The KInd Life Community Forum

Hi....really enjoying reading Alicia's book...... It got me thinking though about eating more organic veg, veg in season and especially about Growing my own vegetables!! ..I never had my own vegetable patch before... what do you think?...any inspiration would be great! thanks. x

Hi Catherine - gardening is the BEST. I had my first garden in 2008 and then this year I doubled its size because I enjoyed it so much. Growing my own food got me to eat sooo many more fruits and vegetables than I did before. I mean it's right there in your backyard! You can't get any more convenient than that. Another big benefit of gardening is exercise. When you're out there weeding, tilling, planting, raking, picking, etc. you are getting a great workout.

This winter will be a great time to research and plan for your garden next year. You need to decide where you want to have it in your yard and then what you want to grow. It may sound silly but only grow things you want to eat. Sometimes when I look through the seed catalogs I want to grow everything! But then I have to say wait a minute, there's no point in growing that if I don't want to eat it. Once you know what you want to grow you can do some research on when to plant the seeds, or which seeds to start indoors.

For your first garden, I would recommend planting lettuce, spinach, radishes and carrots in early spring. In the late spring/early summer try tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, green beans and some herbs. In the late summer/early fall plant more lettuce, radishes and carrots as well as turnips. Even though its November we are still getting lettuce and radishes from the garden. And we have turnips in the ground that are as big as softballs!

Thanks Amy...your email has been really helpful.!...i think this is going to be so much fun and definitely something i feel very excited about starting. Again, will let you know how i get on. x

A raised bed is great.

Seeds take a while to germinate and grow into starter plants. Starts are great to purchase from the nursury because it takes the extra time out of starting your own...seed germination time, productive growth...it's quite a task but it's work saving the extra money. The plus side is the joy of expierencing the lifecycle of a plant. From the growth of a plant from holding the seeds in your hands, them transplanting them into the garden, watering, feeding the plant with organic nutrients, then watching the life production of a plant. It is a great joy.

Organic is better for your health and better for the earth.

-Julie S.

I've learned that what really helps out a garden is crop rotation. Each plant takes more of a certain nutrient from the soil, so you want to replenish that nutrient by planting a different crop in that area of your garden each year. For example: Year 1(legumes:beans,peas,potatoes,etc), Year 2 (Root:onion,garlic,radish,etc), Year 3 (Fruit:cucumbers, tomatoes, melon,squash,etc) & Year 4 (Leaf:spinach,collards,kale,etc).