Renown chefs Stephanie Alexander and Jamie Oliver and the First Lady, Michelle Obama amongst many others, are all planting vegetable gardens. With the Global Financial Crisis, global warming concerns and a return to healthier lifestyles as further reasons, then you have quite a few inspirations for having a go yourself in whatever space that you have.
From the big to the small picture, periods of economic stress have been the motivation for governments and communities to pull together to reduce the demands on public food supply. Two notable ones are the Victory Gardens (or war gardens) and Havana’s Popular Gardens.
Community gardens are now popular in many countries. In Australia, they are typically planted on local government property but also a lot of government schools have them as part of educational programs. If you want to take it a step further though in your own home, where do you start?
There is so much information available about how to grow vegetables. The Diggers Club in Victoria, Australia, is a place to start – it is a mail order and on site nursery, seed and plant supplier that also specialises in heirloom vegetables. They have terrific catalogues with information on how to set up a garden which can be applied to any area.
From many years of trial and error here are a few tips to get your garden started.
Keep it simple – Keep your expectations low at the beginning. As you gain experience, your garden can expand. You may for example, just choose to plant some salad vegetables and herbs at first.
Where to plant– Start with how much space you have – do you have a balcony, a courtyard or a garden area? How much sunlight does that space get during the day as not many vegetables grow in shady areas?
What type of garden? – Once you know the amount of space you have you can decide whether you want a no-dig garden (containers) or garden beds. Consider the final size of your plants as well, so that they will fit into that space and the amount of time you have to look after it.
Healthy soils first – For containers, ask your local nursery for appropriate soil for vegetables. For a garden though, you’ll need to work out what type of soil you have and whether it needs any improvement.
Organic or non-organic? – Organic usually refers to the fertilizers and compost that you add to improve the soil. Organic growing improves the soil by encouraging earthworms and good bacteria that gives plants a natural boost. Chemicals can kill these earthworms and good bacteria.
The plants – Decide what will grow best and how to plan the garden or pot arrangement.
The local nursery – It helps to select plants that are suited to your local microclimate.
Children – Growing peas, beans and tomatoes are a great way to introduce children to just how sweet and delicious vegetables really are.
Your garden may have spectacular successes and colossal failures but don’t be deterred. It may not feed a family but you will have the satisfaction of making a difference to your lifestyle, your children and make a contribution to the global food supply.
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