Norman J Stone - Small Garden Ideas For Growing Vegetables

Small Garden Ideas For Growing Vegetables:

An Introduction To No-Dig Gardening Techniques Including Raised Bed Gardening, Square Foot Gardening, Straw Bale & Container Vegetable Gardens

By

Norman J Stone

Published By

www.deanburnpublications.com

Acknowledgements:

Special thanks to James Paris for permission to include planting material from his book Raised Bed Gardening Planting Guide (2)

Copyright:

Copyright 2014-16, Norman J Stone

All rights reserved. Copyright protected. Duplicating, reprinting or distributing this material without the express written consent of the author is prohibited.

While reasonable attempts have been made to assure the accuracy of the information contained within this publication, the author does not assume any responsibility for errors, omissions or contrary interpretation of this information, and any damages incurred by that.

The author does not assume any responsibility or liability whatsoever, for what you choose to do with this information.

T.O.C

J ust about everyone likes the idea of lifting their own fresh vegetables straight from the garden, then presenting them with a flourish at the dinner table along with the evening meal.

Certainly these days of low carbon footprint and other environmental issues, as well as the uncertainty over whether or not the store-bought vegetables have been subjected to chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and even waxing! All mean that the alternative option of growing your own is becoming increasingly popular.

However the truth is that for many people, especially city-dwellers, the option to grow their own vegetables in limited spaces becomes something of a challenge.

Time as well can be a major issue as often the effort to earn enough to pay the bills and keep afloat, means that there is very little me time. When not actually working to earn a wage, the demands of the family and other important issues can mean very little time to spend on a vegetable plot!

There Is Hope!

With the techniques I am about to show you in this book, I hope to convince you that even with limited space for a garden and even less time to commit to one; it is still possible to juggle space, time, and finances in such a way as to have a very healthy and productive vegetable garden even in a space as small as 4 square foot!

In fact you can grow your own vegetables in an area the size of a plant-pot or numerous other containers. All you need is the desire to do so and a good sunny space in which to place your planters.

Everything else, such as the types of vegetables you can grow, along with the compost and feed you will need to produce excellent results you will find within the pages of this book.

T his is basically a concept that covers 4 of the main gardening techniques that work on the principle of minimal digging and turning over of soil.

There are more details on these methods to follow, but they are basically Raised Bed Gardening, Square Foot Gardening, Straw Bale and Container Gardening.

Each of these techniques follow the same basic principles of maximum output in regards to food production - and minimum input in regards to physical hard work.

This is due mainly to the growing medium (more later), and the ease of access that these techniques provide, especially for wheelchair users, and the elderly or infirm.

However they are also techniques that can be enjoyed by all the family and indeed are a great way to introduce the kids to the whole concept of growing their own food, as results tend to be quicker to see and taste!

So just what are the advantage of these techniques over the conventional vegetable garden? Listed below are just some of the main points to consider ...

1: Easy Gardening: All of these concepts listed have the advantage of being far easier to work than a traditional vegetable plot. The main reason for this is the growing medium (more later). This is light and easy to operate meaning that no heavy digging is required.

The fact that there is no need to walk over the growing area thus compressing the ground means that the soil remains soft and workable. This is a distinct advantage for the gardener and the plant itself, as it no longer has to struggle putting out roots.

The Raised Bed, Square Foot, and Straw Bale gardens especially, are at a good height to work with being 6-24 inches above ground. This means that general maintenance and crop harvesting can be done with minimal effort.

2: Weed Free Garden: Since you have made up the growing medium following the instructions within this book, there is little to worry about regarding weeds for the first season at least.

Even in future years, any weeds that do sprout are easily removed from the light growing medium, or indeed the problem does not exist at all depending on the mulching or soil covering system you are using.

Of course the other advantage of this is that the plants are not competing with the weeds for nutrients or water supply, meaning healthier fuller vegetables!

3: Easy Pest Control: Pest control is an on-going issue for any gardener, however for anyone using these techniques much of this chore is alleviated if not removed entirely.

Slugs in particular can be a real pain for vegetable growers, however these pests can be easily kept at bay especially with Raised Bed and Straw Bale gardening.

Other pests whether ground-dwelling or flying pests are also easy to keep away with these techniques. (More on Organic Pest control later).

Raised Beds in particular offer an easy solution to controlling flying insects as well as being easily modified to create a mini-greenhouse effect as you will see in later chapters.

4: Best Use of Space: The Raised Bed systems and Container Gardening systems particularly, mean that even city folks with minimum space to spare can grow their own nutritional vegetables.

A typical Raised Bed Garden measures at 6 x 3 foot, while a Square Foot Garden measures at only 4 x 4 foot. Both these systems allow for a huge range of veggies in a limited but productive space.

When it comes to growing in containers, there is even less space needed to grow a range of crops. A sunny spot in a bay window or a small patio is all the space you might need to at least experiment with different vegetable crops.

5: Accessibility: The fact that these systems are raised from the ground means that they are much more accessible and there-fore easier to operate than the traditional vegetable garden. This is especially so when the beds are raised to 18 inches or so. Less bending over means less back-ache! Also it means that wheelchair users can manage the garden comfortably from their chairs.

When constructing the beds then it is a good idea to leave enough space between them to access all sides comfortably (more on this in the appropriate chapters to follow), and have a good surface for wheelchair and wheel-barrow use.

Summary:

I could go on but I think you will have the idea for now! More details regarding these concepts will be forthcoming in the following chapters.

To begin with I will outline the 4 gardening ideas individually, covering all the main points regarding construction, infilling, planting etc.

In the later chapters I will concentrate on the vegetables themselves as well as more details on such issues as companion planting, and organic pest control methods.