STARTING A VEGETABLE GARDEN
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There are a lot of people who want to grow their own veggies, but really don't know where to start. And even those that do start may find pests, disease and continuity conspiring to dishearten them and end up giving up. Here you will find tips and methods to STARTING a productive food garden. Many of these are things on this page you already sense or know if you allow yourself to. A huge part of gardening is observation and common sense. |
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GROWING FROM SEED
LUNAR PLANTING - embracing the elements
PLANTING BY THE MOON
We all know that gravitational pull of the moon creates our high and low tides. These same forces affect the water content of the soil, creating more moisture in the soil at the time of the new and full moon. So in nature, plants and soil respond to this push and pull of the moon. This increased moisture encourages the seeds to sprout and grow.
Plants absorb more water at the time of the full moon ;
By embracing the moons cycle, you can enhance the health, vitality and growth of plants if germinating seed at specific times for certain families of plants.
Biodinamic farming sees a correlation between science, nature, universal laws and spiritual concerns. Out of this movement the Biodynamic Methods of planting were developed. It establishes a relationship between the elements of earth, air, fire, or water that corresponded to specific parts of the plants . Earth corresponds to root, water to leaf growth, fire to seed production, and air corresponds to flowers. Hence, when planting crops for their fleshy roots, you would plant them in an earth sign, and so forth.
When the moon is in it's waxing phases the increasing amount of moonlight stimulates leaf growth, and as the moonlight decreases the above ground leaf growth slows down. The root is stimulated again
It is more difficult however to impart the PHILOSOPHY of HOW to yield from the earth in ways that honour and respect ALL living things!! Everything in nature has a purpose, and the sooner we work with it rather than against it, the better off we will ALL be in the long run. So you may be anxious to “GET STARTED” but it is essential to understand fully WHY you are doing it in the first place and the long term vision of your garden.
Knowing how to grow your own food continually and efficiently that is in harmony with our natural living systems, (ie. doing it right) is probably one of the most important things to do for your family's health, the environment, for your pocket and your food security in the long term.
Before buying seeds or seedlings, you need to address a few issues, and prepare the space you intend to cultivate food.
The sections here deal with these processes and preparations. These are
- PLANNING & DESIGN
- ORIENTATION
- TOOLS
- BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES
- BIO-DIVERSITY
- WATER ISSUES
- BED PREPARTION
- SOIL & FERTILISING
- CROP PLANNING
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While starting a veggie garden may not be that difficult, it is keeping it consistently producing that poses the biggest challenge. Here we hope to provide a system that will help you keep the veggie patch productive over the whole year and the envy of all your neighbours.
PLANNING & DESIGN
In order to locate the sunniest part of your garden, the best time to plan your veggie garden is in mid winter when the sun is at its most oblique. North or North East facing are ideal (in the southern hemisphere), as the south side is likely to be shaded by your house. If your veggie garden is not in a sunny place, you may be fighting a losing battle for vegetable growing. Plants will always be weak and susceptible to disease and pests if they do not get enough sun to photosynthesise.
Here we hope to point out that you can integrate your flower garden with your veggie garden as this will create the best scenario for biodiversity, so you don't have to sacrifice the prime position to solely vegetable growing.
In your design, mark the prevailing winds so that you can plant wind breaks to protect your garden from harsh winds that will dry out the beds and flatten plants.
Make sure the garden is in close proximity to your house, because if it is too far away, maintenance and harvesting will become an issue.
Plan for a pond somewhere near the veggie garden as this will attract frogs and other predator species to naturally curb pest infestations. Ideally the pond should be filled with grey-water from the house (filtered by a constructed wetland) or rain-water harvested off your roof.
Mark out the areas you want to grow, and list the types of foods and plants you want to grow. Try to list the veggies you eat a lot of so that you can learn to grow these first. One of the biggest causes of failure is not harvesting veggies. If you are constantly picking the food, the production increases. If food stays on the bush (eg beans, peas, basil, eggplant) the plant stops producing. By continuing to pick, the plant continues to produce.
ORIENTATION
Each property is orientated differently, but it is important to orientate your garden to the North or North-East. Make sure the garden has access to the road and is in close proximity to the house or dwelling. The hottest (sunniest) part of the garden should be reserved for herbs and sun-loving veggies. If the garden is located on a slope, it is very important to ‘retain” terraces using a swale method rather than using imported resources to hold the banks. A swale is a natural way to terrace using plants or grasses to hold each level in place. See Swales.
TOOLS & MATERIALS
It is virtually impossible to start a garden without some basic equipment and tools: You will need the following items before being able to proceed with any effectiveness:
TOOLS:
Fork
Spade
Trowel
Pick
Watering can
Hosepipe
Wheelbarrow (optional)
Gloves (optional)
MATERIALS:
Compost bags
Earthwormery or Earthworm Bed
Shade Cloth
String
Plant pots – (preferably clay in various sizes)
Stones
Thick plastic for pond/
BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES
The design should list available recourses already in your garden so that you can plan how nature can do some of work for you or save on materials. Eg. If you have a stand of bamboo, use bamboo as stakes or shelter. Also list the resources you would like your garden to provide. If you like flowers, plant sweet peas to fix nitrogen in a new bed and the dried stems can be used as mulch. If you have a lot of deciduous trees dropping leaves, use the leaves to make compost. An array of flowers and plants can be used as pesticides, protection, compost enhancers, food & oils, building materials, water filtration/saving, beauty, dyes, paper, textiles, medicine/health and energy. Your design should include as many of these multi-purpose plants as possible, but find a focus of at least 3 of these to expand on more.
Eg. Your vision for your garden may be for beauty and pleasure, produce supplementary organic produce, and have wetland plants to filter grey-water to a pond.
BIO-DIVERSITY
It is vital that your garden have as much biological diversity as possible. Try to plant a variety of non-food plants to attract butterflies and other beneficial insects as mentioned above. This will bring more stability, fertility and balance to your developing eco-system. Mix up plants with different colours, textures, aromas and tastes. This will encourage an eco-system in your garden that will help with pests, providing shelter from wind and enhance or stabilise the soil
One may introduce a butterfly garden by planting indigenous trees and shrubs that will attract butterflies for pollinating your garden and attracting predator insects and birds. (see butterfly garden for Natal or visit Tropical Nursery).
WATER ISSUES
Decide where you plan to get the water for your garden. Water is more precious and scarce than many of us are able to fully grasp. Try to harvest rainwater to a reservoir or tank. You can also divert your soapy water that can be filtered through a reed bed, and captured into a pond. Try to use gravity where possible. Ponds attract many varied species, but also provide a scene of beauty and creates a cooling effect in general.
Something to consider is making sure that you have access to 2 or more sources of water. Fresh water is too valuable to let “drain away”. Capturing and saving water in all possible ways is ONE thing you will never regret!!
NOTE: Minimise green deserts as a whole (ie. Lawn) and if you have to have lawn, please do not use sprinklers.
BED PREPARTION
It is best to try to create a design that has no severe edges. Overlapping edges of varying environments will create an opportunity for diversity and ecological improvement.
Some may prefer the idea of raised veggie beds. These are easier to plant in and harvest from as the bending factor is lessoned. Raised beds are easier to maintain and manage any system of succession planting. In terms of ergonomics, beds should be easy to reach, and paths wide enough for a wheel barrow to pass.
One of the cheapest ways to make a raised bed is using sand bags filled with local soil, reinforced by chicken mesh. Chicken mesh will also keep moles out, but will eventually rust and provide iron. But once again, try to use whatever you can from the property. Keep all logs from fallen or felled alien trees, these may be of use for retaining compost pile, or a raised bed. Getting into the habit of keeping every scrap of organic matter ON the property and given back to the soil from whence it came! You will find your own style, using what you have access to. PLEASE try not to use cement beds – these are not exactly ideal in terms of sustainability and resource efficiency.
The minimum number of beds for a small family is about 4. If your beds are about 1m wide x 4m long x 0.5m deep they will be more manageable. These can be rotated through a succession planting system (see Garden in a Box). Raised beds need a lot of soil to fill them, but if you plan ahead, you can build one bed at a time, use it as a composter first. Fill the bed with all your organic waste, paper waste and kitchen scraps. After each addition of organic waste, cover with a thin layer of sand to keep out the flies and pests. If you add earthworms to this composting phase of your raised bed, the bed will be filled with rich, loamy and crumbly soil that any plant will flourish in.
