Organic Gardening from Scratch

A mild spring has drawn many of us outside, wanting to do more with our backyards. A lot of folks are also looking for ways to cut costs these days, and what better way to save money and enjoy the weather than by starting your own garden! Growing your own food means that you are eating the freshest, most local produce possible. Plus, you get the satisfaction of knowing exactly what chemicals aren’t in your food!

Here are a few tips for starting a new garden from Toxic Free NC and Tom Mekus, owner of Native Elements Landscaping in Raleigh.

Picking a plot - Tom recommends that new gardeners start small; 200 – 250 square feet is a manageable size for a new gardener. Watch out for trees, fences and other things that might get in the way in case you choose to haul in compost or mulch! Most vegetable gardens need full sun through the morning and mid-afternoon, but some shade after 3 or 4 PM may actually help to keep your plants from drying out during the hottest part of summer.

Signs of good soil - Various species of clover are common to see as weeds, and bode well for soil fertility because they naturally affix nitrogen. Wildflowers like violets and chickweed are also sign that the soil is soft and loose, which is good for your plants and your back!

Try to avoid areas with weeds like plantains and Bermuda grass – they are hard to get rid of and usually indicate poor soil. If you only have poor soil areas to choose from, you may be better off building raised beds by hauling in topsoil and compost, or composting “in place” with food scraps, yard waste and shredded newspapers.

Plan for too little (and too much) water - Tom warns against siting your garden in the midst of tree roots, because they will quickly suck all the water out of your soil. Keeping your garden within a hose’s length of an outdoor tap is always a good idea, but it’s also wise to consider installing a rain barrel. Just one-quarter inch of rain onto a 300-square-foot section of roof can yield nearly 50 gallons of water!

On the other hand, avoid areas that form puddles when it rains, because that means the soil has poor drainage. Tom recommends building raised beds (3-5 feet wide) instead of rows to reduce soil run-off when it rains. This also lets you plant multiple rows of vegetables together in the same bed, which conserves space while also retaining water during dry times. An ample top layer of composted mulch will also help keep soil moist.

Not just for the backyard - Many vegetable plants make great additions to borders, flowerbeds and foundation plantings. We recommend multi-colored lettuces and spinach in the spring and fall. Choose leaf lettuce varieties rather than heads, and sow the seeds thickly – that way you can trim young greens as needed for eating. We recommend rainbow Swiss chard in the summer, as it is one of the few leafy greens that can withstand summer heat. Sweet potatoes, gourds, watermelon and cantaloupe can quickly fill the space around taller plants or bushes to shade out weeds. Runner beans not only produce beans, but also flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. 

Happy gardening!

Resources for gardeners

• Free soil testing by the NC Dept. of Agriculture - call your County Extension office for more info, or visit http://www.agr.state.nc.us
• All about composting from the NC Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (www.p2pays.org/compost/, (919) 715-6500)
• Organic vegetable gardening classes by Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (www.carolinafarmstewards.org, 919-542-2402) or the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (www.cefs.ncsu.edu, 919-513-0954)

Toxic Free News is a publication of
Toxic Free NC
206 New Bern Place, Raleigh, NC 27601, (919) 833-5333, Toll-free 1-877-NO-SPRAY
, http://www.toxicfreenc.org

Mission: Toxic Free NC advocates for alternatives to toxic pesticides in North Carolina by empowering people to make sound decisions about their health and environment.

Staff: Ana Duncan Pardo, Communications Coordinator; Billie Karel, Program Coordinator; Fawn Pattison, Executive Director; Christopher Grohs, Special Events Intern; Amy Freitag, Outreach Coordinator Intern; Natalia Posthill, Outreach Coordinator Intern; Claudin Mangum, Farm to Child Care Intern.

Board of Directors: Colleen Boudreau, Treasurer; Ghassan Hamra; Laxmi Haynes; Mindy Hiteshue; Cathy Jones; Michelle Nowlin, President-Elect; Annie O'Leary; Katherine M. Shea, President; Allen Spalt, Immediate Past President.
Emeritus Board Members: Billie Rogers, Jane Sharp MacRae, Erick Umstead.

Community Leadership Council: Melissa Bailey, Mary James, Anna Jensen, Silvia Peterson, Juvencio Rocha Peralta.

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Spring 2009 Contents: