Julie Villani

Are you thinking of starting your own organic vegetable garden? Have you raised some} vegetables before, but not by using organic practices? Perhaps you’ve decided that if you’re going to the effort of growing your own food, you want to make it as healthy and delicious as possible for you and your family. There’s also the environmental advantages of growing organically. And as well, there are the economic advantages.

In today’s language mulch has come to mean any material that covers the soil to preserve moisture content, prevent soil erosion and inhibit weed growth. For organic gardening I choose materials that will break down over time, feeding my plants and contributing to the amount of humus in the soil.

Water is arguably our most precious resource. All living things need water to survive. But we don’t just want our productive organic food gardens to survive, we want them to thrive! And a growing plant uses a lot more water than one that is just surviving. Every part of the plant growing process uses water.

Herbs are such versatile plants. Their uses include medicinal, cosmetic, as essential oils for aromatherapy, as great companion plants, craft-work and of course to add mouth-watering flavours and aromas in our cooking. If you haven’t grown herbs before, just start with some really easy to grow herbs that you find particularly useful. I have an organic garden, so everything is free from chemicals.

If your attempts at composting seem to take forever to break down to a useable product, try building your next compost heap with straw bale. Remember to get organic straw bales if you have an organic garden. The idea is to use bales of (organic) straw as the external structure of your compost heap – it will hold your composting ingredients

Garlic is not only a staple in the kitchen, but its health benefits are outstanding as it is a natural antibiotic and has antiseptic properties. In the organic garden it is often used as the base for various insect deterrents and it also has anti-fungal properties. Garlic is also a very useful companion plant.

What an amazing plant! Garlic (Allium sativum) has been around for more than 3,000 years. It’s not that surprising really when you look at the culinary and medicinal purposes it boasts. Garlic is not only a staple in the kitchen, but its health benefits are outstanding as it is a natural antibiotic and has antiseptic properties. In the organic garden it is often used as the base for various insect deterrents and it also has antifungal properties.

Comfrey(Symphytum officinale)is just one of those plants that every organic garden must have growing. It also has great merit as a medicinal plant. This plant serves us so well. Propagation is by root division. But be careful with this plant as it will grow from the tiniest piece of root.

Organic gardeners always prefer to use methods that have the least negative effect on the environment. By growing strong healthy plants we eliminate the threat of having large scale pest invasions. But when some pest populations do build up in our garden we should be asking “how can I encourage more predators?”, rather than “what should I do about all these pests?”

We all need a bit of a “pick-me-up” from time to time and your vegetables, herbs, fruits and soil will also benefit from a boost of liquid tonic every now and then. It’s not a good idea to force your plants to feed when they drink, so I don’t recommend regular weekly feeding, but just as a boost.