If you want to plant in the ground, it is best to lay down dried leaves and cover with cardboard or thick layer of dried grass as a mulch. Keep this mulch moist. By the time you come to turn the bed for planting, the soil below the mulch will be moist and filled with earthworms that have done most of the turning for you. Cover the top with compost (about 3 to 5 cm thick) and sprinkle some chicken manure on top. You need only use about a handful of chicken manure per metre squared. When tuning in the compost and chicken manure, try to use a fork and only go down ½ the depth of the fork. The reason for this is that the top-soil is so precious, that you don't want to bury the topsoil (rich in minerals and micro-nutrients) too deep. One of the most horrendous activities in commercial farming is the use of ploughs and tractors that gouge deep into the subsoil. When tilling, you need only turn the top 20cm of the soil as this is where most of the microorganisms live and do their work.
Before planting, water the bed very well and cover with mulch. To plant your seedlings or seeds, open up the mulch. This is easier than trying to mulch after planting.
PERMACULTURE
Methodology of Organic growing
Permaculture Principles
Permaculture Principles are based on close observation of nature, traditional sustainable agriculture systems earth sciences and common sense.
Below are definitions and examples of each of the Permaculture principles with relation to sustainable land management and property design.
DIVERSITY
Design for diversity and variety not monoculture. Aim to integrate a variety of beneficial species of food, plants and animals in the landscape. This builds a stable and interactive polycultural system that provides for human needs and also the needs of other species. Polycultures are stable as they reflect the design of a natural ecosystem.
In a diverse garden you will find many foods all year round to provide a healthy and balanced diet. There will also be habitat for animals and insects which help in natural pest control; flowers to attract pollinators and create a beautiful garden; herbs for teas, flavour and medicine etc.... Using this principle of diversity, you can create a garden which has much more food available in the same space. It is also recognises the need to provide and maintain the habitat for other species without which we could not survive.
EDGE EFFECT
There is more life on the edge where two systems overlap. Systems can then access the resources of both. Use the edge effect and other natural patterns observed to create the best effect. (There are no straight lines in nature.)
If a pond or dam has a shallow ledge it provides places for fish to breed, for plants to grow which can feed the fish. Also, with a wavy edge it can provide more edge for this habitat.
ENERGY PLANNING
Place things in a permaculture design to minimise the use of energy (human and fossil fuels). Utilise the energy and resources both on-site and from outside as effectively as possible. This also saves time, energy and money.
Internal energy- eg. Use slope and gravity to move water rather than electric pumps.
External energy - eg. direct cooling breezes into your house with trees, but shield your house and garden from the strong winds, which can cause damage, or be unpleasant. Place the kitchen garden as close to the house as possible. It therefore has easy access for harvesting and maintenance and it is in view so that you can protect it from potential damaging effects (stray animals etc)
NUTRIENT CYCLING
In a natural system there is no waste or pollution - the output from one natural process is always the resource for another natural process. Recycle and reuse your local resources as many times as possible within a polycultural system.
Recycle nutrients on-site (eg food scraps to compost) so that you do not need to import expensive fertiliser. Also use your wastewater to water and fertilise plants - therefore not creating polluting runoff into nearby waterways. Plant roots take up these nutrients and turn them into food, in the process cleansing the water.
SCALE
Create human-scale systems and be space efficient. Choose simple, appropriate and effective technologies. Do as much as you are able. Start small and take achievable steps to reach your goal successfully. Create groups which enable people to feel they can actively participate, be involved in the decision making and feel a connection to and ownership of the process.
Design to make intensive use of space - create multi-layered and diverse gardens. This allows you to meet your needs from less space and in a global sense maximises the space available for natural systems to maintain the ecological balance, which supports human and other life.
BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES
Use natural methods and processes to achieve a task. Find things in nature (plants, animals, microbes etc) that enjoy doing the task and minimise the inputs required from outside.
Chickens like to scratch. In preparation for a garden bed, use chickens to scratch up the area eat the. weeds/weed seeds and fertilise it before planting. Comfrey (herb) has deep roots, which bring nutrients from deep down in the soil. The leaves can then be used to make a rich fertiliser instead of chemical fertilisers.
Compost worms like to decompose organic matter. While doing this they make holes in the soil which allows the movement of air and water (saves you from having to dig). They also leave natural fertiliser in the soil as they move through it, which feeds the plants making them stronger against pests and more nutritious to eat. Worms make healthy soil (healthy soil = healthy plants = healthy people). Therefore help the worms do the garden digging and fertilising for you by returning organic matter (their food) to the soil and by mulching the soil thus protecting their home (the topsoil).
