Now that we are in the new century, there seems to be a much higher recognition of organically grown food.
When I was growing organic vegetables and herbs in the 1980’s, the markets were uncertain to say the least. People didn’t seem to care where the vegetables came from, or how they were produced. Much of my time was spent explaining to potential customers the benefits of organically growing vegetables and herbs.
However, much more variety in organic foods is available now, from cereals, meat, grains, and many other staple foods. It’s getting a bit easier to obtain organically grown vegetables, but in many areas they are still hard to find in the shops.
Organic gardens are definitely the way of the future. You don’t have to eat genetically modified vegetables if you don’t wish to. You don’t have to eat limp, store-bought vegetables with high levels of pesticides. You can grow beautiful tasty vegetables in your own back yard, and be the envy of your street. We will show you how! Right now! If you have the materials on hand, you set up your no-dig organic garden in an afternoon!
*Organically grown vegetables taste better, are better for you, and have a far higher mineral and vitamin content than broad acre crops do.
* Basically, organically grown means that the grower does not use chemicals at all, no pesticides, and no chemical fertilisers.
* Crops are grown using composts, manures, and organic fertilisers.
* Insects are countered by using garlic and white pepper, or garlic and hot chillie sprays, but only if needed.
* Growers try to maintain a natural balance between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ insects.
* The ‘good’ insects predate on the ‘bad’ insects.
* Companion planting of vegetables and herbs helps the process along. This is a science in itself.
* Some herbs repel some insects. Pennyroyal, geranium, tansy, and marigolds, and many others are used to repel insects. Dried marigold leaves and flowers can be crushed and mixed with seeds when planting, to keep away insects when the seedlings emerge.
* Lizards and frogs are encouraged to the garden, they eat many insects. So do small insectivorous bats.
* Crops are grown ‘in season’ to reduce impacts of insect predation. It also reduces the need to use pesticides, and subsequent loss of ‘good insects.’
Okay, let's not sit around all day drinking herbal tea, let's do it!
You can set this organic no-dig garden up on your lawn or on any grassy area. If the grass is long, don’t cut it, stomp it down flat. Your no-dig garden should be long-ways to the sun, so the sun gets a good lick at the plants, as it travels across the sky.
If later on you decide that you don’t need your no-dig garden any more, (not a likely happening!) you can remove it and let the lawn grow again! Your no-dig garden can be any size, but we found the size described below works really well.
First, you need 6 old discarded railway sleepers, or similar timber, or cement blocks. Don’t use treated pine, it has a cyanide content which can leach into your garden.
Place 2 sleepers long-ways, on the lawn or suitable grassy area. Stand them on their edge, and another two sleepers long-ways, parallel to them, but one sleeper distance apart. You put 1 more sleeper at each end. You now have a rectangle, with all sleepers standing on their edge. You may need to drive a small stick into the ground on each side of the sleepers to ensure they don’t fall over.
Stomp the grass flat if you need to, or slash and lay on the ground. Then sprinkle some blood and bone, or seaweed fertiliser on the grass. This will help to bring up the worms. Cover all with a layer of newspaper, at least 4 or 5 layers of paper thick. Hose the paper down so it doesn’t fly away in the breeze. Sprinkle three or four double handfuls of dried chicken manure pellets over the paper, the pellets are full of nitrogen, and an excellent organic fertiliser.
Place a layer of horse or cow manure over all, 2 or 3 inches thick. You can also use compost, decomposing hay, or any similar medium. Water if dry.
Then acquire two bales of hay, with some lucerne (alfalfa) content if you can find it. The lucerne helps put nitrogen into your garden as it breaks down. Break the hay into square pallets, 4 or 5 inches thick, and place on top of the manure, just as if you were laying tiles! Water again. You are now finished except for the planting of your herbs and/or vegetables.
Make a small hole between the pallets of hay, in the corners where they join. Fill with a handful of compost or rich soil, and plant your seeds or seedlings. Spinach, beans, cabbage, lettuce or whatever. You can plant companion herbs in-between the seedlings if you wish. A few spring onions or garlic bulbs planted here and there help keep away bugs.
Put a small, temporary fence around if you need to keep animals out. Water regularly, and in a few weeks you can sit down and enjoy your own home-grown herbs and vegetables. When the vegetables have all been eaten, dry any herbs that are left for later use. Then get another couple of bales of hay and start all over again, on top of it all!
Depending on your local climate, your no-dig garden can produce 2 or 3, sometimes 4, crops a year. Try not to grow monocultures, that is, you should mix up your plants a bit. You can have some root crops, such as swedes or turnips, happily growing mixed in with leaf crops and tomatoes.
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