For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated with watching fruits and vegetables growing on trees and shrubs. Don't get me wrong, I love flowers, but growing them has never had the same appeal for me...maybe it is a result of growing up in an urban jungle, where one hardly saw fruit trees or vegetable gardens but flowering shrubs on balconies or verandas were pretty common.
So after growing herbs on my windowsill and the occasional strawberry in small pots on the balcony of my rented apartment, I was super eager to start my vegetable garden when we moved in to a house with a backyard. I tried my hand at growing everything from herbs to vegetables and a few fruit trees thrown in for good measure as well. After nearly five years of living in that house and enjoying the bounty of my garden, it was sad to say good bye, but I was also looking forward to starting afresh, and it is this journey of starting a new vegetable garden that I want to share with you.
Growing your own is not only good for the environment and your health, but it is also very rewarding - Rain or shine, I love going to my garden to check on the progress of my plants and the excitement I have watching the first seedlings push their way up through the soil, or the first bud transform into a fruit is undiminished and indescribable.
The first couple of years of having a vegetable garden, I used pesticides like Confidor (on the recommendation of a family friend who has a farming background and teaches a horticulture related course at an agricultural university). I also tried Pyretherum on the suggestion of another friend who was also had a home veggie garden and also had a family history of farming. But the more aware and involved I became, I realised that there was no need for harmful pesticides that do not discriminate and kill both the good and the bad bugs in our gardens. Traditional farming was pesticide free and it is only contemporary large scale farming that seems to be reliant on pesticides without concern for the damage it is doing to us, the soil and mother nature in general. I resolved that I wanted to be completely organic, and for the past three years that's exactly what I have done. Sure, I get a few slugs (which I try to keep away from highly susceptible plants with stale beer or egg shells) and a few caterpillars, but I don't mind them. I am happy to share the bounty of my garden, and if the plants are well fed, watered and healthy, bugs are not such a problem. Plus, if there were no caterpillars, we would have no butterflies, and who does not enjoy the sight of a butterfly fluttering away in the back yard:)
So in a sense, I evolved into an organic grower, and did not dwell much on it. But once I became pregnant, I really became aware of where my food was coming from, where it was grown, what was in it and my commitment to organic growing and eating became stronger. I buy organic wherever I can, sure I pay a premium but where ones health is concerned, I think it is worth it. Also wherever possible I grow my own, which is what this section of my blog is about. Growing your own is not that hard, I think it is instinctive - our ancestors have been doing it for eons, and some how all of us have an affinity to it, we just need to discover it. So whether you have a large backyard, small balcony or patio or even a sunny windowsill, give it a go, and you will soon discover your green fingers and believe me you will not be disappointed.
Starting Out
Bounty from my garden
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