MULTIPLE ELEMENTS
Support each vital need and essential function in more than one way (don't put all your eggs in one basket!). Also recognise that there's more than one way to achieve a task.
In a mono-culture garden, there is only one type of food available. If that single crop fails due to pests and diseases, there is no other food in your garden. Where possible grow many types of food - vegetables, fruits, leafy greens, herbs, tubers, grains, legumes, and nuts.
Also, don't rely on just once source of water - try to access as many sources as possible - river, dam, pond, tank, town water, bore, well etc... If one source is contaminated or depleted, there will be another source of available water (a vital need).
MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS
Everything has many uses and functions. In permaculture we aim to design so that every element performs at least 3 functions.
A tree can perform many functions - food, shade, timber, fibre, microclimate, habitat, soil improvement and maintenance, mulch, animal fodder etc.... Choose species, which have the most functions you require and place them where they can be of the most use and meet your needs most efficiently.
NATURAL SUCCESSION
Work with nature and the processes of natural systems. Facilitate natural growth and help to accelerate it naturally.
When establishing a garden or orchard, delicate plants need to be protected from harsh sun, wind and rain. Use hardy and fast-growing pioneer species to create a good environment for their growth and to provide protection.
RELATIVE LOCATION
Every element is placed in relationship to others so that they can benefit each other. Create supportive environments by placing things together which help to develop a self-sustaining system, replicating a natural ecosystem. From a functional perspective - those things used together, place together. This allows more efficient use of a space and minimisation of your energy in utilising these resources.
Companion planting- ie plant garlic under citrus to help prevent aphids.
Where possible, place the compost heap so that it is easily accessible from the kitchen (for food scraps), and close to the garden where the finished compost will be used. In addition, it is good to place the compost heap uphill from the garden as the nutrients that leach from the heap will run straight into the vegetable garden and fertilise it without you having to do any work Ð itÕs much easier to carry heavy loads of compost downhill.
PERMAnent AgriCULTURE = PERMAnent CULTURE
Permaculture is a practical concept applicable from the balcony to the farm, from the city to the wilderness. It enables people to establish productive environments providing for food, energy, shelter, material and non-material needs, as well as the social and economic infrastructures which support them. Permaculture means thinking carefully about our environment, our use of resources and how we supply our needs. It aims to create systems that will sustain not only for the present, but for future generations.
Permaculture is...
a globally recognised environmental design methodology. The founders of Permaculture, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, coined the term 25 years ago. Now there are over 4000 independently operated projects in 120 countries
the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive systems which have the DIVERSITY, STABILITY, RESILIENCE & CREATIVITY of natural eco-systems (cultivated ecosystems)
a whole systems approach to ecological planning and design - a way of thinking, based on a positive and creative solution-finding, that provides tools for working towards long term sustainability
a holistic ecological approach to the design and development of human settlements takes into account food production, structures, technologies, energy, natural resources, landscape, animal systems, plant systems, and social and economic structures.
applicable to both urban and rural contexts, and to any scale of design.
about working with, rather than against, nature. It provides us with the tools to satisfy our needs in a way that sustains the earth, future generations and ourselves.
inspired by traditional wisdom, especially the sustainable farming cultures of Asia, India and Africa and incorporates new appropriate methods and technologies
concerned with the restoration of soil as a priority (Healthy Soil = Healthy Plants = Healthy Food = Healthy People)
based on the environmental ethics and principles of design and close observation of nature rather than a set of techniques. These ethics and principles draw from a broad across-section of disciplines. The aim is to create beneficial and supportive relationships between elements in the landscape that recognise the interconnectedness and diversity of the natural world. It calls for a move from monoculture to polyculture.
PERMACULTURE aims to assist people and communities to develop ecoliteracy (ecological literacy) and ecodesign skills and work towards more sustainable ways of living. Permaculture teaches, amongst other things, how to :
Observe nature and become more ecologically aware and responsible
Restore the land, forests, waterways and local ecologies
Grow fresh healthy chemical-free food
Maintain and improve soil fertility and prevent erosion
Use water wisely Ð collection, storage, reusing, cleansing
Reduce pollution and waste and utilise resources responsibly
Plan and design sustainable houses and human settlements
Strengthen the local economy, create local employment and work co-operatively
Build on strengths and abundances within the bio-region
Share this knowledge with others.
There is not one single solution to the problems we face but the universal applicability of the principles of Permaculture enable us to find solutions that are location and needs specific.
