I’M CLUELESS, HELP!!! Organic vegetable garden?
March 10, 2010 by admin
Filed under Questions and Answers
We have a massive backyard in our southern Illinois home, and I’m very interested in planting an ORGANIC vegetable garden. To state I don’t have a green thumb is a large understatement. I’ll probably start off small, but I’d like to eventually have the following:
Red Potatoes
Onions
Lettuce
Cabbage
Tomatoes
Green Peppers
Celery
Strawberries
Grape Vines
Apple Trees
Broccoli
Cucumbers
Green Beans
Peas
Pumpkins
Corn
These are the fruits and vegetables that my family consumes constantly and our grocery bill is OUTRAGEOUS. Plus I’m trying to become more responsible concerning chemicals & pesticides so I’d like to do this as naturally as possible. We don’t have many organic products to select from in the stores around here, so I figure if I want to do this I’ll have to grow my own.
I don’t know the first thing about gardening – let alone organic gardening – so I’m feeling overwhelemed and don’t really know where to begin. Do you have some good advice or online resources that will help me get started? Also, any advice or resources on canning vegetables for the winter would also be appreciated. THANKS!!!!!!
you can find a fairly descent selection of organic seeds at your local garden center (wal-mart)has a separate section at my local supercenter.composted manure would be a good organic fertilizer,or do the composting yourself,you can use household food scraps for that.local garden centers should have some variety of organic or all natural pesticides,some items you have listed will need treating or you want get anything from them the insects and etc. will.wal-mart here where i live carry all of your canning and freezing supplies,they have a nice pressure canner which greatly reduces your time in canning.the glass jars and rings and lids are sold in the house ware area also.another good method is using a vacuum sealer which takes out all the air and greatly reduces freezer burn,i use man for several different items including meats.most of the equipment mentioned is fairly easy to use and comes with good instructions,good luck.
Okay, you sound like me! I have planted every one of those veggies and fruit plus raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and various herbs up here in Wisconsin. The best advice I can give you is go to the library and check out a few books, because you will need them! I found a few that I actually went out and bought to have a constant reference to go back to. It really is helpful to keep them handy, you can’t remember everything, and you don’t want to be lugging the computer out into the garden (even if it is a laptop)! A couple I can’t live without are: “Putting Food By” by Janet Greene, “The Complete Guide to Vegetables, Fruits & Herbs” from Ortho Books, “The Backyard Orchardist” by Stella Otto, ANY book by Jerry Baker (the ultimate for mostly organic gardening) and my subscription to Organic Gardening magazine. As far as staying organic, start a compost pile for sure and check your soil’s pH to see what you have in various areas of the garden, it will tell you where you should plant certain items. Like blueberries need an acidic pH, but others usually need a pH of 6 or so. Don’t get too carried away with it though, if you ammend the soil with a bunch of aged manure in the early Spring, you should be fine (except the blueberries, they are picky). You can pick up a cheap, yet effective pH tester kit at your local WalMart or garening place. You could look into saving seeds from this year’s crop for next year, also, to preserve the organic quality into next year. The thing about organic gardening is that it really is easy and doesn’t take up that much more time than inorganic gardening, you just need to research what you are about to do and have a general idea and you will be fine! Especially when you and your family can go out into the garden and eat the fruits and veggies off the vine without washing them if they want because you KNOW there are no chemicals on them!!!
As far as canning the vegetables and fruits, you really need to go get the “Ball” or “Kerr” canning books, they will tell you everything you need to know. You have to be really precise in canning, so be careful and follow what the directions say exactly. Try canning jam first using “Sure Gel”, the recipe is in the box. It will give you the general idea of any water bath canning. Applesauce is actually the easiest, but you will have strawberries first, so try that. Pressure canning veggies is a little scary at first, but just follow the directions in the canning books and you will be fine. We did our first pressure canning last year, and the corn and green beans are amazing to have in the winter months and the carrots are superb!!! This summer, go to a few thrift sales and get lots of quart and pint canning jars (check very carefully for chipped rims and hairline cracks, you don’t want those ones!) The prices in the stores for jars is crazy! You will need to buy the lids every year, but they are inexpensive and if you need rings( that hold the lids on) you can buy a box with both rings and lids in it. Just start by checking out those books I mentioned and you will be well on your way. Happy planting!!!
Congrats on wanting to garden. It is hard to garden a totally organic garden without investing the time and commitment to do so. We have been growing for the last 14 years and each year we get closer to the goal of total organic methods. It does involve a lot. Instead of spraying you might have to check the garden each morning and at dusk to pick off insects. There are some good resources for someone that wants to go organic.
We are also aware of not wanting to put anything on our garden that will kill the good insects. We use a combination of a few things as follows:
1. Crop rotation. Never plant the same thing in the same place within 4 years. This will fool the insects that over winter. When they come up the food supply that they like is not there.
2. Diatamaicios earth. (check spelling)? It is made from sea shells and when applied correctly will kill a multitude of pests.
3. Ivory soap – non detergent. Kills soft bodies like aphids and such.
4. Hand pick bugs and clusters off eggs on plants off plants and deposit into a jar of Ivory soap and water.
5. Disease or insect infested plants need to be burned or discarded.
These are just a few of the basics. There is a good book that we have had for years. It is named “Step By Step Organic Vegetable Gardening” It is written by Shepherd Ogden. The isbn code id 0-06-092225-7.
It tought us a lot. Good luck.
Slow-down and take a deep breath! Yes-you can garden with with one major change. YOU MUST COMMIT a steady portion of your time,every day, to some aspect of, making and growing a garden. This will take commitment far above any daily routines,you currently have. This endeavor is akin to attaining a degree in social science- in that you must commit yourself to the time necessary, to gain a sensible,working knowledge required to address the many challenges, to a successful garden. Anyone can grow a plant,but, most loose dedication when they are confronted with a seemingly insurmountable foe. It’s your responsibility to know what to do correctly, at these times of indecision. Most importantly- if you are perplexed, be sure to ask fellow gardners. You must garner/attain a steady presence in your local gardening community.