How to grow organic vegetables at home is a fun post to inspire anyone to give growing your own organic food a go. Growing up my family always had a veggie garden and lots of fruit trees. I still remember digging spuds in the garden with dad and then riding in the wheelbarrow. As a kid, I would even eat the spuds raw lol. We were very lucky to grow up eating organic produce picked fresh from our garden and it is so easy to do no matter how much space you have! It’s also so wonderful to get the kids involved and expose them to growing veggies as they will not only love it but they will be more likely to try for themselves when all grown up and hopefully teach their kids all about it too. My daughter is obsessed with the compost bin and all the worms she has to check upon daily and feed them their dinner. She loves it! So I asked my dad if he would be happy to share the 7 easy steps to grow an organic veggie garden. Thanks dad for sharing your tips its truly the best way to source our veggies. Organic and full of nutrition! Best food for growing little bodies. Tahlia xx
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How to grow organic vegetables at home (my story)
Written by Shane Griffin
I have grown up with organic homegrown vegetables and fruit all my life so it was only natural that I continued along these lines with my children. Organic homegrown vegetables and fruits are one of the most beneficial ways to health and well being…our bodies use the natural fibre and nutrition within these fruits and vegetables to boost our immune system, and just working with the soil and growing your own helps with all sorts of gut bacteria benefits.
Growing your own produce is a magical family adventure…exploring the soil structure, worms doing their work and I have found over many years that children benefit so much from digging in the soil, playing in the soil, picking the great bounty of Fruit & Veggies as they ripen.
Growing your own organic vegetables at home is simple
Many people say to me ‘Oh My, how do you grow so many veg & fruit…it is not very difficult and once your garden is set up the time is minimal…but the more time spent the more you benefit.
For new home gardeners the secret is to start small…maybe just one raised Garden bed to start, or pots. This will only take a small amount of time to set up. I think the best way is to start with an economical raised bed available from Birdies for example…available on the net with a variety of shapes to construct from the packaged box once it arrives….fun for all the family assembling the garden bed.
Once constructed just find a flat spot to place it and then add soil…there are plenty of choices for soil supply…garden centers have many Organic options and once the bed is full with soil the real fun begins.
So what do I plant?
What to plant? For the new gardener start with easy to grow vegetables, spring onions, lettuce, chives, parsley, tomatoes are great starters…watch them grow and pick them for kitchen cooking…as you progress other veg like carrots, potatoes, cauliflowers, broccoli, garlic, etc…are easy to grow and your vegetable garden can expand.
7 easy steps on how to grow organic vegetables at home
These are my 7 easy tips for all your gardening fun:
1 / Buy a raised bed or build your own from timber…Cypress is ideal as well as corrugated Iron or buy a Birdies already boxed for assembly. Pots are also a beginner’s way of experimenting with growing your own.
2 / Find a flat piece of ground or terrace it to level an area suitable for your garden choice.
3 / Fill with organic soil…bagged from hardware stores or collect from garden centers. Most will deliver bulk if required.
4 / Fill and plant…follow seedling instructions or seed packet instructions, only grow vegetables that are suitable for your climate. For instance, Tomato’s grow all year in QLD but Vic only late spring into summer and autumn.
5 / Water and mulch…in hot weather buy some pea straw or Lucerne chaff or other straw products and mulch around the plants to help retain moisture…water with some seaweed solution from time to time and sprinkle some organic fertilizer around the plants and watch them grow.
6 / Keep slippery snails & slugs away by sprinkling used coffee grounds (available from your favorite coffee shop) around the bed and plants…coffee grounds also attract worms.
7 / Create a compost bin so you have readily available nutritious plant food…these bins are available from many hardware stores…set up in a suitable location…place a bag of organic soil into the bin …buy some worms from the garden centre ..place them in and place wet newspaper over them…now its time to feed the worms with all your scraps…a little coffee grounds at times ..grass cuttings, weeds, dry leaves, any organic matter is fine. If the compost bin gets too moist and smelly sprinkle with lime and stir with a fork…the worms should thrive and when full buy another bin transfer some worms from the first bin…in about 3 months the first bin can be removed and the beautiful soil with worm juices and castings can be used on your garden beds…plants love compost.
Enjoy your own organic food
And then you get to ENJOY your bountiful rewards. Feed your family organic vegetables with so much nutrition that your family will thrive and best of all it’s great fun to do with the whole family. Imagine digging those spuds with your children…they love finding them hidden in the ground!
Extra tips:
Australian Made garden beds from QLD
-Make your own beds from Cypress or Red Gum. Note: DO NOT USE TREATED PINE To Make Garden Beds…Treated Pine has chemicals not suitable for use in this way!
Shane
If you have any questions at all please email hello@livewelllovewellness.com and we will endeavour to pass your questions onto the author. He is more than happy to help you on your way for a healthy family lifestyle. Or alternatively, add comments to this post and we will respond.
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