Organic Vegetable Gardening Secrets

With the weather improving and Christmas just around the corner, now’s a great time to think about getting stuck into that vegetable garden you’ve been planning. If you don’t know how to start you organic garden, or nothing is growing in your current patch except good intentions, then you’re in luck. Kapiti Coast’s Green Gardener, Kath Irvine, is here with some tips on how to get your organic veggie garden really blooming this summer:

At this time of year a lot of people are thinking about planting a new veggie patch in the garden. However, the initial burst of excitement can wear off once you start running into problems, especially if you’re trying to do it organically. What happens when your beans are covered in bugs or your apples are full of holes? What do you replace the sprays and fertilisers with?

In truth there are no replacements. The way to manage pests and diseases organically is to create a balanced ecology in your garden.

A balanced ecology means a self sustaining landscape, full of life and food. In this balanced state nature manages the pests and disease. This is the very thing organic gardeners must strive for when seeking to avoid the use of artificial spray and fertiliser.

These are some things to keep in mind:

Healthy soil: Plants get their energy and immunity from the soil, so the healthier the soil is the healthier the plants will be. This is the first step to minimising pests and disease. Make sure your soil is in top condition before you plant your veggies, and keep it healthy as they grow.

Wind shelter: Strong winds can dehydrate and put stress on your veggies as they grow, so chose a spot for them away from prevailing winds, or provide netting, trellis or some other form of shelter.

Use clean water: Veggies like pure water, so when possible try collecting rainwater to use when watering them.

Understand your veggies’ needs: Different vegetables have different needs. Make sure you understand the particular requirements of the veggies you are planting – such as how much water, sun and food they like – before you put them in the ground so you can make sure they get what they need. For example celery guzzles water, while globe artichokes do not. Leafy greens need semi-shade, while the rest are happy to bask in the 10am to 2pm sunshine.

Foster beneficial insects: These little guys are the unsung heroes of the organic garden. In the absence of chemical solutions, we need to rely on insects like ladybugs, honeybees and praying mantis to manage our pests. The key to keeping them around your garden is to supply them with food, preferably flowers made up of lots of small parts (like coriander, daises, clovers, parsley, hebes, alyssum, flowering thyme and flowering sage). Check these plants at the end of every season and restock them to fill any gaps.

Hopefully Kath’s advice will get you inspired to head out to the garden and start planting. We’d love to hear about any top veggie growing tips you may have as well!