why you should grow your own

As most of my friends and family know, I love gardening - in all its forms, but I really love to grow vegetables and herbs.
I think it has a lot to do with the fact that as a child I grew up on a farm in what was Rhodesia, where there was always an abundance of vegetables grown and served up with each meal.

Today, sadly, life is very different and conditions ever changing.

However, no matter where you live, I would like to encourage you to grow at least a few of your favourite veggies and herbs as it is not at all difficult and you will reap the benefit of fresh produce with no poisons sprayed on to them, no more paying ridiculous prices and the exercise will keep you fit and healthy too.
Now all the above reasons are pretty obvious, but in the big picture, countries are running out of food due to climate, soil erosion, lack of water and bad farming - this has a domino effect world wide and everyone pays more.

The good news is that some folk are waking up and are growing their own food - and you can too.
A piece of ground the size of your average door can produce plenty of food for your family if done correctly.

This is My Way;

Measure out the required space and turn over the soil to the depth of a spade.
Mix in plenty of good organic compost and some well rotted kraal manure.
Wet the area.
Now cover the area with some layers of newspaper which you have soaked in water - make it four or five sheets thick.
Next, cover the top of the newspaper with a good layer of mulch - this will keep in the moisture and enrich your soil as it breaks down in time.
Wet the area again, and now you are ready to plant out your veggie seedlings.
Make a small hole by gently clearing away some of the mulch so that you pierce the newspaper and then place in the plants - firm down gently and put back the mulch.
As the plants grow bigger, you can add more mulch if necessary.

Most veggies and herbs require plenty of sunshine and if you have prepared your soil correctly, your watering is reduced greatly.
If you have a worm bin, the worm tea is wonderful for veggies.

Planting herbs in between the veggies will keep most pests away as well as attracting the good garden friends.
Remember to grow vegetables that you enjoy to eat.