Nothing can beat freshness and taste of homemade produce, - particularly, organically grown one.
Organic kitchen gardens have great universal appeal to all of us; they can be of any type, shape, or size.They help us grow free & healthy food, and they recycle organic household waste we produce, daily.
Start your own kitchen garden, today; -it's easy and very rewarding!
Below, are a few points to consider.
Step 1 - Choose Location
If you can, situate your garden close to the kitchen, and the house; -convenient for daily maintenance, and it's great fun to be
able to sneak out of the house, to pick your salad, as desired. It will also keep many critters from coming, and nibble on your greens.
Other locations, such as greenhouses, cold frames, patios, decks, backyards, city allotments, balconies, rooftops window boxes, or drought-free, sunny interiors, will also suit the purpose.
Step 2 - Keep It Small
Apart from water and air, it's quality of the soil that makes a garden grow and produce.
It will be easier, cheaper, and more rewarding to cultivate a small garden, particularly if you wish to commit to an organic way of gardening, and work with nature, rather than with chemicals. Use common sense, and size your garden according to your needs.
Step 3 - Build Good Garden Foundations
Outline garden boundary; begin preparing the soil.
Good, Light Soils.
Turn the soil over with a shovel (or rototiller), and remove pieces of wiregrass, and any other, expansive weeds. Cover with mulch, let
it rest.
Heavy Clay Soils.
Soak lots of newspapers.
Sprinkle new garden area with water.
Place newspapers over the soil (make several layers). Weight it with lots of mulch. Leave it for about a month or longer, till paper decomposes.
Moisture, natural heat of mulch, and lack of sun will all enable decomposition of weeds, and softening of the soil. Once it's done, turn the soil over, working decomposed paper, and mulch into the soil; discard any pieces of wiregrass, that may have survived.
Please, note: decomposition of mulch will still continue, -further improving the soil.
Container Garden
Larger size containers will be best. Line them with pebbles for drainage. Add a layer of soil, another one of dry leaves or shredded newspapers, followed by a layer of soil, then another one of organic kitchen waste, and cover with more soil on the top. Water, cover to seal the air, and sunlight off and let nature do the rest, for the next few weeks. Keep the pots outside, during that time.
Step 4 - Build the Soil.
The easy and effective way of building good soil is to give it organic matter, regularly.
Kitchen and garden waste will attract microorganisms that love feeding on it; as they do, they will replenish soil's nutrients, and structure.
Fluffy, and rich soil enables your plants to eat, breathe, and drink, well.
Organic soil is actually great well beyond one's tomato patch. Its ability to take, and hold the moisture, stop soil erosion, so common, yet so bad for our environment. So, let's keep recycling our organic waste, benefit from fertile soil, sustainable erosion free, environment, and money saved on buying food, and fertilizers.
-to be continued.
In Part 2 (March), we will discuss details of what, and how to compost. We will also design the layout of our organic kitchen garden, and more, - so stay with us!
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References
Special Thanks
Special Thanks to Town & Country Gardens Contributors: dive-angel (Karin), Jasmine&Roses, Rita Crane Photography. Rita Crane, daughter of LIFE magazine photographer Ralph Crane. Her work can be seen on Flickr at Rita Crane Photography or on her website., TMR Davies, W.D. Williams
