Your Questions About Gardening

GardenersCardiff answers:

I love to garden because it is a whole year process. I get to look at the catalogs and decide what I am going to plant. You always are surprised at how beautiful the flowers and plants look. Vegetables are fun because they are always coming out with something new to try. I have 3 areas that are flower gardens, and one round garden is planted with tulips and flowers that bloom early. Even if you don’t have space you can grow in containers or have a herb garden to cook with. It is very therapeutic, the bouquets are great to give as gifts. When the produce comes, you can make pickles and other items to use year round. Have a go at it and see what you think? Best of luck to you!

GardenersCardiff answers:

The following non-toxic methods can all be used to keep weeds under control in the veganic garden:

1. Remove any weeds that you definately don’t want in your garden, as quickly as possible and certainly before they flower and set seed.

2. Use a raised bed, no dig system. Digging the ground brings buried weeds seeds to the surface of the soil and the seeds will germinate as soon as they come in contact with the light.

3. Mulch the surface of your beds (using about 2-4″ of an organic mulch). The mulch will exclude light from the soil. And no light, no weeds! Mulching also helps to retain moisture, protect against soil erosion, encourage earthworm activity, adds extra nutrients to the soil (if an organic mulch is used) and can keep crops clean and free of disease. (e.g. By putting straw underneath strawberries.) Unfortunately, mulching can sometimes attract slugs. Mulches which are suitable for use in the veganic garden include: straw, woodchips, leafmould, seaweed, old carpet (not foam-backed), black plastic, cardboard, newspaper (several layers thick, black and white only), compost, well-rotted lawn mowings, sawdust, wilted comfrey leaves, forest bark, shredded prunings and gravel. It is also possible to purchase a special paper mulch from the Organic Gardening Catalogue (address in mail order section) for �9.50/roll. Entirely biodegradable, this paper mulch gradually breaks down and is incorporated into the soil. Incidentally, they also sell a cocoa shell mulch which can deter slugs and many cats (�10.25/bag) and bags of composted bark for �7.95/bag.

4. Never leave the soil bare! This just encourages weeds. Plant green manure crops on any spare land. Most green manure plants compete well with weeds, except bitter lupin which is a poor weed suppressor. (For more information see Green Manure article.)

5. Use ground cover plants to suppress weeds. For example, clover can be grown underneath tall crops such as sweetcorn or Brussels sprouts, or plant courgettes and pumpkins underneath sweetcorn. Many herbs also make good ground cover plants. Grass can be used as ground cover underneath trees and shrubs.

6. Use crop rotation. This will supress weeds, as well as keeping disease under control. Alternate weed susceptible crops e.g. Onions and root crops with weed suppressing crops, such as green manures, potatoes, pumkins, courgettes.

7. If you do have to remove weeds, then only use environmentally-friendly methods, such as hand weeding, hoeing (or use scrapper) and if necessary flame gunning.

GardenersCardiff answers:

Beans of all sorts…just pick a few…green, wax, lima.
Peppers of all sorts.
Patches of herbs, you can bury a large pot in the ground…basil, mint, parsley.
Fruits such as strawberries, a blueberry bush, grapes.
Any kind of leaf lettuce, spinach,etc.
Carrots and radishes can be planted together.

Get a seed catalog and try anything you like! Most of vegetable gardening is experimenting with what you like vs. What will grow for you! Have fun with it…makes hoeing and weeding more enjoyable!