I never thought I’d get excited about gardening – it was one of those things I’d imagined old people doing, like knitting or crochet.
 
However when my snow peas produced their first snow pea, I think everyone got bored of me telling them that the peas they were eating came from my very own garden!

That said, growing your own vegetables has benefits far beyond the satisfaction of producing them. It’s also good for the environment, good for the bank balance and good for you nutritionally.

By growing your own you can avoid the use of chemical sprays that are used in commercial vegetable production, thus helping the environment as well as providing you with a cheap source of organic food. Growing your own vegetables is cheap and will save you at the supermarket. Vegetables can cost a lot of money depending on what you buy and how many you shop for, and considering food prices have risen 8% over the past year, it's a definite help to finances. Plus growing your own means you’ll get maximum freshness which also means maximum nutritional value. 

Here’s how you can get started with minimal time, money and effort...

1: Chose a site
Sunshine is important for vegetables, so when deciding what patch of dirt you are going to use as your garden, make sure it gets as much sun as possible. No room for a garden? No worries – you can also plant a variety of vegetables in pots including lettuce, beetroot, carrot and eggplants. Make sure the containers are big enough, have enough holes for good drainage and are filled with good quality potting mix.

2: Getting started
The cheapest way to grow your own is to sow seeds. You’ll need seed raising trays (I substitute with old plastic containers with lots of holes in the bottom for drainage) and some seed raising mix. Fill your tray with seed raising mix and press down with your hand. Make holes for your seeds with a stick and drop in. If they are fine seeds, they’ll only need a small dust of seed raising mix on top. Read the seed instruction packet to find out more.

Make sure you water your seeds regularly, but don’t flood them. Once they’ve germinated and are big enough to transplant into your vegetable patch, dig them out with a teaspoon. You need to be careful with their roots as if you damage them they are likely to die.

For more detailed instructions see the NG Gardener website resource that can be downloaded here.

3: The easy way
If you think sowing seeds sounds too hard; you can just buy plants from the garden shop and plonk them straight into your garden. Just water, keep the bugs in check and before you know it you’ll have fresh vegetables at your doorstep.

4: Keeping bugs in check
You aren’t the only one who enjoys eating – bugs can be a pesky visitor to your vegetable garden. There are many organic ways to help reduce their impact:

Aphids: little green bugs which cause wilting and stunted growth can be killed with garlic spray or soapy water

Slugs and Snails: Crushed egg shells around your plants can act as a deterrent;

There is also a natural, environmentally friendly product you can buy called Beat-a-Bug. Find out more here.

Nicola

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