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How To Turn A Lawn Into A Vegetable Garden

Lawns may look good, but they are unproductive, require a lot of care, and are environmentally unfriendly due to the high use of pesticides and fertilizers necessary to maintain them. As even the White House has discovered, turning a lawn into an organic vegetable garden is a much better use for the land.

Many people who would like to turn to organic vegetable gardening are put off by the idea that it must be a difficult and time-consuming endeavour, and that a lot of tilling and other back-breaking work is involved. In fact, if you follow some basic permaculture precepts and let nature do its work, it will be very easy work. Unless your lawn is contaminated by a lot of pesticides, you won’t even have to remove the grass.

First, delimit the lawn area for your organic vegetable garden with some thread, or with chalk. You can make it as big as the White House veggie garden patch, thirty by thirty feet, or smaller. Water this area generously, making sure that the ground is thoroughly soaked.

After that, you need to add a first layer of organic material that will let the grass die off and will form a healthy and fertile base for your herbs and crops. This layer should consist of earth, lawn cuttings, some gravel or sand, and organic compost. The latter is available commercially if you don’t yet have a compost heap. Cover everything up with cardboard.

Next you need to build a simple raised bed, made of planks, which you will put on top of the newspaper or cardboard. In due time the paper will decompose and become part of the organic base, but at first you will need it as a barrier between the early plants and the high-quality soil that you will now add.

The frames of the raised beds for your vegetable garden need to be filled with more organic compost, this time mixed with normal organic soil and some vermiculite for aeration.

Next, let everything be for a month or so. The lower layer will decompose, insects will arrive, the grass underneath will die off, and the whole area will naturally turn into a healthy and fertile ground for your organic vegetable garden without any need for tilling, ploughing or other hard work.

Now you can start your kitchen garden, either using seedlings from other plants or from a nursery, or by growing vegetables from seed. In the latter case, it is best to use certified organic seeds. There are several online retailers that sell them if you can’t find them in your area.

Regarding the herbs and vegetables to pick for your lawn turned new garden, go wild and take whatever you prefer. Don’t be afraid to leave out some common plants and go for lesser known crops, the variety of plants available to the home grower compared to the supermarket is staggering.

It’s recommended to involve any kids that live in your area in the planning of the organic vegetable garden. This should of course include your own children, but also any other kids in your neighbourhood that your family is on friendly terms with. They will be engrossed in the activity, and you will get some help to transform that lawn into a garden.

While you’re at it, you should start a compost heap. You can use a plastic composter, which are often available for free from local government, or build a couple of wooden frames to start two compost heaps. This will allow you to supply your organic vegetable garden with fresh soil and nutrients by recycling kitchen waste and lawn clippings.

OrganicHerbalGardening.com is the premier resource for organic gardening on the Net, with updates on topics such as seasonal gardening, as well as on indoor herb gardens, organic cooking, organic fertilizers – click the links above to find out more!

Tags: cooking, food garden, garden, garden tools, Gardening, gardening advice, gardening equipments, gardening techniques, gardening tips, herbal garden, leisure, organic cooking, organic garden, Organic herbal garden, vegetable garden

November 11 2009 | Gardening | No Comments »

Caring For Your Container Garden And Garden Pots

With some basic gardening skills, you can ensure a successful container garden. Starting with the containers themselves, make sure that any garden pots made from porous materials (such as terracotta or wood) are sealed on the inside with a quality water sealant. Otherwise, the pots will soak up much of the water meant for your plants.

Watering Your Plants

It is just as important not to over water as it is not to underwater. Most garden pots will have a saucer or bowl underneath to catch any extra water and keep it from rotting your patio or deck. The best way to water your container garden is by filling the saucers up with water. This helps you avoid over watering and the water from spilling over the top of the saucer. The water will seep up through the hole in the bottom of the pot feeding the roots of your plants.

Another method of watering is to water your plants at the surface. If you do, however, make sure you fill about a cup at a time and watch how much water ends up in the saucer. You want to avoid overfilling the saucer. Spraying your plants with water from a hand sprayer is always welcome by your houseplants. Try to avoid using hard water though so calcium won’t build up on the leaves.

Food

The nutrients in most potting soils don’t last much more than five or six weeks since garden pots are generally small. So, vital nutrients will need to be replenished. Plant food, for the most part, comes in granular and liquid forms. Since they last a long time and keep a steady supply of food going to the plants, slow-release granules are recommended.

Pest Control

Systemic and Contact insecticides are the two main types. The first, systemic insecticide works by pouring it right onto the soil where it gets absorbed through to the root system of the plant. From here it goes right up the stalk and to the leaves where it is ingested by the bugs when they eat.

Contact insecticide works by spraying the poison directly onto the bugs. This method works rather quickly and you may need to repeat depending on how much infestation is going on.

With sufficient monitoring and loving care, you are sure to have a thriving container garden with satisfying results.

David Haines has been working in gardens since his early childhood and has always been interested in educating others on gardening and landscaping techniques. If you would like to know more about garden pot and landscaping, visit AllGardenPots.com

Tags: container gardening, diy, garden accessories, garden pot, garden pots, garden tools, Gardening, Gardens, hobbies, plant selection, pots, preparation

September 17 2009 | Gardening | No Comments »