. You require a garden plot that:

• Gets at least 8 hours of sun a day.
• Is well drained pipes (not swampy).
• Great quality soil ( though you can generally improve it).

When choosing a location, make certain to keep your garden close to your home so you can go out and get fresh produce whenever you need it. This can increase the amount of fresh veggies you consume when you only have to step outside the door to gather!

For some areas, a raised bed might be the finest option, especially if your soil is bad. You might also decide on container gardening.

Container gardening is great for small spaces or for novices who aren’t sure if they’ll enjoy gardening (you will).

Soil

, if you’re just starting out you may decide to buy soil particularly if you are doing raised containers or beds.. If you wish to go in-ground you’ll likely require to change your soil (more on that listed below).

If you do not have any, you can get organic garden compost and manure at your regional garden supply shop or local farm. If you select to. raise chickens. too, you can have your own source of totally free manure!

Raised beds are less labor-intensive (at least at very first), beginning a garden in sod is possible. Some individuals select to utilize a rototiller to break brand-new ground (which works well and is a simple way to start) while others choose to keep the soil layers undamaged and rather. double dig. a new garden plot.

Another alternative is broadforking and laying mulching product over your new garden (to kill grass) as Justin Rhodes teaches on his. youtube channel . I have used. raised beds. lot of times in the past. However starting a garden on sod isn’t as hard as it appears. I have actually gotten quite great yields from this kind of garden too, with just the aid of a. broadfork mulch, and. my chickens. ( this is a permaculture system, FYI)..

Feed the Soil

Feeding the soil will feed your plants. Discover out what your soil needs and consider that to it. This will help you to prevent chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Your soil requires aged, rotted natural material. Compost is one method of feeding the soil.

This just suggests that the compost was piled in a 3-4 ft square area with the best ratio of green to brown material so that it warms up enough to eliminate bugs, illness, and seeds. I have used cold composted material as well and have not had any specific issues.

Compost consists of all sort of nutrients and trace minerals so if this is all you do for your garden you’re doing great!

Soil tests

Many gardeners utilize soil tests to choose what their plants need. It determines the pH of the soil and the abundance of nutrients.

I have not ever done it. I find that it’s most basic to include lots of organic material (e.g. garden compost), plant my plants and then review if they aren’t doing well. If you wish to attempt a house soil test you can get them at garden supply shops..

Nutrients.

Various plants require various nutrients to grow..

Leafy greens and brassicas (like broccoli) like nitrogen if these plants are growing well think about giving them some nitrogen-rich amendments like. . manure tea coffee premises, grass clippings (likewise doubles as mulch), or. blood meal … Fruiting plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers, and melons require great deals of phosphorus however not so much nitrogen. To include phosphorus to your soil consider adding.

rock phosphorous. or. bone meal. Roots like carrots, potatoes, and beets need lots of potassium, and not so much phosphorus or nitrogen. If you are growing these consider including wood ash or. .

kelp meal. Crop rotation is another method you can provide your plants what they require (and not excessive of what they do not). The general idea is to plant leafy vegetables in a spot, followed by fruiting plants the next year and roots the following year. .

Learn more about simple crop rotation here. Seeds.

When it concerns buying seeds there are a variety of things to keep in mind. I review it more in information in.

this post . The basics are that you’ll desire to Stick with organic seeds when possible.

• May want to select open-pollinated treasure seeds when possible (however hybrids are ok, they aren’t GMOs).
• Stick with simple to grow veggies and fruit like zucchini, green beans, and swiss chard.
• Choose things that grow well in your gardening zone.
• Stick to varieties you LIKE!
• Do not overdo it! Select just a few things to start with, get proficient at growing those and then include more next year.
• Planting.

Here in New Hampshire, the summers are short so we start as much as possible inside

When it’s time to plant outdoors, or if you’re planting directly into the ground (like with carrots or lettuce) get your garden coordinator and location your plants or seeds in the locations that you want to plant them.

It’s simple to pop the plants in after whatever is organized.

if you like things to be as simple as possible.

here are some amazing pointers from my Pal Kristi on how to garden with less work. What’s a Garden Organizer? .

It can be as casual or detailed as you want. There.

are apps. you can utilize however you can likewise just utilize a note pad. Start with a paper and outline your garden space. Mark off where each plant will go. This is an excellent time to keep in mind whether a few of the crops are near companion plants or near adversary plants (plants that they do not grow well with)– move these ones.

Keep this paper to make notes of which plants did well for next year. I go the super-informal path and use a notepad removed of an old note pad!

Watering.

Plants require water however not too much water. As long as you get about an inch of rain a week you are most likely great if you get less than that you might require to supplement by watering with the pipe or watering can.

Simply make certain to water the soil and not the plants as this might cause fungus and rot.

Handling Pests

Not all bugs are bad. Numerous are really excellent, like ladybugs. Organic gardening. motivates helpful bugs. while dissuading insects.

Crop rotation. is one way to deal with pests. The concept is that when the bugs wake up in the spring, their favorite snack is now in a totally different place, far away (at least in bug distance)..

In some cases the best thing to do is to pick them off and drop them into a container of soapy water when bugs do begin pestering your garden. You can also use a. natural homemade insect spray. that is simple to make, safe, and works truly well.

Just be conscious that this kind of spray kills or repels all insects, consisting of useful, so it’s more of a last hope.

Plant Sacrificial Plants

Sacrificial plants are ones that bugs like more than your garden plants, or ones that attract or repel certain insects or animals. Dill, coriander, parsley,. nasturtiums and. marigolds. bring in useful insects.

Aphids enjoy lupines and might leave everything else alone. Tomatoes, onions, rosemary, garlic, and sage are thought to prevent cabbage worms.

If you find you have a specific insect, you can browse for natural ways of preventing them and can easily come up with buddy or sacrificial plants for your garden.

Dealing with Illness

Crop rotation. can also aid with plant disease. Some diseases reside in the soil from year to year. Moving crops stops the disease from developing in the soil.

Crop rotation keeps the soil healthy and healthy soil is less most likely to harbor disease.

Here are a few other suggestions for preventing disease

• Offer plants enough area. Air flow and enough area for healthy roots can assist.
• Water the soil, not the plant. Watering the leaves of the plant might spread out illness.
• Mulch assists to keep in moisture while decreasing the quantity of water that splashes on the plant.
• Burn or hot garden compost unhealthy plants.
• Sanitize garden tools.

Dealing with Weeds

If you’re organic gardening you obviously do not wish to be utilizing commercial weed killers. So are you destined weed all day long, all summer? Nope! You have options..

• Hoe your garden. Hoeing cuts the weeds from their roots simply listed below the soil surface. As long aa s the weeds aren’t going to seed this is an excellent choice.
• Start plants inside. By beginning plants inside (or in a greenhouse) your plants have a jump on the growing season and any weeds are not as most likely to cause any issues.
• Mulch assists suppress weeds by blocking the sun. Leaves, wood chips, and natural straw are some options that are safe for your garden. Mulching also assists prevent illness and keep moisture in the soil.