Starting a Kitchen Garden

Last year we moved to a new house, which will be our home for the next 30 years (we’re hopeful)!  It is in a location that we think is just ideal, not far from the beach and with a 96 hectare bushland reserve only a block away.  The block came perfectly landscaped, with lovely screening plants to green in the surrounding fence-line and lovely lawns front and back.  There is a little hedge to separate our front lawn from the neighbours, a hibiscus hedge surrounding the garage and a white and red rose garden in front of our bedroom window.  We are lucky to have bore water to reticulate the garden which will save us so much money over time on water costs.  But the one garden element missing is a vegetable garden!

Growing your own fruit and vegetables has many benefits.  Not only do you benefit from knowing exactly what your crops have been sprayed and fed with, but it’s also excellent exercise to dig, weed, plant and water your garden in the fresh air.  The freshness of the food means that fruit and vegetables retain more essential vitamins and minerals, and they taste much better than those bought at the supermarket that have travelled from hundreds or sometimes thousands of miles away, and/or have been in cold storage for months.

Gardening is mentally therapeutic as well!  In a project conducted by Deakin University (http://www.hphpcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/beyondblue_togreen.pdf) there was much evidence to support that contact with nature affects numerous facets of a person’s physical, mental and social life such as:

• reducing anger, frustration and aggression

• increasing a sense of belonging and acceptance

• a range of other aspects including socialisation, mobility, mental stimulation, touch, physiological benefits, and the fulfilment of basic needs such as love, respect, usefulness, trust, self-worth and nurturing.

Research on the physiological health benefits of gardening has shown that gardening:

• reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease

• reduces HDL cholesterol levels in elderly men

• improves the health of diabetes patients

• reduces risk of gastro-intestinal haemorrhage

With this many benefits to be gained from growing an edible garden how could anyone live without one?   I certainly can’t and so I have selected the perfect location for our vegetable patch, in a 4 x 3m section of the garden that gets plenty of sunshine, is watered by the bore reticulation and is covered with dappled shade from a large monstera plant that has grown as high as the house eves.  It’ll be perfect for protecting crops from the hot summer sun, as the area is also surrounded by the brick walls of the house on two sides.

In Australia it is autumn and so now is the time to plan the winter garden and get planting some winter seedlings.  My daughter and I spent an hour on the weekend making up newspaper pots to fill with potting mix and propagate plants from seeds.  The way to do it is to take several sheets of newspaper and fold them into three along the long edge.  Cut out the strips and then wrap a couple of pieces tightly around a straight sided jar leaving a 5cm overlap at the bottom.  Fold the bottom newspaper across the base of the jar and push down on a hard surface to form the base.  Carefully pull the jar out of the newspaper mould and fold the top inwards to help keep the pot straight.  Then fill the pots with potting or seed-raising mix, and push seeds into the soil.  Water lightly and keep the pots moist until the seedlings sprout.  I don’t expect the plants to be large enough to plant out for a couple of months, which is just as well as I’ll need to get moving to prepare the vege patch site!

Do you find it satisfying to grow your own edible produce?  Have you started planning your winter/spring vegetable garden? I’ve love to hear about it, so write me a post or send me an email at livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .