Johannesburg - The biggest trend in gardening today is growing your own food, no matter what the size of your garden space.
Gardening organically and a preference for organically grown veggies is also an ever-growing movement. However much city people want to follow these trends, they often don’t know where to start. The answer is to find out from the experts.
Gilda and Linda Galvad from Sought after Seedlings are experts in organic vegetable gardening and have recently been involved in the creation of an organic soup kitchen garden in Claremont, Johannesburg.
The kitchen garden and tunnel were donated to the Martie and Fred’s Soup Kitchen in Claremont by Redefine Properties as part of their corporate social investment project. Sought after Seedling’s Project Manager Gilda Galvad supervised the planning of the organic vegetable garden, while Linda Galvad provided hands-on training in organic vegetable production to the community and the planting up the garden.
“We like people to see how they can make a garden from nothing, enhancing food security and creating beauty, and to get involved with these projects that are so valuable in underprivileged communities,” says Galvad.
“Organic gardening is a method of gardening without using synthetic fertilisers or pesticides, but rather works in harmony with natural methods to replenish the soil and minimise pest damage,” says Galvad. The trainees then spread their knowledge of food growing in their local community.
Tips for success
Interested in growing your own organic vegetables this summer? Gilda and Linda Galvad offer the following advice.
l Make a list of your favourite vegetables and add some you would like to try. If space is limited, scale things down and limit varieties to your very favourites.
l Choose a sunny patch. Do a sketch in a notebook of where you are planting what seeds, to keep for your records, so that you can refer to it to recall what you planted where each season. This is important for practicing crop rotation.
l Use good quality seed.
“We use Franchi Sementi seed which have a wonderful range of heirloom and organic seeds,” explains Gilda Galvad. “Growing heirloom seeds gives you the opportunity to save seed for the next season. This is the basis of food security. Store your unused seeds in a labelled, tightly closed glass bottle in a cool dark place,” she says. See www.soughtafterseedlings.co.zafor over 200 varieties of vegetable seeds available.
l Some seeds are best propagated in seed trays, while others – for example, carrots – can be planted directly into the prepared soil; read the information provided on seed packets for guidance.
l Add lots of good quality organic compost to the soil. If you are planting in containers, add some vermiculite to the soil plus compost to hold water and create air space for the roots. If you can obtain manure from animals that have not had hormone and antibiotic injections, let the manure dry thoroughly before you add it to the soil. Dig it in and then leave the area unplanted until the manure has degraded. This is because fresh manure burns seedlings. If you can, raise your beds. You can construct raised beds, or use gum poles as edging around the beds or simply heap up the soil above ground level. This allows for better control of the soil and also creates good drainage. Water seeds and seedlings twice a day in the early morning and early evening. Neglecting watering places the plants under stress which will result in disease and a poor crop. A simple inexpensive irrigation system using an automatic timer is easy to install. Avoid digging into the ground around your plants. This disrupts the topsoil and the beneficial activity of earthworms and micro-organisms in this layer. Light raking is sufficient. Thin out the seedlings of seeds planted directly into the soil to allow sufficient space, light and air movement for each plant type. “On www.soughtafterseedlings.co.za, you will find the growing space needed for each type of vegetable,” says Galvad.
l Include companion plants like nasturtiums, marigolds, chives and tulbaghia. Such plants prevent pest infestation by organic means and also enhance the flavour of vegetables. Some companion plants will act as trap crops.
l Protect your seedlings from birds. Cover with bird netting or cut the bottom of a two litre cooldrink bottle and place it over the seedling. Remove the lid to allow fresh air in.
l Protect seedlings from excessive heat with shade netting. In winter replace it with frost fleece.
l Put a mulch around the plants. It acts as a blanket and keeps the soil cool in summer and warm in winter. It also stops evaporation. Some examples are grass clippings without the grass seeds, nut shells, dried straw, shredded newspaper and dried leaves.
l Start planning your next batch of seeds for succession planting.
Contact Gilda Galvad 082 651 4276 or visit www.soughtafterseedlings.co.za
Saturday Star