Organic Gardening - New + Existing Garden Tips

Eco News Articles

Organic Gardening

Eco News

A good organic vegetable garden is worth showing off. Not only will it look good, the whole family will enjoy the benefits of spray free vegetables all year round.

New Garden
The first task is to find a position for your new garden that is not hidden away neatly in a corner of your back yard or the front yard. "Why not"?

A good veggie garden is worth showing off and your garden needs to be in a sunny situation for at least six hours a day. Morning sun is best from around 8am to 2pm, longer the better especially in mid winter. Your garden should ideally face North to South, that's in the southern hemisphere.

The second task; if you have decided to have your new garden where your manicured lawn was it will need to be turned over. An ideal size to start off would be 2m x 4m (3'x12').

You will need four pegs and a roll of string or twine to peg out your new garden, or you could use your garden hose to mark out your garden. It does not have to be square or rectangle, it could be round, whatever you like.

After you work out the size and shape of your garden you then can cut and dig out the grass, 300mm squares by 50mm 1'x1'x2" sods are easy enough to handle with a spade. Lift the lawn sods and flip them over.

By doing this the grass will rot down into compost. You don't have to keep the grass sods - it's up to you, you might like to repair a lawn else where. If you have any compost and/or any old animal manure, now is the time to throw it on top of the garden, then give the your garden a good soak and cover up with mulch, leave for a fortnight (then fork in) before you plant out your seedlings. You will also need to decide on a border for your garden.

Existing Garden
If you are going to use an existing garden such as an old flower garden you can try this. Pull out any weeds that have grown during the summer.

Don't turn your garden soil over as it will do more harm than good. By all means use a pitch fork to loosen and aerate the soil. If you have any compost and/or any old animal manure, now is the time to throw it on top of the garden and fork in, then give the your garden a good soak and cover up with mulch, leave for a fortnight before you plant out your seedlings.

http://www.organicdownunder.com/how_to_start_off_your_vegetable_.htm