The continuing rise in popularity of gardening and in particular growing organic vegetables has lead to lots of people seeking information on how to get started. Folks are realising that purchasing vegetables from the local store, whilst convenient, has the downside that these vegetables have been grown using chemical fertilisers and spayed with pesticides. What happens is that the chemicals from these intense growing methods stay inside the food which means you and I are eating food containing harmful toxins in it.

For this reason and other factors including the increasing cost of food, people want to grow their own and eat fresh home grown produce that looks and tastes great. Growing organic vegetables has become the answer, free from chemicals and filled with flavor.

Here are 4 basic steps to getting started:

1: The Soil

Before starting out you have to invest some time in making your soil healthy to grow your vegetables. This is a slow process but it will eventually benefit you and your vegetables in the long term. There are lots of methods you should use like chemical free fertilisers, natural composts and perhaps introducing earthworms.

2: Compost

Fast composts are wonderful to use when you first start out as they are quick to get your soil into shape and whilst this is going on it is possible to begin building your own home grown organic compost for future use. It is rather easy to do and takes a little effort on your part, but again will be well worth it. Most fast composts are available from the local gardening store; just make 100% sure there are no added chemicals.

Just be sure that any organic fertilisers and composts are mixed in with your soil at least three to four weeks prior to planting.

3: Tilling the Soil

Once your soil is prepared for use and your getting eager to plant your first crop then you are ready to till the soil. Sounds a little old fashioned, doesn’t it?

What is tilling anyway?

Well basically it is like ploughing, you should dig and turn the soil to get the conditions for good organic growth. It is going to aerate the soil, and loosen it to allow for the growth of micro organisms which are so good for your organic garden. It also helps keep your fertiliser active and spread well throughout the soil.

Once tilling is complete you are ready to sow your seeds.

4: Weeds and Pests.

Control of weeds and pests will also be helped by tilling the soil. There are actually organic pesticides and herbicides available on the market. But I feel the most effective approach to control would be to learn to grow part of the crop that pests actually will not like and therefore will keep away from your main crops. There are numerous plants and herbs which will do this for you.

5: Water

One key element is going to be making sure you water your vegetable garden on a regular basis. Plan to do this not less than once a week and give it a good amount of water. Obviously if it is raining a lot this can be reduced but you will need to pay attention to just how much rain your garden has received.

This can be where a water butt will come in handy especially in hot summers where you could be subject to a water restriction. Plus collecting rain naturally should always be used over using mains water on your garden.

There will always be things to learn when you set out on your journey growing organic vegetables, but after you have the basics the remainder is fun and pleasure for the whole family. Children can learn a lot from growing simple garden vegetables organically, and the additional benefit is that they get to consume something fresh, wholesome and that they have grown for themselves.

Many people prefer to have organically grown fruit and vegetables for health reasons. They wish to avoid the potentially harmful chemicals and pesticides that are used in agriculture all over the world. An interesting outcome of this discussion is that changing over from traditional farming to organic could help to eliminate world hunger.

When farmers switch over from traditional to organic farming of crops there is typically a drop in the crop yield while the chemicals and pesticides are taken out of the soil. Right now that would be disastrous for the world’s hunger problem. However, if farmers in both Europe and North America began to switch over to organic the people of Africa would benefit almost immediately. Africa is where the largest numbers of people live who do not have enough food. They would not have to import as much food, which would give them enough of a supply to stave off massive hunger. The savings in time and transportation costs would provide more food for the people of Africa.

This changeover would take about ten to fifteen years, but it would be well worth it if more people throughout the world would have enough food to eat every day. Hunger is a problem based on location and transport of food more than a shortage of food.

Also, if the organic crops in Africa produce as well as expected they could end up with more than enough food for everyone and, possibly, even enough to export to other places at a higher price.

This would be a solution to having a global supply of food for the first time in modern history while also eliminating chemicals and pesticides. This would be beneficial for people, animals, and plants throughout the world.

There was a time when the term “organic” was not a part of our everyday language. It wasn’t all that long ago that people associated the word with hippies. My family decided to go organic five years ago. At that time my family and peers thought it was strange and unnecessary. A friend of mine gave me the nickname “hippy chick” just because of our organic lifestyle.

Now, organic is everywhere. It has become mainstream as people realize the benefits; especially the benefits of organic vegetables. There is some controversy surrounding the difference between organic and conventionally grown produce. Many agencies and researchers will tell you that there is no difference. However, you will have just as many claim that there is a difference. The key is doing the research and then deciding.

From my own research I’ve discovered that cancer survivors are often instructed, by their doctors, to adopt an organic lifestyle. That tells me there must be some evidence out there that points to benefits of eating organic. The FDA admits there are levels of pesticides on the produce we eat. But they get to determine what they deem acceptable. The amount of chemicals the FDA tests for is staggering. And the FDA can only test a small percentage of our food so what about the percentage that wasn’t tested?

The truth is that organic farming works. There is no reason to use the chemicals that are being used. We should turn to organic produce and reap the benefits of organic vegetables. So, what exactly are the benefits of organic vegetables? Let’s take a closer look.

A higher level of nutrients is found in organically grown vegetable. Conventionally grown vegetables are grown with artificial fertilizers that produce growth by filling the produce with water. So, conventionally grown vegetables are mainly water. There has been evidence of a steady decline in minerals for about six decades. In that time we’ve started pre-picking crops, started using chemicals for longer storage and we’ve over processed the produce.

Another benefit is lower intake of pesticide residue. Research has linked to consumption of pesticide residue to headaches, tremors, depression, anxiety, and lack of energy as well as many other symptoms. Even washing vegetables does not rid them of the residue. And some researchers are concerned about the effect of various pesticide residues that are contained in the same food. How do they affect our bodies when they are combined?

Children are more susceptible to the affects of pesticide residues because of their still developing organs. Some studies seem to link exposure to toxins with an increase in developmental delays. So, another benefit is that you are protecting your children.

There is also the environmental impact to consider. Organic farming is better for the environment. It is good for the soil structure, conserves water and is more efficient. So, there may be still some who will debate the benefits of organic produce but there is much evidence to support the benefits of organic vegetables.

Dave Nevard asked:




We hear continually more evidence about the benefits of eating organic fruit and vegetables as opposed to chemically enhanced GM fruit and veg. While some researches conclude that there is little or no difference in the nutritional content of non organic and unaltered organic fruit and vegetables. nearly all of us know this not to be true.

If you observe some of the crucial differences between the two types, basic intelligence will be all you need to realise that there is a lot more benefit to be derived from eating chemically unaltered food as opposed to its inferior counterpart.

For a start, the whole process of chemically enhancing now associated with today’s conventional methods of turning out our crops, involves growing GM veg with more water content , this gives an unnatural growth rate and an artificial look that is to good to be true. Just look at all the rows and rows of fruit and veg in your local super market and you will know it is not possible, veg can ever look so good. More to the point, organic vegetables have what is known as more “dry matter” this means it is made up of more food substance and less water. This will constitute towards making up more of your day’s quota of nutrients.

Another advantage for consuming non GM Veg is the higher count of phytonutrients. These are life enhancing antioxidants that are a crucial part of the plants system, a defence against harmful chemicals and pesticides while it is growing. It it comes as no suprise that a plant allowed to grow without pesticides and chemicals will have a lot more of its natural defences (pyhtonutrients) intact, these of course will be passed on to you as you eat the vegetables. The more common phytonutrients are; lycopene, polyphenols and flavenols. these are found in many of the more common veg that we consume on a daily basis.

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