Preparing your organic vegetable garden

First of all you have to decide why you are going organic if you haven’t already and what the advantages are. Maybe you are already planting vegetables and herbs. Is it not more expensive to plant organic vegetables you might ask yourself. First of all it is far safer for your family to be eating vegetables are not chemically produced. This isn’t difficult to achieve.

You will find that there are lots of ways to eradicate common problems such as disease, weeds or soil problems naturally and without the use of chemically produced product, which is the easy way out, but does a lot of harm to your family by containing many poisons. Organic vegetable gardens are become more and more popular and not because it's the thing to do, but because are realizing how good organic vegetables are.

It all comes down to the soil type. Before you start thinking about sewing your organic vegetable seeds you will have to consider the soil type you are going to use. There are various types of soil and some are better than others. Growing organic vegetables needs the best organic soil.

Clay

This is fairly fertile. If you pick up a clump and squeeze it together it will form a lump. The problem is that it is difficult to break up and can become waterlogged. You will just need to add finer soil and mix it together along with organic manure and compost to break it down.

Sandy Soil

This type of soil will just fall between your fingers. It won’t retain water very well and the nutrients will be lost. To solve the problem use a well-rotted manure with some compost so it will hold together more.

Loamy Soil

This is the type of soil you are after. If you see worms crawling around you will know it is the right type of soil. You will be able to clump the soil together and it will be able to break apart fairly easily as well.

Organic vegetable gardening usually entails knowing how to make compost and most organic gardeners will have a compost heap. It's convenient and not difficult.

• Allow 3 months for decomposition.
• Use leaves, green vegetation, vegetable peels and grass clippings
• Dampen slightly
• Allow a width and height of 1,3 m
• You should allow the heap to aerate and mix it every so often.
• Leaf Mould is probably the main form of nutrition
• Straw is also a very good source

Making your own garden spray

This will get rid of cabbage moth, apids, caterpillars, mosquitoes and snails

An organic product that is cheap and easy to make!

4 Large garlic cloves, unpeeled
7 Tablespoons medicinal paraffin oil
1 ¼ Tablespoon, oily soap, grated
550ml Hot water
Add the paraffin oil and garlic to a blender and mix to a pulp. Scrape into a bowl and let it stand for two days covered. Melt grated soap in hot water and add to garlic mixture. Keep in fridge, stored in sealed jars. Use 1 tablespoon of solution to 1 litre of water when spraying

Other things that will help kill pests, get rid of diseases and weeds

• Garlic, the big antibiotic, natural organic of the vegetable garden. Plant this all over because it will help with its anti-fungal properties and help you produce the best organic garden vegetable
• Go to a little extra effort and pull the weeds out yourself.
• Marigolds help repel an assortment of insects if they are planted around your vegetable garden.
• Mint will help eradicate ants and chives help get rid of aphids
• Lay some wood shavings on the soil to prevent snail and slugs from attacking the leaves. You should also rake the soil evenly so that the eggs can’t be hidden anywhere.

Some vegetables reject each other

Parsley and lettuce

Fennel and tomatoes

Tomatoes and peas

Bush beans and onions

Tomatoes and potatoes

Cabbages and onions

Last but not least keeping your vegetable plants well fed promotes healthy growth