Article by: Sought After Seedlings
Designer of the Bryanston Organic Food Garden
Supplier of Franchi Sementi Heirloom Seeds & Victory Ticket Organic Seedlings

People are usually perplexed about how to start growing their own precious organic food. We are going to tell you how and it’s really very easy. Start at the very beginning with your soil. We need to grow the soil, before we can grow healthy plants.

Do a simple test on your soil to see what kind of soil it is. Squeeze a handful tightly and see if it has form. Tap the ball firmly and you will see if it breaks down easily. If it holds its form it is probably clay soil and if it runs through your figners it is probably sandy soil.

The remedy for both is digging in lots of organic matter. Dried leaves are the best to use. A soft, loamy soil is the objective. Start with good certified organic compost (and help the environment) and at the same time, why not start your own compost heap, you will save a lot of money in the long run. A worm farm and or a Bokashi Bin are great fun too for smaller households. You will progress to making you own organic feed for your plants, but that’s for later, when you’re totally hooked on organic gardening!

If you are lucky to have a source of manure, that’s great, but remember the following: Check the animal husbandry of where the manure comes from. There’s no use using manure from feedlot cattle, as it has antibiotics and hormones in it. Antibiotics will kill the micro nutrients in the soil. More hormones are just bad for you, that’s it. Dry the manure very well, or simply add it to your compost heap to degrade. If you put wet manure on your plants you may burn them.

Mix your compost with vermiculite to facilitate water retension and oxygen space in the soil. Your seedlings’ root system is very fine, they need to be able to absorb the good stuff that’s in the soil!

There you have it, now you can plant your Franchi Sementi heirloom seeds, water them well and regularly, make sure your plants get around 5 hours of sun per day and you will soon be enjoying your own homegrown organic vegetables. Bon Appetito!

To hone your organic skills come on a course by Linda Galvad of Sought After Seedlings – visit www.soughtafterseedlings.co.za